Faculty and staff from departments across Troy University have collaborated to host “An Evening of Music and Poetry” on March 7 as well as a panel discussion on changing perceptions of beauty on March 8. Both events are free and open to the public. 

Building off last year’s successful event, Dr. Hui-Ting Yang, Interim Director of the School of Music, and Dr. Shari Hoppin, Associate Professor in the Hall School of Journalism and Communication, collaborated to bring together women faculty from the English, Art and Design, Theatre and Dance, History and Philosophy, Sorrell College of Business, World Languages and Cultures and International Programs departments, along with the HSJC and School of Music, to celebrate and educate in the spirit of International Women’s Day.

The Tuesday, March 7 event, “An Evening of Music and Poetry,” will be held at the International Arts Center. Refreshments will be served at 6:30 p.m. followed by performances at 7 p.m. Among other musical acts, women faculty members will recite poetry in their native languages ranging from English, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese and Polish.

“Because of the combination of music and poetry, this is a great opportunity for us to outreach to the community and to connect with them,” Yang said. “We really wanted to use this opportunity to promote our women composers, performers and artists. Music and arts, for me, has always been cooperative, and I think this event will really help to bring people together.”

Coinciding with International Women’s Day on March 8, the panel event, “A Discussion of Perceptions of Beauty,” begins at noon and will also be held at the IAC. This event features the screening of a documentary about the globalization of beauty followed by a panel and Q&A session with Dr. Priya Menon, English professor, Hoppin, Beverly Leach, Art and Design lecturer, and Brittany Dee Bodley, Theatre and Dance assistant professor.

“It’s a good discussion to learn about how our world is changing, how perceptions are changing. In advertising, traditionally women were shown confined to the home and concerned with cleanliness and appearances—their own and the appearance of their home—but we’re seeing that being challenged more,” Hoppin said. “It’s calling on people to examine changing perceptions of beauty and also how this ties in with mental health issues, which is a focus important to Hui-Ting with her work as a Chancellor’s Fellow.”

For more information, contact the School of Music at 334-670-3322 or the International Arts Center at 334-808-6412.

This project is supported by the Alabama Humanities Alliance, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent those of the Alabama Humanities Alliance or the National Endowment for the Humanities.