Julia Alvarez speaks Dec. 1 on research for
her novel, 'In the Time of the Butterflies'
MIDDLEBURY, Vt.—"Chasing the Butterflies," a presentation on Thursday, Dec. 1, at 4:30 p.m. by Middlebury College writer in residence Julia Alvarez, is the first on-campus activity in this year's worldwide observance of "16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence."
Alvarez's presentation will include a slide show about the research for her novel, "In the Time of the Butterflies." The novel traces the lives of the Mirabal sisters, who, in 1960, were murdered for their part in an underground plot to overthrow the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. On Dec. 17, 1999, the United Nations General Assembly designated Nov. 25 (the anniversary of the day of the murder of the Mirabal sisters) as the annual date for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women" in commemoration of the sisters.
The event, sponsored by Chellis House and the Women's and Gender Studies Program, takes place in the Warner Hemicycle lecture hall on the Middlebury College campus, and is free and open to the public.
Each year, the "16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence" run from Nov. 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and Dec. 10, International Human Rights Day. For more see the web site of the Center for Women's Global Leadership.