The Great Issues Forum will open at Utah State University with a look at women's and gender issues contrasted with cultural beliefs and traditions. Two speakers from the University of Utah will be featured.
The opening forum will be Friday, Oct. 28, at 12:30 p.m. in the Eccles Conference Center Room 303-305 on the USU campus. The event is free and the public is invited to join USU students and faculty.Title of the forum is "Skewed Vision: Feminism and Nationalism in Alice Walker." Speakers include Karen Engle and Ranjana Khanna. USU faculty member Veronica Ward coordinates the forum.
Starting point for the forum will be two recent books by author Alice Walker that deal with female genital mutilation in Africa.
This forum will look at feminism and nationalism and the clash of cultures, Ward said. Certain practices and customs are accepted in some societies but do these practices run contrary to human rights issues? This will be part of the forum discussion, Ward said.
Ranjana Khanna is assistant professor of English and women's studies at U of U. She specializes in feminist and postcolonial theory.
Karen Engle is associate professor of law at the U of U. She specializes in public international law and human rights, with an eye toward identity theory.
The Great Issues Forum at USU is sponsored by the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.