News release Public Information Office   SLU 10880   Hammond, LA 70402   phone: 985-549-2341   fax: 985-549-2061 publicinfo@selu.edu Spring 2004 news releases Public Information home News archive Contact: Christina Chapple Date: 3/17/05   Click on image for publication quality photo  WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH’S FINAL WEEK FEATURES LECTURES, MIDDLE EASTERN DANCE         HAMMOND -- The final events of Southeastern Louisiana University’s Women’s History Month celebration will include four faculty and guest lectures and a special evening performance showcasing Middle Eastern dance.       Sponsored by the Southeastern Women’s Coalition, the Women’s History Month events are free and are scheduled for Sims Memorial Library’s third floor.       Lecturers include Joe Delatte, whose topic is “Beyond the Planets: Negotiating Through Male-Female Differences.”  The Baton Rouge psychologist will speak at noon, Wednesday, March 23.        Faculty stepping to the library podium during Women’s History Month include English instructor Robin Norris, “Divergent Virgins, Revisionist Readings, and the Medieval Mind,” noon, Monday, March 21; English Department Head Jeanne Dubino, “College Life for Women in Kenya,” 12:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 22; and Communication Department Head Karen Fontenot, “Can We Talk? Women’s Style of Communication,” 12:30 p.m., Thursday, March 24.         At 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 23, Banaat al Qamar, a troupe from the Bayou Shimmy dance studio in Baton Rouge, will explain and demonstrate the art and history of Middle Eastern dance, commonly known as “belly dancing.”         The professional troupe, which has performed at venues such as Southeastern’s Fanfare arts festival and the joint conference of the Louisiana Classical Association and Louisiana Consortium of Medieval and Renaissance Scholars, bases its presentation on historical research and demanding training.        The mesmerizing dance is more than 2,000 years old and in its modern form combines the cultures of Egypt, Turkey, Persia, Lebanon, Armenia, Algeria and Tunisia to covey a message of celebration, expression, community and freedom.        For additional information about Women’s History Month, contact 985-549-2100 or cmcallister@selu.edu or visit www.selu.edu/whm05.