Women convening for the conference will hear from dozens of speakers as they discuss
the conference's focus: "Intersectionality in the New Millennium: An Assessment of
Culture, Power, and Society." The three-day conference is sponsored by Winthrop's women's and gender studies program
of the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies.
ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA — More than 250 women will convene at Winthrop University
March 31-April 2 for the 40th Anniversary Southeastern Women's Studies Association (SEWSA) Conference.
They will hear from dozens of speakers as they discuss the conference's focus: "Intersectionality in the New Millennium: An Assessment of Culture, Power, and Society." Intersectionality is the study of the intersections of race, gender, class and sexuality
politics and their impact on public policy.
The three-day conference is sponsored by Winthrop's women's and gender studies program
of the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies.
"It is an honor to host the 40th Anniversary SEWSA Conference at Winthrop," said Jennifer Leigh Disney, professor and chair of the Department of Political Science and director of the women's and gender studies program. "Most universities selected
to host the conference have graduate degree programs in women's studies. Women's and
gender studies at Winthrop is an undergraduate minor. We are proud that we were selected
to host the conference so that we can bring 250 participants from around the country
and even the world to engage in intersectional conversations and see what we have
to offer here at Winthrop."
The keynote address will be given on March 31 by Ange-Marie Hancock, an author and
associate professor of political science and gender studies at the University of Southern
California. She will speak on her new book by Oxford University Press, "Intersectionality: An Intellectual History" (2016). As one of the primary scholarly authorities on intersectionality, Hancock
is widely quoted in the media, has served as an international expert in American politics
for the U.S. Department of State, and conducted the preliminary research and created
the original business model for the Women's National Basketball Association.
Another engaging speaker will be Rose Hamid of Charlotte, North Carolina, who will speak on April 1 on "Muslim Women's Rights in Intersectional Perspective." Hamid, president of Muslim Women of the Carolinas, became prominent for her January
protest at the Donald Trump rally at Winthrop Coliseum from which she was removed.
A third highlight will be an April 2 lunch session on "Indigenous Rights, Gender, and PostColoniality" featuring Catawba Nation Chief Bill Harris and women leaders from the local Catawba Nation and the Catawba Cultural Preservation
Project.
The three-day conference has received support from two community sponsors, the Rock Hill/York County Convention and Visitor's Bureau and the Arts Council of York County.
SEWSA is a feminist organization that actively supports and promotes all aspects of women's
studies at every level of involvement. It is a regional organization under the National
Women's Studies Association serving Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi,
North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
Winthrop University is a public institution dedicated to serving the state of South
Carolina and to promoting the free exchange of ideas and informed citizenship. Winthrop
University welcomes guest speakers, political candidates, elected officials, and others
from all ideological perspectives to visit campus and to present their ideas to the
Winthrop and Rock Hill communities.
Check out the schedule and program here. (pdf - 1.38 mb)
For information about the conference or registration, e-mail sewsa@winthrop.edu. For other information, contact Judy Longshaw, news and media services manager, at 803/323-2404 or longshawj@winthrop.edu.
