A half-day symposium at UVM will examine how women's hockey is literally and figuratively changing the face of the game in North America. As women's hockey has risen to prominence in Canada and the U.S., it has become increasingly difficult to think of the word "hockey" without imagining it to be a sport played by both men and women.

"The Face of the Game," to take place Thursday, April 12 from 8:30 a.m. to noon in Memorial Lounge, Waterman Building, will use a roundtable format to foster conversation about the role women's hockey (and sport in general) plays in North American culture, particularly in how we understand and construct gender within sport. The first roundtable, comprising both academics and some of Canada’s finest hockey writers, will examine the role of women's hockey in literature and popular culture. The second will bring together Canadian and American academics from the social sciences to examine the past, present, and future of women's hockey in North America.

Speakers include:
•    Cara Hedley, author of 20 Miles, a widely read and studied novel on women's hockey and doctoral student at the University of Calgary.
•    Richard Harrison, author of Hero of the Play, a best-selling collection of poems about hockey; co-editor of Now Is the Season, a collection of essays on hockey; and associate professor of English, Mount Royal University, Calgary.
•    Angie Abdou, author of the bestselling sports novel The Bone Cage and an instructor of sports literature at College of the Rockies, Cranbrook, B.C.
•    Paul Martin, expert on hockey in Canadian literature and former Canadian Studies director at UVM. Faculty Development Program, MacEwan University, Edmonton.
•    Andy Holman, editor of Canada's Game: Hockey and Identity and professor of history, Bridgewater State University.
•    Jeff Gerson, author of a new study on women coaches in NCAA and Canadian University hockey and associate professor of political science, University of Massachusetts Lowell.
•    Meg Hewings, general manager of the Stars de Montréal Women's Hockey Team, journalist, and graduate student at McGill University.

With participation from:
•    David Massell, associate professor of history, director of Canadian Studies and interim associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, UVM
•    Pablo Bose, assistant professor of geography, UVM

The symposium, free and open to the public, is sponsored by the UVM Canadian Studies, Global & Regional Studies, and Women’s and Gender Studies Programs, UVM Global Village, and the Government of Canada.

Information: 656-1096.