by Manijeh Daneshpour, Ph.D., associate professor and director of the Department of Marriage and Family Therapy, St. Cloud State University, Minnesota
While in the West the hijab has come to symbolize either forced silence or radical unconscionable militancy, I choose to wear it to represent myself as an example of modesty and as a sanctuary of female independence. This is based on my postmodern Muslim feminist praxis.
Plenary speaker Brian Smedley, PhD introduces the reality of health disparities between diverse populations in the U.S., beginning with infant mortality, to chronic diseases and disability throughout the life cycle, to the shortened life expectancies that disproportionally occur among communities of color or disadvantage.
