Holy Cross to Hold Conference on New Feminism

WORCESTER, Mass. – On Saturday, Oct. 25, beginning at 8:30 a.m., Holy Cross will hold a conference, titled "The Fourth Wave: What is the New Feminism?" in the Rehm Library.

Women's dignity, feminism, and women's rights, to name a few, have become very "hot topics" on the Holy Cross campus. The goal of the conference, "The Fourth Wave: What is the New Feminism?" is to focus on the new feminism that is emerging, while developing a sense of the future of feminism. The conference will address various issues facing women, including birth control, abortion and breast cancer.

For additional information on the conference, visit the conference Web site at college.holycross.edu/studentorgs/compass/fourth_wave.htm.

Schedule of Events:

8:30-9:15 a.m. – Registration/Breakfast/Introductions

9:15-10:30 a.m. – Lecture on Mulieris Dignitatem and modern feminism by Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, of Emory University.

10:30-11:45 a.m. – Lecture, titled "Contraception: A Woman's Friend or Foe?" by Janet Smith, of the University of Dallas. The lecture will be a philosophical approach to the effect contraception has had on women since its proliferation in the 1960s.

11:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. - Mass in St. Joseph Chapel

12:00-1:00 p.m. – Lunch in Crossroads Pub (Hogan Campus Center)

1:00-2:00 p.m. – Lecture, titled "The Right to Life Beyond Genetic Politics, Gender, and Race," by Dr. Mildred Jefferson, the first African-American woman graduate of Harvard Medical School. She will address the economic and class wars that have been waged against minorities since the inception of the Pill and abortion.

2:00-2:45 p.m. – Lecture, titled "A Call to Reason: The Breast Cancer Connection," by Dr. Angela Lanfranchi, of the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute. Her talk will focus on the link between abortion and breast cancer.

3:00-3:15 p.m. – Break

3:15-4:15 p.m. – Panel discussion, "What is the New Feminism?" Panelists include Pia de Solenni (Family Research Council, Catholic moral theologian), Maria Sciannameo (Worcester Public Schools, educator), and Katherine McElaney (College of the Holy Cross, chaplain).