This year, UNC Greensboro continues diving into the history of women’s suffrage and the historic and ongoing struggles of equity and equality in the United States through the event series “She Can, We Can: Beyond the Women’s Suffrage Centennial.”
A range of dynamic and diverse performances, discussions, and workshops reflect on the questions: What political advances and compromises resulted in the passage of the 19th Amendment, and how have these shaped issues of equity in our own time?
“The theme is more or less an honest look at the successes and failures of the past, and how they affect our culture today. While there are collaborative events all across campus, what is special to me are the individual conversations they generate, and the resulting commitment to future equity and equality,” said Professor of Music Steve Haines who, as provost faculty fellow, has served as the curator of the series.
Although the suffrage movement resulted in the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, examining the history and cultural context of the series helps us recognize how far we have come, and how far we still have to travel in the ongoing struggle for equality and justice in the nation.
“She Can, We Can” events will take place throughout the entire year, but below are some highlights for the fall semester. Many events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. Note: As we are in the midst of a pandemic, please visit this website frequently for updated event information.
Greensboro Symphony Orchestra with Symphonie Fantastique
Saturday, January 29, 8 p.m., Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts
Relive the folly of your college-aged youth with the greatest student music of all time. The evening begins with Weber’s Overture to Der Freischutz. Chopin, already a piano prodigy, completed his Piano Concerto No. 2 while still a student with help from his classmates in Warsaw. Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique is a hallucinatory love letter, of sorts, to a college crush from his days at the Paris Conservatoire.
Greensboro Symphony Orchestra with Sitkovetsky and Friends Chamber Series
Sunday, January 30, 4 p.m., Tew Recital Hall
Sitkovetsky and Friends Chamber Series Presents: Ingrid Fliter (piano), Dmitry Sitkovetsky (music director), Fabrice Dharamraj (violin), Scott Rawls (viola), Alexander Ezerman (cello).
Elizabeth Rowe: Issues in Gender Pay
Monday, January 31, 7 p.m., Virtual
Less than one week after an updated Massachusetts Equal Pay Act went into effect on July 1, 2018, Elizabeth Rowe, principal flutist of the Boston Symphony, filed a gender pay discrimination suit against the orchestra. This lawsuit ignited national and international conversation regarding gender bias in classical music, an institution that is historically male-dominated.
UNC Greensboro Concert and Lecture Series: Margaret Atwood
Sunday, February 6, 7 p.m., UNCG Auditorium
Atwood, whose work has been published in more than forty-five countries, is the author of more than fifty books of fiction, poetry, critical essays, and graphic novels. Her latest novel, The Testaments, is a co-winner of the 2019 Booker Prize. It is the long-awaited sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, now an award-winning TV series. The event will include a live performance by UNCG students interpreting Atwood’s work, and then a conversation with Atwood via Zoom.
Greensboro Symphony Orchestra with Heather Headley
Saturday, February 12, 8 p.m., Steven Tanger Center for the Performing
Tony and GRAMMY Award winner and one of Broadway’s brightest stars, Heather Headley will perform hits from The Lion King, Elton John, and Tim Rice’s Aïda!
Ella Puede, Nosotros Podemos: Towards Equity and Hope in Immigration Issues
Friday, February 18, 3 p.m., Virtual
In the spirit of the centennial of the women’s suffrage movement, we highlight one of the civil rights issues of our day: the inequities experienced by immigrants, children of immigrants and immigrant communities.This virtual event is free and open to the public. All Greensboro community members (and beyond) are welcome and encouraged to attend. ¡Todos están bienvenidos!
UNC Greensboro Concert and Lecture Series: Geena Davis
Monday, February 28, 8 p.m., UNCG Auditorium
Davis is not only an Oscar and Golden Globe-winning actor but also a world-class athlete (at one time the nation’s 13th-ranked archer), a member of the genius society Mensa, and is now recognized for her tireless advocacy of women and girls nearly as much as for her acting accomplishments. She is the Founder and Chair of the non-profit Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, which engages film and television creators to dramatically increase the percentages of female characters — and reduce gender stereotyping — in media made for children 11 and under.
The Gendered Nature of Weight Bias
Monday, March 14, 7 p.m., Elliott University Center Auditorium
Weight bias is associated with adverse psychological and physical health outcomes. In order to raise awareness of this important issue, the UNCG Department of Nutrition will be hosting a panel discussion on the gendered nature of weight bias with experts in the areas of weight inclusive healthcare and social justice: Joy Cox, PhD, Rachel Porter, PsyD, CEDS, and Kimmie Singh, MS, RD. Join us for this thought-provoking discussion on thin privilege, patriarchal oppression, intersectionality, and advocating for change.
An Evening with Natasha Trethewey, Former U.S. Poet Laureate and Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
Thursday, March 17, 7 p.m., Elliott University Center Auditorium
The UNCG MFA Program in Creative Writing will host a reading by former U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey. The event is free and open to the public and will be followed by a reception and book signing.
Stereotypes, Struggles and Successes: Tracing the Journey of Interior Design as a Gendered Practice
Friday, March 18, 9 a.m., Elliott University Center-Main Ballroom
As part of the “She Can, We Can” project for 2021-22, the Department of Interior Architecture will explore and celebrate those narratives by sponsoring a symposium that will consider a thematic exploration of the role gender and identity politics have played in the creation, evolution, and current teaching and practice of creating interiors.
A Century of Votes for Women: American Election Since Suffrage
Wednesday, March 30, Weatherspoon Art Museum Auditorium
Christina Wolbrecht offers an unprecedented account of women voters in American politics over the last ten decades. Bringing together new and existing data, she and her coauthor, J. Kevin Corder, provide unique insight into women’s (and men’s) voting behavior, and trace how women’s turnout and vote choice evolved across a century of enormous transformation overall and for women in particular.
UNC Greensboro Concert and Lecture Series: Denise Murrell
Tuesday, April 5, 6 p.m., Weatherspoon Art Museum
An advocate for mentorship programs and supporting minority scholars, Dr. Murrell currently serves on the National Advisory Board for the Ackland Art Museum at UNC Chapel Hill and ArtTable, a leadership organization for professional women in the visual arts. Her UCLS talk is presented jointly by UNCG’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, Falk Visiting Artist Program, and the Weatherspoon Art Museum.
Deaf Woman Can: Then and Now Community Event
Thursday, April 7, 6:30 p.m., UNCG Elliott University Center
Local, state and national Deaf women will share their experiences in ‘TED Talk’ fashion. Nationally known activist, academic, artist and digital strategist Melissa Malzkuhn headlines the event and is joined by a variety of other notable women who are deaf or hard of hearing.
100+ Years Active Women and Activism: Physical Culture from Woman’s College to UNCG
Friday, April 8, 2 p.m., virtual
Informed by university archives and recently conducted interviews with alumni, retired faculty, and current students/faculty, this panel event will highlight women’s activism in and through physical activity spaces over the past 100 years on our campus, spanning the early years of the “Coleman era” (1920-1947) to the increasingly diverse landscape of women in physical activity at UNCG today (2020+).
Greensboro Symphony presents Don Quixote
Saturday, May 7, 8 p.m., Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts
Welcome the new year with a study in contrasts: the sinfonia concertante is a musical genre that puts multiple soloists in contrast with an orchestra. Cellist Zlatomir Fung and violist Yura Lee join Maestro Sitkovetsky for sinfonie concertanti by Mozart, then portray the naïve adventurer Don Quixote and his sidekick Sancho Panza for Richard Strauss’ own spin on the form.
Documenting Local Women Politicians: An Oral History Project
Monday, Aug. 1, online at UNCG Digital Collections Page
This project is the first attempt to document women politicians on a local and regional level in Greensboro. We will conduct up to 10 oral history interviews with women in Greensboro who either currently hold or have held in the past elected office. The interviewees will be selected from across party lines. Interviews will focus on each woman’s personal and political history, allowing us to document and make available to researchers the women’s experiences in their own words. Each oral history will be made available to the public through the UNCG Digital Collections page.
See the “She Can, We Can” website for the full schedule.
Compiled by Dana Broadus, with copy drawn from the “She Can, We Can” website.
