Chicago Women Begin Planning for First Official "Jane Addams Day" Celebration: Chicago Branch AAUW & DePaul University Co-Sponsor Februa

Chicago, IL (PRWeb) December 28, 2006 -- HB 5243, the new legislation making December 10 "Jane Addams Day" in Illinois, takes effect on New Year's Day. To get ready for December 10, 2007, the momentous date that will mark the first official celebration of the first day commemorating a woman in the entire United States, Chicago women will start beating the drums in February.

The first planning session is scheduled for Saturday, February 10, 2007, at DePaul University's downtown campus. The co-sponsors of this program are AAUW Chicago (IL) Branch (http://www.aauw-il.org/chicago), the Chicago Branch of the American Association of University Women, and the Women's and Gender Studies Program at DePaul University (http://condor.depaul.edu/~wms).

The program will include a screening of "Dinner at Jane's," with introductory remarks by Mary Ann Johnson (who was the Director of Hull-House when the film was made). "Dinner at Jane's" is a documentary about a meeting held on September 30, 1993. In homage to the founders of Hull-House, who discussed agendas for change and visions of a better future at each evening's meal, fourteen world-renown international activists (including Hyung-Kyung Chung, Johnetta Cole, Myrna Cunningham, Nawal El Sadawi, Susan Faludi, Susan Grode, Anita Hill, Dolores Huerta, Devaki Jain, Wilma Mankiller, and Gloria Steinem) were invited to actively envision the future within the context of a place rich with historical significance for women.

Mary Ann Johnson is one of the founders of the Chicago Area Women's History Council (a non-profit organization created in 1971 to support the research, writing, teaching and publication of women's history), and currently serves as CAWHC's President. She is the editor of "The Many Faces of Hull-House, the Photographs of Wallace Kirkland," published by University of Illinois Press in 1971. She also participated in the planning and development of the ten year project that led to the publication of "Women Building Chicago 1790 - 1990, A Biographical Dictionary," an award winning reference work containing the biographies of 423 women from Chicago history.

When "Dinner at Jane's" was filmed in 1993, Mary Ann was the director of the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum at the University of Illinois, a national historic landmark dedicated to the life and work of Jane Addams, her settlement house associates and the neighborhood that they served. Currently, she is working on a project to document the second wave of the Women's Movement through oral history interviews and the collection of archival materials.

SCHEDULE: Saturday Morning, February 10, 2007

10:00 AM - Continental Breakfast & Networking
10:10 AM - Welcome
Lori Switzer, President, AAUW Chicago Branch, Inc.
Ann Russo, Director, Women's and Gender Studies, DePaul
10:20 AM - The Making of "Dinner at Jane's" (Mary Ann Johnson)
10:40 AM - "Dinner at Jane's"
11:30 AM - Let the Planning for 12/10/07 Begin! (Jan Lisa Huttner)
11:40 AM - Q&A/Open Discussion/Next Steps
12:00 PM - Adjourn

LOCATION: Chicago Loop

Room 8005 in the DePaul Center located at 1 East Jackson on the corner of Jackson and State in the Chicago Loop. (Take the elevators right next to the entrance to Barnes & Noble, in the middle of the building on the first floor. These elevators will take you up to the DePaul University Conference Center.)

MENU: Continental Breakfast

"Blue Demon Continental with Fruit" (Assorted Muffins, Bagels, Danish, Cream Cheese, Whipped Butter and Preserves, Seasonal Fresh Fruit Platter with Dip, Chilled Carafes of Orange and Apple Juice, Starbucks Coffee Regular and Decaffeinated, Hot Tea with Lemon)

COST: $12 per member/guest & $5 per student (with ID)

RSVP: Carol Morby

This program is open to all AAUW and CAWHC members, and all members of the DePaul University community. Interested members of the general public are also welcome. To make a reservation, please contact Carol Morby (Chicago Branch AAUW Program Vice President) by Monday, February 5, 2007.

Phone Number = (773) 267-1983

The American Association of University Women, with its nationwide network of more than 100,000 members, 1,300 branches, and 500 college and university partners, has been a leading advocate for equity and education for women and girls since 1881. AAUW proudly celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2006 ― a legacy of leadership. Follow link to visit the website and the online museum (http://www.aauw.org).

To learn more about "Jane Addams Day," including the role that members of AAUW-Illinois' Carbondale Branch played in the legislative effort, read the press release issued by AAUW-Illinois on December 10, 2006 (http://prweb.com/releases/2006/12/prweb489011.htm). You can also listen to a "Jane Addams Day" podcast recorded by Chicago Branch member Jan Lisa Huttner, Director of International Relations for AAUW-Illinois (http://www.prwebpodcast.com/releases/pod489011.htm).

For more information about AAUW, contact Jennifer Urish, Media/Communications Manager, AAUW-IL Inc., at (618) 282-3579.

The mission of the Women's and Gender Studies Program at DePaul is premised on the recognition that Women's Studies and Gender Studies are complementary interdisciplinary fields whose research, scholarship, and creative activities examine women's lives, conditions, and contributions within their historical, social, cultural, national, and transnational contexts and explore how gender is constructed and negotiated within and across societies. The Program's curriculum examines women's and men's identities and experiences through the constructs of gender, race, class, sexuality, age, ability, culture, religion, nation etc. within broader historical, social, and global contexts, such as colonialism and globalization, among others. By crossing the boundaries of traditional fields of study, the program seeks to create new, coherent understandings of human experiences.

For more information, contact Ann Russo, Ph.D., Associate Professor/Program Director, Women's and Gender Studies, DePaul University, at (773) 325-1774.

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