Conference Schedule - University of Houston

Skip to main content

The National Women's Conference: Taking 1977 into the 21st Century

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Download Printable Conference Schedule >

Last updated November 4th

Monday, November 6: All Day Activities >

	8:30- 9:00a.m.	9:00- 10:30a.m.	10:45a.m.- 12:15p.m.	12:30- 1:45p.m.	2:00- 3:30p.m.	3:45- 5:00p.m.
Midtown Room 262 > Student Center South		Sisterhood Salon/Salón de Hermandad: Come immerse yourself in the sights, sounds, and conversation of 1977 in this space brought to you by IWY Official Photographer Diana Mara Henry and scholars Linda Garcia Merchant and Maria Cotera.
Evans Room, Special Collections > M.D. Anderson Library		Oral History Commons: Stop by and tell your story in a short, ten-minute Story Corps style interview. Let us know about your experience if you were there in 1977. If you were not there, busy with other things, too young, or not yet born, come tell us your story too. Reflect on this 40th Anniversary moment in whatever way that moves you. Sign-up for a time at the registration desk. Drop-ins welcome too.
Third Space Gallery: > UH School of Art		Contemporary Art Exhibition: Featuring Prominent Houston Women Artists in Celebration of the 40th Anniversary.
Wilhelmina Grove (in-between School of Art & School of Music buildings) > UH School of Art		Go Forth from Houston: Women in the Arts Take Action: Celebrate Houston’s diverse arts scene through the women who "go forth from Houston" by continuing the legacy of the 1977 National Women’s Conference. Within the newly minted Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts district, two days of arts programming and exhibitions culminate with a reception and send off Tuesday evening. Learn more

Monday, November 6: Daytime Panels, Afternoon Plenary, and Evening Events >

	8:30- 9:00a.m.	9:00- 10:30a.m.	10:45a.m.- 12:15p.m.	12:30- 1:45p.m.	2:00- 3:30p.m.	*3:30- 5:00p.m.	5:00- 6:00p.m.	6:00- 8:00p.m.
Ballroom East and West, Room 210 > Student Center South				KEYNOTE LUNCHEON: Marjorie Spruill, University of South Carolina will talk about her book Divided We Stand: The Battle Over Women’s Rights and Family Values That Polarized American Politics (2017). Moderator: Lora Wildenthal, Rice University Register
Rockwell Pavilion > M.D. Anderson Library	Welcome	“Mixed Outcomes of the 1977 IWY Conference” Mary Jean Collins, Illinois Delegate, former NOW Action Vice President Jo Freeman, New York Delegate, Independent Scholar Noreen Connell, New York Delegate, former NOW NE Regional Director Frances “Poppy” Northcutt, Special Conference Consultant to the IWY Secretariat Moderator: Nancy Sims, University of Houston	“The Historical is Political: What Activists Today Can Learn from the IWY” Nicole Eaton, Simmons College, “'Moving History Forward': The Feminist Usable Past in the 1977 IWY Conference and the 2016 Election” Stacie Taranto, Ramapo College of New Jersey, “The Politics of Dissent: Feminists v. Anti-Feminists at the IWY State Meeting in New York” Natasha Zaretsky, Southern Illinois University, “Social Reproduction, Neoliberal Crisis, and the Paradox of 1970s Feminism” Chair/commentator: Catherine Rymph, University of Missouri Moderator: Catherine Rymph, University of Missouri		“Capturing Houston: Photographers, Journalists, and History-Making on Deadline” Janice Blue, Editor of the Daily Breakthrough Diana Mara Henry, Official IWY Photographer Lucy Komisar, Investigative Journalist Melba Tolliver, Journalist and Television Anchor Moderator and Participant: Clara McLaughlin, Publisher of the Georgia Star and Florida Star	3:30-4:30 p.m. Afternoon Plenary: Shelah Leader and Patricia Hyatt, former staff of the National Commission on the Observance of International Women’s Year, discuss their book, American Women on the Move (2017). Moderator: Sarah Fishman, University of Houston	McGovern Reception: Featuring images by Joan Roth, photographer and multi-media artist. Register
Bayou City Room 219 > Student Center South		“Women's Political Leadership and the Persistent Political Glass Ceiling” Judy Wu, University of California, Irvine, “What Women Want': Patsy Takemoto Mink and Global/National Feminism” Nancy Elizabeth Baker, Sam Houston State University, “Phyllis Schlafly and Babette Francis: The Establishment of a 1970s Transnational Anti-Feminist Movement” Angie Maxwell, University of Arkansas, “The Impact of Modern Sexism on the 2016 Presidential Election” Moderator: Monica Perales, University of Houston	“Catching the Waves: Generational Stories of Women's Movements.” Morna J. Gerrard, Georgia State University, “'Shoulder to Shoulder Into the Fray!' The Activist Archivist Documents Contemporary Women's Protest in Georgia” Ellen G. Rafshoon, Georgia Gwinnett College, “Why Women Protest: An Initial Look at the New Progressive Movement in Georgia” Robin Morris, Agnes Scott College, “Run Away: Southern Women in Electoral Politics” Moderator: Linda Reed, University of Houston		“Image and Activism: Exploring Representational and Body Politics in the 1970s and Today” Joan Jacobs Brumberg, Cornell University, “The Body is a Message Board” M. Alison Kibler, Franklin and Marshall College, “Media Rights: Feminist Television Reform and the Fairness Doctrine in the 1970s” Amelie Ribieras, Universite Sorbonne Nouvelle, “Phyllis Schlafly and the Battle of Houston: Representing Women in the 1970s: Which Voice for What Image?” Helena Shaskevich, Graduate Center, CUNY, “Body Feedback: Feminist Art and Women's Health Activism” Moderator: Jen Wingard, University of Houston
Space City Room 214 > Student Center South		“The Promise of Reproductive Rights in Retrospect: From the IWY National Women's Conference to the Present” Seema Mohapatra, Barry University Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law Dara Purvis, Penn State Law Yvonne Lindgren, University of San Francisco School of Law Renee Knake, University of Houston Law Center Moderator: Maya Manian, University of San Francisco School of Law	“Shifting Spaces, Challenging Practices: Gender Roles, Sexuality, and Labor in the 1970s” Leslie Paris, University of British Columbia, “Wearing the Pants: American Girls and Second-Wave Feminism” Marsha Barrett, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, “Welfare Warfare in 1970s New York” Robyn L. Rosen, Marist College, “Men's Liberation in the 1970s: A Contested Label in a Contentious Decade” Sara Bijani, Michigan State University, “The Center of the Feminist World: Houston and a National Movement for Sexual Justice” Moderator: Dina Al-Sowayel, University of Houston		“Las Muxeritas and Revolutionary Acts of Recovering” Rosie Bermudez, University of California, Santa Barbara, “La Causa de Los Pobres: Alicia Escalante's Lived Experience of Poverty and the Struggle for Economic Justice” Linda Garcia Merchant, University of Nebraska, “Chicana Diasporic: The Nomadic Journey of the Activist Exiled” Tiffany Jasmin Gonzalez, Texas A&M University, “We Were Here: Chicanas/Latinas, Texas Women's Political Caucus, and Reshaping American Politics” Samantha Rodriguez, University of Houston, “Mujeres Por La Raza, Community Feminisms, and the 1977 IWY” Moderator: Maria Cotera, University of Michigan	3:45-4:30 p.m. Open Conversation Space: Please use this time and space to meet with colleagues, friends, and new acquaintances to discuss issues and concerns of mutual interest. Alternatively, we will have available in the room conversation starters pertaining to the 26 planks deliberated at the National Women’s Conference forty years ago. These rooms are large, allowing for multiple conversations to develop in clusters at once.
Writing Center 238 > Classroom and Business Building		“On Tape and Online: Sharing and Preserving the Voices of the 1977 National Women's Conference” Jillian Hinderliter and Andrea L'Hommedieu, University of South Carolina	Open Conversation Space: For all who were in Houston in 1977, this space is set aside for meeting up and rekindling old ties.		“An Invisible Minority: Asian American and Pacific Islander Women at the 1977 National Women's Conference” Sophaline Chuong, University of California, Irvine, “AAPI Women and Activism” Malire Lozada, University of California, Santa Barbara, “Tin Myaing Thein and Asian Pacific Islander Women on the Move” Maribel Comparan, University of California, Irvine, “Age and Activism among AAPI Attendees at the 1977 National Women's Conference” Justine Trinh, University of California, Irvine, “The Educational and Class Status of AAPI Attendees at the 1977 National Women's Conference” Pauline Nguyen, University of California, Irvine, “Law and Activism for AAPI Women” Moderator: Judy Tzu-Chun Wu, University of California, Irvine	3:45-5:00 p.m. Open Conversation Space: Please use this time and space to meet with colleagues, friends, and new acquaintances to discuss issues and concerns of mutual interest. Alternatively, we will have available in the room conversation starters pertaining to the 26 planks deliberated at the National Women’s Conference forty years ago. These rooms are large, allowing for multiple conversations to develop in clusters at once.
Special Collections > M.D. Anderson Library						3:30-4:00 p.m. Take a Tour of the Carey C. Shuart Archives: Learn about all the fabulous holdings pertaining to women’s history in our Special Collections Department.
Cullen Performance Hall								MCGOVERN LECTURE: Martha Cotera, “Pasionarias of 1977: Latinas, Liberation, and Remaking Feminist Citizenship” Roundtable Discussion: author and activist-librarian Martha Cotera joins Ms. founder and author Gloria Steinem, Rutgers University Professor Charlotte Bunch, and journalist and news anchor Melba Tolliver to discuss the National Women’s Conference then and now. Moderator: Leandra Zarnow, University of Houston Register View Map

Tuesday, November 7: All Day Activities >

	*9:00- 10:30a.m.	10:45a.m.- 12:15p.m.	12:30- 1:45p.m.	2:00- 3:30p.m.	3:45- 5:00p.m.
Evans Room, Special Collections > M.D. Anderson Library	Oral History Commons: Stop by and tell your story in a short, ten-minute Story Corps style interview. Let us know about your experience if you were there in 1977. If you were not there, busy with other things, too young, or not yet born, come tell us your story too. Reflect on this 40th Anniversary moment in whatever way that moves you. Sign-up for a time at the registration desk. Drop-ins welcome too.
Room 106-R > M.D. Anderson Library	Wikipedia edit-a-thon: Raise the representation of women and feminist topics on Wikipedia by editing and writing high-quality wiki articles. Computers and Wikipedia training will be provided. No prior experience required. Stop by anytime, stay as long as you want.
Third Space Gallery: > UH School of Art	Contemporary Art Exhibition: Featuring Prominent Houston Women Artists in Celebration of the 40th Anniversary.
Café Lounge > Blaffer Art Museum	10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Looking Back at Contemporary Issues: Works on Paper by Women: Browse a specially curated art library and retrospective exhibit of the show on display in 1977.
Wilhelmina Grove (in-between School of Art & School of Music buildings) > UH School of Art	Go Forth from Houston: Women in the Arts Take Action: Celebrate Houston’s diverse arts scene through the women who "go forth from Houston" by continuing the legacy of the 1977 National Women’s Conference. Within the newly minted Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts district, two days of arts programming and exhibitions culminate with a reception and send off Tuesday evening. Learn more

Tuesday, November 7: Daytime Panels, Afternoon Plenary, and Evening Events >

	9:00- 10:30a.m.	10:45a.m.- 12:15p.m.	12:30- 1:45p.m.	2:00- 3:30p.m.	*3:30- 5:30p.m.	5:30- 6:30p.m.	6:30- 8:00p.m.	7:00- 10:00p.m.
Rockwell Pavilion > M.D. Anderson Library	"Lesbian Organizing for IWY, 1977" Christine Pattee, Iowa Delegate Barbara “Boo” Price, IWY Cultural Events Producer Margie Adam, Musician, Composer of “We Shall Go Forth” Charlotte Bunch, Washington, D.C. IWY Delegate and Co-Organizer of IWY National Lesbian Caucus	“‘It’s Our Movement Now’: Black Women’s Politics and the 1977 National Women’s Conference” Janine Fondon, Bay Path University, “Inclusive Feminism: Are We There Yet?” Marcia Walker-McWilliams, Rice University, “‘To Do What Is Necessary’: Addie Wyatt, the Women’s Movement and the Quest for Solidarity” Sarah B. Rowley, DePauw University, “‘You Have to Takes Advantage of Every Chance You Get’: Yvonne Brathwaite Burke and the Politics of Representation” Amira Rose Davis, Pennsylvania State University, “Torchbearer: Michelle Cearcy and the Racial Politics of Visibility and Symbol at the 1977 National Women’s Conference” Moderator: Laura L. Lovett, University of Massachusetts-Amherst		“What Began in Houston: A Conversation about Legacy and Influence” Loretta Ross, SisterSong, Hampshire College Janice A. Farringer, Army JAG Captain, 1977-1980 Phyllis Frye, First “out” Transgender Judge in Nation Robin Paoli, Serial entrepreneur and Founder, Houston Women March Moderator: Jessica Waggoner, University of Houston	3:45-5:30 p.m. Afternoon Plenary: Screening of award-winning film, SISTERS OF ’77 with filmmakers Cynthia Salzman Mondell and Allen Mondell of Media Projects, Inc.—Q&A to follow. Moderator: Sandy Frieden, University of Houston	Reception and Debut of Student Curated Exhibit, “The Spirit of Houston: A Retrospective 40 Years in the Making Register
Bayou City Room 219 > Student Center South	“Feminism and Conservatism: Points of Convergence and Divergence” Charles McCaslin, Texas Christian University, “The First Mass Demonstration of the Sexual Counterrevolution: Lottie Beth Hobbs and the Houston Pro-Family Rally” April Young Bennett, Health Advocate and Mormon Activist, “Mormon Feminism in 1977 and Today” Carole Stanford Bucy, Volunteer State Community College, “From Blue to Red: How Women’s Rights Became a Catalyst for Political Realignment in Tennessee” Kacey Calahane, University of California, Irvine, “Engineering the New Right: How Phyllis Schlafly Built the Conservative Movement” Moderator: Mark Goldberg, University of Houston	“South Asian Feminist Social Justice Praxis in Houston” Gayatri Joshi, University of Houston Praveena Lakshmanan, Michigan State University Saneea Sakhyani, University of Houston Chair/Moderator: Rachel Afi Quinn, University of Houston		“Houston-Based Feminist Poetics” Erika Jo Brown, University of Houston Ching-In Chen, Sam Houston State University Jasminne Mendez, Pacific Lutheran University Leslie Contreras Schawartz, Houston-based Poet and Novelist Deborah “D.E.E.P” Mouton, Poet Laureate of Houston
Space City Room 214 > Student Center South	“Women, Welfare and Poverty: Back to the Grassroots” Pat Albright, Every Mother is a Working Mother Network Reverend Annie Chambers, Past President Baltimore Welfare Rights Union Pat Gowens, Co-Founder and Director of Welfare Warriors, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Marian Kramer, Co-Founder of the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization Margaret Prescod, New York Delegate, Global Women’s Strike Moderator: Phoebe Jones, Global Women’s Strike	“Women’s Health Rights and Sexual Freedom in the Archives, Memory, and Practice” Mara Kelly, LX Social Movements Archives, “Consent, Exposure, and Agency: The Ethics of Digitizing an Archive of Rape and Other Social Movement Trauma, 1967-2017” Cory Ellen Gatrall, Registered Nurse, “Where the Rubber Meets the Road: Clinical Practice as the Locus for Social Change in Reproductive Health Care” Barbara Sicherman, Emerita, Trinity College, “Déjà Vu: How Contraception Became Controversial—Again” Faye E. Dudden, Emerita, Colgate University, “Feminists and Abortion Laws: Historical ‘Lessons’” Moderator: Lisa Cruces, University of Houston		“Intersectionality: Perspectives on the Women’s March, Community Research, and Ally Action” Aida Hurtado, University of California, Santa Barbara, “Marching Together: Of Many, One Wall of Resistance” Desdamona Rios, University of Houston-Clear Lake, “Using Intersectionality to Transform Models of Education for ‘At-Risk’ Latinx Students” Kim Case, University of Houston-Clear Lake, “Doing the Work: Applying Intersectionality to Ally Action” Moderator: Maria Gonzalez, University of Houston	3:45-4:30 p.m. Open Conversation Space: Please use this time and space to meet with colleagues, friends, and new acquaintances to discuss issues and concerns of mutual interest. Alternatively, we will have available in the room conversation starters pertaining to the 26 planks deliberated at the National Women’s Conference forty years ago. These rooms are large, allowing for multiple conversations to develop in clusters at once.
Skyline Room 223 > Student Center South	“Art, Activism and Artists 1977-2017 Part One: At the 1977 Conference” Susan Schwalb, independent artist, NY delegate (the only official delegate who was an artist) Ferris Olin, Distinguished Professor Emerita, Rutgers University Linda Cunningham, Arthur and Katherine Shadek Professor of Humanities, emerita Franklin and Marshall College Moderator: Judith Brodsky, Professor Emerita, Rutgers University	“Art, Activism and Artists 1977-2017 Part Two: Changes and Challenges” MaryRoss Taylor, Retired director, Lawndale Art Center Roberta Harris, Houston artist Lynn Randolph, Houston artist Carrie Schneider, Houston artist		“Re-Thinking Women’s Conferences and their Reproductive Justice Legacies” Claudia Roesch, University of Munster, “Transnational Family Planning? German-American Cooperation at International Conferences from 1948 until 1989” Jennifer Donnally, Knox College, “‘This Is War!’: The Untold Story of the Hyde Amendment, the IWY and Why the Anti-Abortion Movement Declared a War on Feminism” Moderator: Karissa Haugeberg, Tulane University
Writing Center 238 > Classroom and Business Building				Crunk Feminism: Digital Activism for the Real World Eesha Pandit, Writer and Co-Founder of Center for Advancing Innovative Policy leads conversation about digital activism.	3:45-5:00 p.m. Open Conversation Space: Please use this time and space to meet with colleagues, friends, and new acquaintances to discuss issues and concerns of mutual interest. Alternatively, we will have available in the room conversation starters pertaining to the 26 planks deliberated at the National Women’s Conference forty years ago. These rooms are large, allowing for multiple conversations to develop in clusters at once.
Waldorf-Astoria Ballroom, North Wing, Second Floor, Hilton College/Hilton Hotel			Living Archives: Houstonians Host the National Women’s Conference: Nikki Van Hightower, Houston Women’s Advocate 1976-1978 Yolanda Alvarado, filmmaker & activist Hon. Annise Parker, Mayor of Houston 2010-201 Moderator: Elizabeth Gregory, University of Houston Register
Special Collections > M.D. Anderson Library					3:30-4:00 p.m. Take a Tour of the Carey C. Shuart Archives: Learn about all the fabulous holdings pertaining to women’s history in our Special Collections Department.
Krost Hall > UH Law Center							ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION: Women, Politics, and Law with Sissy Farenthold and Sarah Weddington Moderator: Nancy Beck Young, University of Houston Register
The Grove, The Arts District Courtyard, UH School of Art								Closing Celebration: “Go Forth from Houston:” Houston Women in the Arts Take Action: Dance and art performances, art cars, a community engagement salon, and a live public performance by the female-fronted art band, the Mydolls.