Date: October 27, 2009
Contact: Carol Connelly, Director, Media & Communication Services, ext. 5267, cconnelly@pnc.edu

PNC Presents Lecture by Virginia Vargas

Westville – Purdue University North Central College of Liberal Arts, the Multicultural Club and Department of Social Sciences will present a lecture by Virginia Vargas titled, "Resistance to Neoliberal Globalization: Locally, Hemispherically, Globally" on Nov. 5 from noon to 1:30 p.m. in Library-Student-Faculty Building Room 144. This is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

In 1969 Vargas co-founded Centro Flora Tristan, the largest women's non-governmental organization in Latin America . From 1981-1989, she served as the director of Flora Tristan and since then, she's served on the Board of Directors.

She is a visiting faculty member in the Women and Development Program, Institute of Social Studies , The Hague , The Netherlands, a position she has had since 1998. She is also a visiting professor of feminist studies at the University of Wisconsin at Madison . In the past, Vargas has worked as a visiting lecturer in a variety of university programs from Nicaragua and Ecuador to Madrid .

Vargas has an extensive background with organizations that have struggled for women's rights. Her activities include: In 2000, she was a member of the Organizing Team, Bellagio ( Italy ) Conference on International Women's Movements. From 2000-2002, she was a member of the Coordination Committee, Articulation Feminista Marcosur, Latin America . Since 2002, she has been a member of the International Committee of the World Social Forum, representing Articulation Feminsta Marcosur. In 2005, she served as a Representative of Civil Society, at the United Nations General Assembly in New York .

She has published a number of articles on feminism and Latin America, and edited or co-edited volumes on Women's Movements and Public Policies in Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean and “How to Change the World Without Losing Ourselves: The Women's Movement in Peru and Latin America.”

Further information may be obtained by contacting Dr. Kim Scipes, assistant professor of Sociology, at 785-5200, ext. 5294 or kscipes@pnc.edu . Persons with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact Scipes.

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