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Posted: 3/17/99

A&M International Holds Brindis, Primavera Conference Mar. 26-27

 

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Texas A&M International University will be the site of the 16th annual "Primavera Conference" Mar. 26 - 27. The conference is sponsored by the Women's and Gender Studies Minor Program at A&M International, and is held every March in celebration of Women's History Month.

Primavera will begin on Friday, Mar. 26 in the Great Room of the Sue and Radcliffe Killam Library (room 319) with a Poster Demonstration on women's and gender issues from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. and the "Brindis a la Mujer," a toast on behalf of women in the United States and Mexico, from 7:30 - 8 p.m.

The Poster Demonstration, which was first added to the conference last year, will feature displays from the University community and the community at large on issues relating to women or gender. Posters will remain on display throughout the Conference.

The traditional toast, "Brindis a la Mujer," will be offered by Phyllis Colón, City of Laredo Tax Assessor-Collector, representing the US, and Ninfa Deándar Martinez, owner of El Mañana, representing Mexico.

A brief reception will follow the Brindis. Refreshments will be served. Admission to the Poster Demonstration, Brindis, and reception is free and open to the public.

Primavera Conference presentations will be held on Saturday, Mar. 27 from 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. in Bullock Hall. Conference fees are: free for students, lunch not included; $7 for students, lunch included; and $20 for all others, lunch included.

Themed "Diversity and Tolerance" or "Diversidad y Tolerancia" Primavera will feature a variety of panel presentations examining issues of women and gender. Conference schedule is as follows:

8:30 - 9 a.m., Registration and Coffee and Doughnuts, Bullock Hall room 101.

9 a.m., Session I panel -- "Women in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa," "Women Travelers in the Middle East," "Feminist Consciousness and the Practice of Veiling in the Middle East," and "Israeli and Palestinian Women in the Peace Process."

10 a.m., Session II panel -- "Women's Literature in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa," "Language and Identity: Anita Desai's Clear Light of Day," "A Modern Arab Woman Poet: Dissent and Debate," "Bringing Women into the Text: A Reading of French African Women's Writing," and "Gender Submersion: The Gap Between Colonized Voice and Permitted Expressivity in David Grossman's The Smile of the Lamb."

12:15 p.m., Luncheon in the Great Room.

1:30 p.m., Keynote Address, "Issues in Comparative Women's Studies: The Veil in the Islamic World" by Elizabeth Fernea of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, University of Texas at Austin. Fernea's presentation will include a 28 minute documentary produced for London TV.

2:30 p.m., Session III panels -- Section A: "Gays in the Military." Section B: "Women and Language and Identity," "Ambitious Women and Poetic Subversions," and "Identity Crisis: A Concern for the Women in Sub-Saharan Africa?"

3:30 p.m., Session IV panels -- Section A: "Same Sex Marriages." Section B: "Women in Literature," "Literary Women in Iran: Elements of Resistance and Change," and "The Feminine Nature as Viewed in the Works of Wordsworth and Cristall."

4:30 p.m., Session V panels -- Section A: "Pornography." Section B: "Women in the Professions," "Portrait of a Female Mathematician," "Healthcare in Nicaragua," and "Occupational Folklore and Gender Issues in the Workplace."

5:30 - 6 p.m., General Closing Session.

For more information on the Primavera Conference at A&M International Mar. 26 - 27, please contact Dr. Kati Pletsch de Garcia at 326-2614, or Dr. Carol Waters at 326-2635. University office hours are 8 .am. - 5 p.m. Monday - Friday.

Information may also be secured via email at kdegarcia@tamiu.edu or cwaters@tamiu.edu.

Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Affairs and Information Services at pais@tamiu.edu