Hesston College’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Week Jan. 14 to 18 will explore gender issues with the theme “Engendering Diversity: Gender Around the World and on the Hesston College campus.” Dr. Akiiki Daisy Kabagarama, author and local college professor, will be featured for a keynote presentation Jan. 14. All events are free and open to the public.

Dr. King’s early career focused on African-American civil rights. As the women’s movement of the 1960s gained momentum alongside Dr. King’s work and the Civil Rights Movement with similar messages of equality, respect and understanding, King’s work expanded into a concern for universal human rights.

The week’s events at Hesston will consider gender as a space for discussion, learning and inclusion on the Hesston College campus and around the world, especially as they relate to justice in light of King’s life and teaching.

Dr. Kabagarama will introduce the theme with “Martin Luther King Jr. and Gender” at the campus’ 11 a.m. chapel service Monday, Jan. 14, at Hesston Mennonite Church. Dr. Kabagarama will explore what it means to be masculine and feminine in her home country of Uganda compared to those roles in the United States.

Dr. Kabagarama teaches psychology and sociology at Butler Community College (El Dorado, Kan.), ethnic studies with an emphasis on diversity at Wichita (Kan.) State University and philosophy at Friends University (Wichita, Kan.) and Newman University (Wichita, Kan.). She has also authored eight books on promoting peace and cultural understanding and is a minister, poet and storyteller.

Hesston College biology instructor Dr. Hugo Boschmann and environmental biology instructor Lorna Harder will explore the biological impact on gender in “Of Environment and Men: What in the World is Happening to Males?” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 15, in Kropf Center 150. The presentation is based on studies from around the world that assert that, in general, women are ascending in terms of social status and a sense of well-being while men are declining in these areas. The session will include discussion on the implications of Dr. King’s concern for human well-being in terms of a growing number of young adult males who struggle in areas from academic prowess to career possibilities.

Education instructor Marissa King will lead a panel discussion on gender roles during an 11 a.m. chapel service Wednesday, Jan. 16, at Hesston Mennonite Church.

A point-counterpoint discussion and presentation on “The Demise of Guys and the Rise of Women” with art instructor Lois Misegadis and former sociology instructor Dwight Roth will be at 7 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 17 in the Friesen Center for Visual Arts 125. It will focus specifically on the struggles facing young African-American men in the United States.

DawnEna Wiebe, manager of the Newton, Kan., Ten Thousand Villages store will present “How Women Around the World Benefit from Ten Thousand Villages,” a focus on the company’s work with fair trade products, during an 11 a.m. chapel forum Friday, Jan. 18 at Hesston Mennonite Church.

The Ten Thousand Villages store will also be set up in the Smith Center lobby outside of the Mary Miller Library from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 17 and 18 selling fair trade products. Fair trade provides under- and unemployed artisans around the world with an opportunity to earn vital income and improve their quality of life by establishing a sustainable market for their handcrafted products.

The Hesston College Campus Activities Board will host a coffee house and open mike for students, faculty and staff to share performance art pieces at 9 p.m., Friday, Jan. 18 in the Erb Hall Larks Nest.