"Women of Faith, Women of Spirit," is the theme of Women’s History Month at SUNY Fredonia, observed throughout March and early April with a slate of prominent women leaders from diverse religions. Events have been planned by the Women's Studies Program, the Women's Student Union, and other student organizations, such as the Jewish Student Union and Spectrum Entertainment. All events are free unless otherwise noted, and open to the public.
 
One of the world's leading Biblical scholars and feminist theologians, Harvard Divinity School Professor Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza, will present the opening talk, "The Power of Naming: Feminist Studies in Religion," on Thursday, March 3, at 5 p.m. in Williams Center S-104. Dr. Fiorenza has become a preeminent voice of feminist, biblical interpretation since the publication of her groundbreaking work, In Memory of Her. Recent books include Wisdom Ways: Introducing Feminist Biblical Interpretation (Orbis Books, 2001). She is a co-founder and editor of the Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion.
 
The previous night, Wednesday, March 2, at 7:30 p.m., the Women's Student Union has invited independent scholar Max Dashu to present "Suppressed histories: Witches and Pagans," in Williams Center S-104. Ms. Dashu is the founder of the Suppressed Histories Archives, and has created 90 slideshows on international women's history.
 
"Muslim Women: Representations and Reformulations," will be presented Monday, March 7, at 6 p.m., in Williams Center S-104 by Professor Shahnaz Khan of Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario. She is the author of Muslim Women: Crafting a North American Identity (University Press of Florida, 2000).
 
"Pandemic: The AIDS Crisis," will be presented Tuesday, March 8, by award-wining documentary filmmaker Rory Kennedy at 8 p.m. in King Concert Hall. Tickets are $5 to the public and $3 to SUNY Fredonia students. Youngest daughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy, Ms. Kennedy will talk about the AIDS crisis as well as her career as a filmmaker dedicated to turning her camera on some of the most pressing social concerns of our time--poverty, drug abuse, human rights, and mental illness.
 
"Seneca Spiritual Ceremonies," Wednesday, March 9, 7 p.m., in Williams Center S-104, a panel presentation by Andrea Cooke, a Seneca language and culture expert who teaches at the Seneca Nation Preschool; Agnes Williams, board vice president of the Indigenous Women’s Network who has worked as afamily counselor on her reservation and in the Indian Buffalo community; and Janine Huff, of the Seneca/Hawk Clan, past director of the Native American Professional Development Program at SUNY Fredonia.
 
A panel of local women whose lives revolve around their faith will present, "Women as Leaders in Christianity," on March 14, 7 p.m. in Williams Center S-104. Speakers are Margaret Gray, Rev. Cynthia Wickwire Lundquist, Kim D'Alonzo, and Karen Sampson.
 
Emory University Professor Wan-Li Ho, co-author of The Tao of Jesus, will present "Buddhist Women in Action: Two approaches to Eco-feminism," on March 16, 5:30 p.m., in Williams Center S-104. Her article, "Environmental Protection as Religious Action: The Case of Taiwanese Buddhist Women" was included in the book, Ecofeminism and Globalization (Ed. by Heather Eaton and Lois Ann Lorentzen. Philadelphia: Rowman and Littlefield, 2003).
 
"Women as Spiritual Knowers," is March 31, 6 p.m., Williams Center S-104, featuring Lilian Calles Barger, president of the Damaris Project, an organization that studies the relationship between women's history and social experience and the Christian account of history and meaning. Ms. Barger is the author of Eve's Revenge: Women and a Spirituality of the Body.
 
In cooperation with the Jewish Student Union, two speakers are schedule in early April. Cynthia Madansky, one of two filmmakers who produced the documentary, TREYF, (which means "unkosher" in Yiddish), will present the film on April 5 in Fenton Hall Room 153 at 7 p.m. TREYF is an unorthodox documentary by and about two Jewish lesbians who met and fell in love at a Passover "seder". On April 7, a co-chair of the Jewish Studies Program at Temple University, Laura Levitt, will present the talk, "Jewish Feminisms: Contemporary Versions, New Visions, and Directions" at 6 p.m. in Williams Center S104.
 
Rev. Donna Regal of the Lily Dale Spiritualist community will present "Church of Spirituality, The Role of Mediums in the Women's Movement," at 5:30 p.m. on April 8 in Café G in the Williams Center, followed by dinner. Admission is on a first-come, first-served basis, for $1 charged at the door.