Labor, Women, and the New Deal's Legacies to Be Explored at MHC March 8 and 9

Barbara Ehrenreich, leading social commentator and essayist on issues of social justice, health policy, class, and gender, will discuss "Women in the Low-Wage Ghetto" Friday, March 9, at 2 pm. Her articles have appeared frequently in Time, The Nation, and Harper's, and she has a column in The Progressive. Her new book, Nickel and Dimed: Surviving in Low-Wage America, will appear in May.

Linda Gordon, professor of history at New York University and author of Pitied But Not Entitled: Single Mothers and the Origins of Welfare (1994) and The Great Arizona Orphan Abduction (1999), will deliver the keynote address of the Frances Perkins symposium Thursday, March 8. Gordon specializes in examining the historical roots of contemporary social policy debates, particularly as they concern gender and family issues.

The closing event of the Frances Perkins symposium will be a talk by Penny Colman, an award-winning, widely published author whose works include a biography of Frances Perkins. "The Sights and Sounds of Frances Perkins" is the subject of her 7:30 pm Saturday, March 9.

Alice Kessler-Harris, professor, department of history and the Institute for Research on Women and Gender, Columbia University, will give a talk titled "Women in the Workplace: Reshaping the Policy Agenda" Saturday, March 9, at 2:45 pm.

The symposium Frances Perkins and Her Legacies: Labor Women, and the Unfinished Business of the New Deal will celebrate the centenary of Frances Perkins's graduation from MHC (a year early, since she was a member of the class of 1902). Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Labor

The Harriet L. and Paul M. Weissman Center for Leadership, the Frances Perkins Program, and the Alumnae Association at Mount Holyoke College will present a symposium, Frances Perkins and Her Legacies: Labor Women, and the Unfinished Business of the New Deal, March 8 and 9. The event will celebrate the centenary of Frances Perkins's graduation from MHC (a year early, since she was a member of the class of 1902) by providing a forum for discussing the impact of Perkins and her legacies on current debates about welfare reform, health care, Social Security, and working women.

With her 1933 appointment by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as head of the Department of Labor, Perkins made history as the first woman member of a president's Cabinet. She is arguably one of the last century's most influential women leaders. Through the New Deal, Perkins played a major role in the transformation of the American landscape for working men and women. She was the principal architect of Social Security and was instrumental in the creation of the National Labor Relations Act, which became the legal and administrative basis for collective bargaining.

The symposium launches March 8 with a keynote evening lecture, titled “Madame Secretary: America's Minister for Workers, Women, and Children,” by Linda Gordon, professor of history at New York University. Following the 7:30 pm talk in Mary Woolley Hall's New York Room, a reception celebrating International Women's Day will be held at the Five College Women's Studies Research Center. The lecture is being sponsored by the class of 1958. Seating for the lecture is limited, and early arrival is recommended.

Friday's events (with the exception of meals) will all take place in Gamble Auditorium in the Art Building. Registration begins at 9 am, followed by MHC history professor Daniel Czitrom's 9:30 am talk, “Contesting Our Past: Mount Holyoke's Hidden History.” The morning will also include a panel discussion titled “The Unfinished Business of the New Deal,” featuring scholars Jennifer Klein, Jill Quadagno, and Gwendolyn Mink.

Afternoon sessions will include a talk by Barbara Ehrenreich titled “Women in the Low-Wage Ghetto.” Ehrenreich is a leading social commentator and essayist on issues of social justice, health policy, class, and gender. “Women in the Workplace: Reshaping the Policy Agenda” will be the subject of a lecture by historian Alice Kessler-Harris, and a roundtable will focus on the topic “Where Do We Go From Here?” After dinner, the program will conclude with “The Sights and Sounds of Frances Perkins,” a talk by Penny Colman, an award-winning writer whose works include a biography of Frances Perkins.

The symposium is open to the public, and current and previous Frances Perkins scholars are especially welcome. Call the Weissman Center at x3071 if you have questions. Visit http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/programs/wcl for details about these events.