Women’s History Month at the Center for Education
This article is one in a series of articles in March in honor of Women’s History Month.
The American Humanist Association’s (AHA) Center for Education provides educational opportunities for humanist and secular communities. Programs take an innovative approach to teaching humanism, fostering ethical leadership and growing community for the humanist movement. The Center for Education supports the AHA’s mission of disseminating humanist values and ideals while ensuring that both humanists and the broader public learn more about what humanism is.
In recognition of Women’s History Month, we’d like to point you to offerings that specifically relate to issues concerning women—some of which are online courses offered on our website for a fee and others are upcoming one-time events or webinars offered for free.
An important online course you can access for a fee is Sikivu Hutchinson’s Feminism and Humanism: Women of Color Beyond Faith. Based on Hutchinson’s book Moral Combat: Black Atheists, Gender Politics and the Value Wars, the course examines the fact that most secular literature does not capture the experiences of women of color. It looks at how black feminism arose from the struggle against systemic racism and gender politics. Other advanced courses include Humanist Parenting, Humanism and Race, and Humanism and/in Hip Hop, highlighting intersecting issues of parenting without belief, racial justice, and evolving dimensions of humanism among marginalized communities. To access any of these courses, and a host of other free and for-a-fee classes, just sign up at the Center for Education website.
If you prefer to stick to free seminars, there are plenty of special interest to women as well. Check out this Wednesday’s Speaking of Humanism seminar to hear licensed mental health counselor, author, and atheist activist Candace Gorham speak about Children and Mental Health: What Parents Should Know. On our website, you can also catch Taking a New Look at Gender Equality, led by David Rowell, the Education Director for Systemic Diversity Organization/The Systemic Diversity and Inclusion Group. Wait until April and you can tune in to Intro to Reproductive Justice and Intersectionality by Dr. Colleen McNicholas, an OB/GYN and specialist in family planning and abortion care, and Pamela Merritt, Executive Director of Medical Students for Choice.
While you’re checking out the options that may be of special interest to women, make sure to explore all the courses the Center for Education offers. They range from classes explaining the basics of humanism, to advanced courses for experts in our community, to topics of general interest like climate change.