Women's History Month 2024

March 1 - March 31, Her-Story Project 

As part of a campus-wide series of events, for the nineteenth consecutive year, we are re-activating the Her-Story listserv which is dedicated to sharing stories. Please see more information at Her-Story Project. 

"An Evening with Cynn Chadwick" - co-sponsors are Citizen Leader, McConnell Library, The Department of English, The Women's & Gender Studies Program, and Safe Zone. 

Time: March 19th (Tuesday), 5 - 6:15 pm. 

Cynn Chadwick is an American novelist, and author of eight novels including The Cat Rising Series, Angels & Manners, and Things That Women Do. Her books have been nominated for the Lambda, Stonewall, and Bywater Prizes in fiction. She holds an MFA from Goddard College and is a retired senior lecturer of Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina at Asheville. She lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains where she writes and paints and adores her beloved Springer Spaniel Andy. 

Location: McConnell Library, Andrew W. Ross Student Art Gallery

1. 9:30 - 10:20 am. Murder-Suicide Warning: Women Watch Out 

Presenter(s): Dr. Wendy Eckenrod-Green, School of Teacher Education and Leadership

Murder-suicide is a disturbingly compounding and “dramatic, violent event” with close to 10 incidences occurring each week with approximately 1,200 Americans dying on an annual basis. Murder-suicide is not a “hindsight is 2020” issue. The warning signs and red flags are present including intimate partner violence. This presentation will review statistics related to domestic murder-suicide and common features including perpetrators, victims, lethal means, and location of occurrence. Risk factors and motivations such as negative factors, feelings of obligation, and sense of mercy will be discussed. The aftermath and trauma of a murder-suicide is far reaching and ripples across to family, friends, co-workers, and community, sometimes leaving children parentless.

Location: Andrew W. Ross Student Art Gallery 

2. 10:45 - 11:45 am. Making Work: Gender and Creativity in Contemporary Art

Presenter(s): Dr. Carlee Bradbury, Department of Art; Graduate MFA Students: Brandy Bembry, Christopher Bradbury, Ashleigh Hillen, Taylen Gearhart, Zach Blevins-Goad, Amanda Kelly, Mariah Nolan, Toni Pitts, and Logan Singo.

In this collective graduate student showcase, emerging artists will present their work as it relates to gender and its various iterations and interpretations. Including a variety of media, (from sculpture to photography and all points in between) this panel is an opportunity for the Radford campus community to see creative inquiry in action.

Location: Andrew W. Ross Student Art Gallery 

3. 12:00 - 1:00 pm. Crafting the Spinster: Research Presentation and Demonstration

Presenter(s): Dr. Carlee Bradbury, Department of Art; Lou O'Neil (undergraduate student); Sara Thompson (undergraduate student) 

Our research project deals with how spinning and spinsters have been represented in art. From old crones to young mothers to witches - what does the spinster signify? Come for a research talk and try your hand at spinning on a drop spindle.

Location: Andrew W. Ross Student Art Gallery 

4. 2:00 - 3:00 pm. Sexism in Search Engines & AI 

Presenter(s): Alyssa Archer and Lisa Dinkle (Library Faculty) 

Are Google results sexist? What about Chat GPT? The answer may not surprise you. Learn how algorithms and AI both reflect and perpetuate misogyny and racism in our culture, as faculty from McConnell Library share research by Dr. Safiya Noble and lead attendees through exercises to test out the theories.

Location: McConnell Library Information Literacy Center B (ILC B) (3rd floor, Room 380)

1. 10:00 - 10:50 am. Where The Roots Wind About the Heart—Contemporary Voices in Appalachian Women’s Poetry

Presenter(s): Professor April J. Asbury, English Instructor, and facilitator for the Highland Summer Conference (writing conference, Appalachian Studies); Annie Woodford, English Instructor, Wilkes Community College, and 2024 Guest for the Highland Summer Conference (Appalachian Studies)

This poetry reading and workshop takes its title from a poem by the Radford-educated poet Lou Crabtree, whose deep connection to place, language and, perhaps most powerfully, the often-unheard stories of working-class Appalachian womanhood, provides inspiration for the generations of poets who came after her, especially in the region served by Radford University. Poets April J. Asbury and special guest Annie Woodford, winner of the 2022 Weatherford Poetry Award, will present poems and conduct a generative workshop centered around the stories and experiences of both contemporary and ancestral female voices in the region. The work of Asbury and Woodford is informed by their multi-generational connection to Appalachian Virginia and the NRV. This event will center around sharing that experience and providing guided writing opportunities for the audience’s own exploration of connection to place, history, and voice.

Location: Hemphill Hall 4700 

2. 11:00 - 11:50 am. Insight of Chinese Women 

Presenter(s): Dr. I-Ping Fu and her class, Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures

Dr. Fu will provide an overview of the history of Chinese Women. She will also share real examples of Chinese women. 

Location: Hemphill Hall 4700 

3. 1:30 - 3:00 pm. Women's History Month Final Celebration 

Please join us as we celebrate the conclusion of Women’s History Month events. We will recognize our Lifetime Achievement Award winners Dr. Ann Elliott and Dr. Anja Whitington, offer a donation to the Women’s Resource Center of the New River Valley, and celebrate our students. Light refreshments will be served. 

Location: Hemphill Hall 4700