The Department of Economics, Political Science and Sociology at Missouri Western State University is hosting a series of events in March to commemorate Women’s History Month. All events are free and open to the public and will be held in the Hoff Conference Rooms, Blum Student Union rooms 218-219.

“This year’s event series is focused on the theme that ‘gender is inescapable,’” said Dr. Melinda Kovács, assistant professor of political science. “I chose this emphasis to drive home the point that gender is a feature of every human life. It is a social construction and a collection of social roles and norms and every single one of us comes into contact with those every day.”

The events illustrate some variety of settings in which people “perform” gender, Dr. Kovács said. Events include a film series showing people in different settings negotiating gender as well as two roundtable discussions that will feature personal narratives from local people about their own journeys. The keynote address this year will be delivered by Dr. Celia Winkler, professor of sociology at the University of Montana. Her talk will focus on how gender is relevant in the area of welfare policy and how in fact welfare policy enforces certain views and norms of gender on individuals.

The series events in chronological order are:

  • 7 p.m. Monday, March 3, Film Series: “Kinky Boots”
  • 7 p.m. Thursday, March 6, Film Series: “Must Love Dogs”
  • 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 18, Film Series: The Kids Are All Right”
  • 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 19, Film Series: “Dallas Buyers Club”
  • 5 p.m. Friday, March 21: Community Roundtable: How do you DO gender?
  • 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 25: Community Roundtable: How do you DO gender?
  • 6 p.m. Thursday, March 27: Film Series: “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”
  • 5 p.m. Friday, March 28: Keynote Speaker Dr. Celia Winkler

Missouri Western State University is a comprehensive regional university providing a blend of traditional liberal arts and professional degree programs. The university offers student-centered, high quality instruction that focuses on experience-based learning, community service, and state-of-the-art technology. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit www.missouriwestern.edu.