University Sponsors 10th Women's History Week

For the 10th year, Harvard will offer a series of lectures and activities marking Women's History Week.

The activities are aimed at defeating what organizers see as a bias towards the study of early American and European history in the Harvard community, said Caroline D. Alyea, a graduate student on the event's coordination committee.

To help accomplish this goal, organizers are offering an array of lectures by scholars from Harvard and other universities, including Princeton, Alyea said.

In addition to the lectures, the week will feature a round table discussion on women's history this Thursday and an ongoing exhibit on women in science.

Alyea said that the idea of the round table discussion has met with an "extremely enthusiastic response." She said the committee hopes to make the new activity a permanent part of the annual event.

The exhibit on women in science, also new this year, is currently showing at Cabot Science Library and will be on display until April.

Yesterday, Natalie Zemon Davis, a professor of history at Princeton University, addressed more than 100 members of the Harvard community on the autobiography of a 17th century Jewish merchant woman. The lecture focused primarily on the first part of Davis's upcoming book, Women on the Margin, in which she analyzes the lives of 17th century Jewish Catholic and Protestant women.

Other lecures this week will address historical gender issues in Russia, Egypt, Indonesia and Greenich Village, New York.

Women's History Week also featured a concert of women musicians Sunday evening and the film Rosa Luxemburg yesterday evening.

Julie R. Pavlon, an administrator in the Women's Studies Department, said she is pleased with this year's restivities so far.

She said this year's activities are "continuing a splendid tradition of bringing refreshing new gender work to Harvard college."

Alyea added that the student-run Coordination Committee seeks to include African history in future lectures and discussions.