October 30, 2020

Lecture series examines ‘Woman Power’

The fall talks at the UA touched upon the way women wield power in language, family life and their communities.

The Buzz

SBS lectures

NPR
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In October, the University of Arizona's College of Social and Behavioral Sciences held its annual lecture series. The theme was "Woman Power." This week, The Buzz featured excerpts of two of the five talks in the series.

SBS lecture lanehart VIEW LARGER University of Arizona linguistics professor Sonja Lanehart discussed the way African American women use language in her lecture for the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences 2020 lecture series.
Courtesy UA SBS

UA linguist Sonja Lanehart was one of the speakers. Her lecture examines ways African American women use language to "tell the truth and shame the devil."

Rather than being the “Black” version of white women’s speech or the “woman” version of Black men’s speech, Lanehart discussed how intersectionality informs the unique speech of African American women.

UA political scientist Lisa Sanchez also gave a lecture for the series.

Sanchez said that when looking at traditional forms of legitimacy, such as the kind granted through political representation in government, Latinas do not hold much power. There are few Latinas in political office, though candidates are increasing. However, through the important roles Latinas play in family life, Sanchez said they have the power to create social change.

sbs lecture sanchez University of Arizona political scientist Lisa Sanchez discussed the quiet power of Latinas during her lecture for the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences 2020 lecture series.
Courtesy UA SBS

Sanchez also discussed how the concept of race differs from ethnicity, and how the lines between these concepts have started to blur in the Latino community.

All of the lectures in the series are available to watch for free online.

The Buzz
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