Women’s History Month: Our History is Our Strength Student Showcase Contest

An Invitation to ALL USU Students:

The Center for Women and Gender will be celebrating Women’s History Month 2011 with the national theme “Our History is Our Strength” paying tribute to the millions of women who have taken action to help create a better world for the times in which they lived, as well as for future generations. We’d like to invite all USU students to participate in this significant celebration by creating and sharing a work by and/or about women that centers on this theme.

The accounts of women’s achievements are integral to the fabric of our history. Learning about women’s tenacity, courage, and creativity throughout the centuries is a tremendous source of strength. Until relatively recently, this sphere of women's history was overlooked and undervalued. Women’s achievements were often distorted, disdained, and denied. But the knowledge of women’s accounts will provide valuable inspiration and even essential role models for everyone. Role models are genuinely needed to face the extraordinary changes and unrelenting challenges of the 21st century.

Works will be judged by a panel from supporting groups of Women’s History Month at USU. There will be a cash award for the top seven submissions, one from each category. Additionally, where possible, all qualified submissions will be published as conference proceedings. Selected individuals will showcase their work during an award ceremony on April 5, 2011. You are invited to submit a work from any college or department of Utah State University to one of the following seven categories:
Category 1, Research: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math
Category 2, Research: Social Sciences, Education, and Business
Category 3, Research: Agriculture, Natural Resources
Category 4, Audio and Video Works
Category 5, Visual Arts
Category 6, Written Works
Category 7, Performance Arts

Examples of submissions include, but are not limited to:
Displays, designs, posters, artifacts, research summaries, monologues, choreography, short plays, music compositions, song lyrics, computer graphics, paintings, sculpture, pottery, collages, sketches, photos, costumes, articles, news broadcasts, radio narrations, poems, essays, short stories.

Submission guidelines:
1. Include the name(s), major, minor, and year in school of those responsible for creating the work.
2. The work must center on the theme as described above, “Our History is Our Strength” in regards to Women’s History Month. This means the work MUST be by a woman (women) and/or about women.
3. Submissions should focus on a personal level. This includes oneself, close friends, family, etc. Do not center works on iconic women from history, such as Amelia Earhart. The work should tell a story of the subject’s history and how those experiences strengthen the fabric of our collective history, and thus our future. Our shared history unites families, communities, and nations. Although women’s history is intertwined with the history shared with men, several factors - social, religious, economic, and biological - have worked to create a unique sphere of women's history.
4. Works should include a written explanation if it is not obvious in the work itself of whom the work centers and why their history is our strength. This should be typed and not exceed 350 words.
5. Works should adhere to the USU academic honesty policy. All works must be original.
6. Submissions are due by March 15, 2011, at 5 pm in the Center for Women and Gender, TSC 309, with all materials packaged in a labeled envelope including the category the submission falls under. For works that cannot be packaged, such as a piece of art, submit the work in the form of a video, photo, etc.
7. A person or group may not submit more than one work.
8. Submissions that do not meet these guidelines will not be considered.

Works will be judged on the following criteria:
1. Relevance to the theme “Our History is Our Strength”.
2. Ability to express the theme within the work.
3. Creativity and uniqueness.
4. Presentation quality.

Submissions are due March 15, 2011, at 5 pm in Center for Women and Gender, TSC 309.
Questions? Call Diane Stuart, 435-797-3703.