The Department of History; Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; and the Knight Library present a screening of Singing for Justice, a film about Faith Petric, with co-director Estelle Freedman. Followed by a singalong!

Singing for Justice (2024) is the story of Petric (1915-2013), a political radical, musician, mother, worker and grandmother who united folk music and activism through almost a century of American social movements. Over her long and purposeful life, Petric inspired all to take responsibility for social change, women and elders to defy stereotypes, and everyone she met to sing along.  

Freedman is the Edgar E. Robinson Professor in US History (Emerit) at Stanford University and co-founder of Stanford’s Program in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She is the recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and the Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences, where she is currently a Stanford Faculty Fellow. Freedman’s ten books on the histories of women, feminism, and sexuality include two prize-winning studies of prison reform–Their Sisters' Keepers and Maternal Justice; the surveys No Turning Back: The History of Feminism and the Future of Women and (with John D'Emilio) Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America; and the multi-award winning Redefining Rape: Sexual Violence in the Era of Suffrage and Segregation. She is currently writing about narratives of sexual assault and harassment in 20th century women’s oral histories.

Free and open to the public.

The Dawn is Too Far shares the untold stories of eight Iranian Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area and shares the longer arc of history (beyond the 1979 revolution) that recounts events both in Iran and the US. The film features aspects of the Bay Area Iranian diaspora community and the way their lives and work were influenced by this region of California, but how they have contributed and helped shape it as well. The film offers a poetic and complex narrative that undermines the barrage of negative headlines that dominate our news media and features rare archival footage. 

Persis Karim is the former director of the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies at San Francisco State University where she also taught in the Department of Humanities and Comparative and World Literature. She is the editor of three anthologies of Iranian diaspora literature, and has published numerous articles about Iranian diaspora literature and culture for academic journals, as well as poetry and essays in non-academic publications. The Dawn is Too Far: Stories of Iranian-American Life is her first film and reflects her interest in documenting and sharing the larger history and personal stories of those who are part of the global Iranian diaspora.

Made possible by the Department of Anthropology, SSWANA, and the Department of Art’s Center for Art Research.

Please join the Department of History for the May pub lecture. Associate Professor Julie Weise will discuss "From Oregon to Qatar: A History of ‘Temporary’ Migrant Workers."

Free and open to everyone! Food and drink available for purchase.

The UO Department of History presents a series of talks with scholars about history, from the local to the global. Join us for stories, food, and conversation in a casual setting! 

Join the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies for a talk on “Feminist Futures in Pasifika: Student and Community-Led Pathways to Decolonization, Intersectional Racial Justice, and Healing” with Sarina Saturn, CHamoru and Indian scholar-activist.

This talk explores how Pasifika students, educators, and community leaders are building feminist futures through grassroots action, mutual aid, and healing-centered justice work. Drawing from transinstitutional and institutionless efforts, including the ADVANCE Journal: Individual and Institutional Transformation for Social Justice, QTPI Village, and Guma' Gela', the presentation highlights student- and community-led pathways to decolonization, reproductive justice, climate resilience, and collective care. Centering ancestral wisdom and intergenerational leadership, this presentation offers a vision of Pasifika futures rooted in liberation, relationality, and community healing.

Sarina Saturn, PhD (she/they), is a CHamoru and Indian scholar-activist, educator, psychologist, neuroscientist, former tenured professor, community scientist, and public scholar whose work bridges higher education, health equity, and social justice. She has taught across psychology, neuroscience, and health sciences while advancing inclusive learning environments grounded in trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and liberatory practice. Her scholarship and community work center decolonization, intersectional racial justice, collective healing, intergenerational leadership, and reverse and reciprocal mentorship, with longstanding engagement in BIPOC, 2SLGBTQIA+, and feminist communities