Lecture Series: Women's Lives Series;, 1987-1999

Special Events at CSB on Women: Women's Lives Series Lectures The CSB Women's Lives Series, "Exploring Feminisms: Re-imagining Our Lives," established in 1995, offers speakers and other events illuminating the strengths and unique perspectives of women, as well s the social obstacles they face. The Women's Lives program was funded in 1999 by a 3-year Bush Foundation grant "Extending the Classroom Wall" grant and aims to give women the opportunity to integrate their spiritual, psychological, physical, emotional and intellectual selves and use the resulting self-understanding as a basis for taking action in the world. The Women's Lives program has its roots in the CSB Women's Week begun in 1975 to give students and faculty an opportunity to explore the effects of remarkable mid-20th century cultural changes on many facets of women's lives, including careers, spirituality, marriage and family, according to Nancy Hynes OSB, professor of English and coordinator of the current Women's Lives series. Over the years, attention to gender issues took various forms, with a joint CSB/SJU symposium in 1987, "Gender and Curriculum: Theory and Practice," the culmination of a 3-year project supported by the Fund for Improvement of Post-Secondary Education. The grant enabled CSB/SJU faculty to incorporate Gender and Women's Studies minor which was established in 1994 which offered men's studies within that context.. In 2006, the Gender and Women's Studies was approved as a major by the CSB and SJU Boards of Trustees.