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Area universities mark women's history month

April Young-Bennett
April Young-Bennett

PSU is hosting April Young Bennett, author of the “Ask a Suffragist” Wednesday March 1 at 6:30 pm. The lecture is part of the Pitt State Women in Government Lecture Series and is free and open to the public. It is hosted by University Advancement and Pitt State Women and Gender Studies Program.

Today is the first day of women's history month. Appearing on The Missouri State Journal, associate professor of anthropology and the director of the Gender Studies program at Missouri State University in Springfield, Erin Kenny, says that how we think of women's studies and history has evolved a lot in the last 40 years. KRPS's Fred Fletcher-Fierro tells us more.

The occasion was first marked as women's history day in northern California in the late 1970s. In February 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued a presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8, 1980, National Women's History Week. Congress expanded it to a month in 1987.

MSU's Erin Kenny says that to understand the role of women in our society, we have to show that intersectionality provides a means for people to participate in collective action.

"It kind of grew from this thing that was called women's studies, that sort of had these narrow interests to gradually thinking about these systems of oppression, the lack of representation, these systems of inclusion, that affect more than just women, but multiple groups across our cultures."

Women's History Month will kick off at Pittsburg State University today with a lecture from April Young Bennett, author of the "Ask a Suffragist" as part of PSU's Women in Government Lecture Series. That's tonight, at 6:30 p.m. in the Governor's Room of the Overman Student Center, at Pittsburg State. For 89 9 KRPS News, I'm Fred Fletcher-Fierro

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