Transnational Feminist Studies Project

Militarism and Gender Cluster
March 3 through 5, 2009

Mills College and the Global Fund for Women are sponsoring the Transnational Feminist Studies Project to stimulate public interest and debates in feminist theory and practice related to militarism, peace, and security, politics and democratization, sexual politics and reproductive rights, and women’s movements internationally. Feminist activists, scholars and members of the Bay Area community will be invited to participate in public outreach programs, community discussion forums, and skill-building exchanges that will bring together activists from key women’s movements around the world.

The Transnational Feminist Studies Project will be launched during March 3rd through March 5th, with a focus on militarism and gender. International scholars, activists and film makers from Africa, Asia and the U.S. will address the challenges posed by the dominance of militarism in the world today through a series of roundtable discussions, panels, film screenings, and working meetings during which the visiting scholars and activists will dialogue on setting feminist agendas for scholarship and activism. The week will culminate in a public film screening of the award-winning film about the Liberian women’s struggle for peace, Pray the Devil Back to Hell, followed by a panel discussion with the film’s producer and key activists from Africa’s conflict zones.

Conveners:
Dr. Amina Mama, Barbara Lee Distinguished Chair in Women’s Leadership, Mills College

Co-Hosts:
• Dr. Janet L Holmgren, President, Mills College
• Ms. Kavita Ramdas, President and CEO, Global Fund for Women

Honorary Committee:
• Ms. Charlotte Bunch
• Professor Angela Y. Davis
• Congresswoman Barbara Lee
• Ms. Laurene Powell-Jobs

Public Events Program

Profiling Activism and Scholarship on Militarism
Yaliwe Clarke, Catherine Lutz, You Kyoung Ko, Funmi Olonisakin
Tuesday, March 3, 2009, 12:00-1:00
Faculty Staff Lounge
Brown Bag Lunch, Community Discussion with Participant Scholar Activist

Prominent feminist scholars and activists from Africa, South Korea and the U.S. will share the experiences that led them to lives committed to addressing militarism through academia and activism. Featured speakers include:

Yaliwe Clark
Lecturer African Gender Institute, University of Cape Town.

Catherine Lutz
Professor, Brown University

Funmi Olonisakin
Director of the Conflict, Security and Development Group at Kings College, London

You Kyoung Ko
Executive Director, National Campaign against Crime by US Troops, Seoul, Korea.

Fashioning Resistance: A Cultural Show
Performance art piece, presented by Mills students
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
6:30-7:00 pm
Lisser Hall

Mills students display their ingenuity and creativity in a fashion extravaganza that highlights the pervasiveness of militarism in popular styles and cultures.

Roundtable Discussion and Public Debate
Challenging Militarism: Transnational Feminist Activism and Scholarship
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
7:00–9:00 pm
Lisser Hall

This roundtable discussion and public debate features international activists and scholars from Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Korea, and the US in discussion with the Bay Area activists, philanthropic and scholarly communities.

See Challenging Militarism: Feminist Activism and Scholarship on FORA.tv.

Global Development and Human Security
Funmi Olonisakin
Director of the Conflict, Security and Development Group at Kings College, London
Accomplished international scholar and policy activist
Author of the book Global Development and Human Security

Researching and Documenting the Lives of Women during Armed Conflict
Ruth Ojiambo Ochieng
Executive Director of ISIS-WICCE
The Kampala-based international feminist network will discuss the use activist-research strategies to document and heal women in the war zones of Northern Uganda and Liberia

US Bases and Women’s Resistance
You Kyoung Ko
Anti-militarist activist
Executive Director, Seoul-based National Campaign against Crime by US Troops, discusses the situation in Korea and the faces of US presence in East Asia

The Global Import of US Militarism
Catherine Lutz
Professor, Brown University
Author of Homefront: A Military City and the American Twentieth Century, shares thoughts on the local and international dynamics of US militarism and the implications for democratization

Moderated by Dr. Margo Okazawa-Rey, Professor, Fielding Graduate University and one of the founding members of the International Network of Women Against Militarism

Oakland Film Screening Pray the Devil Back to Hell,
An award-winning documentary about the Liberian Women’s Peace Movement
Thursday, March 5, 2009
6:00 pm
Concert Hall

Pray the Devil Back to Hell chronicles the remarkable story of the courageous Liberian women who came together to end a bloody civil war and bring peace to their shattered country. Welcome and opening remarks by Mills College President Janet L. Holmgren, Ms. Kavita Ramdas of the Global Fund for Women and a representative from Congresswoman Barbara Lee's office.

Panel Discussion, 8:00-8:45 pm
A panel discussion with filmmakers and activists from the Africa region and moderated by Dr. Amina Mama will follow immediately after the film. Panelists include:

Abigail Disney
Producer, Pray the Devil Back to Hell
Global Fund for Women Board Member.

Yasmin Jusu-Sheriff
Human Rights Commissioner and Women’s rights activist from Freetown
National Executive Director of Global Fund Grantee—the Mano River Women’s Peace Network (MARWOPNET).

Rose Mensah Kutin
West African Regional Director ABANTU for Development, Accra, Ghana.

Public Reception
Hosted by President Janet L. Holmgren and Ms. Kavita Ramdas
9:00–10:00 pm, Art Museum

This is a public reception and a Transnational Feminist Studies Project kick-off event for all attendees to the film screening and panel discussion of Pray the Devil Back to Hell. Hosted and remarks by Mills College President Janet L. Holmgren; and Global Fund for Women President and CEO, Ms. Kavita Ramdas.

All events are free and open to the public. Please RSVP by noon, Wednesday, March 4th to mmorales@mills.edu.

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