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Tag Archives: Feminism
Professing Feminism
Daphne Patai and Noretta Koertge, authors of Professing Feminism: Cautionary Tales from the Strange World of Women’s Studies, offer an insider’s look at feminism in the academy.
Powerful Women
Jean O’Barr discusses her new book, Engaging Feminism: Students Speak Up & Speak Out.
Lynne Roller discusses mother goddesses in the ancient Mediterranean world.
Feminism Without Illusions
Elizabeth Fox-Genovese discusses her new book, Feminism Without Illusions (University of North Carolina Press). Bouthaina Shaaban discusses her new book, Both Right and Left Handed: Arab Women Talk About Their Lives (Indiana University Press).
Literature, Philosophy, and Feminism
According to Martha Vicinus and Alison Jagger, contemporary feminism addresses not only the methods and content of literary and philosophical inquiry, but also seeks a restructuring of literature and philosophy as primarily influenced by masculine interests and values.
Women’s Literary Studies Part 3
Mary Woolstonecraft, the 18th-century English feminist, wrote, I do not wish women to have power over men, but over themselves. Is Woolstonecraft’s aphorism consistent with feminism today? Does it reflect the aims of feminist writers and social critics in the 1980s?
Women’s Literary Studies Part 2
As a recent political development attests, feminism is measurable by various yardsticks, among them cultural and literary criticism. What are some of the implications of feminism for the production and study of literature, in both historical and contemporary terms? Keywords: George Eliot, Virginia Woolf, Jane Austen, Loisa May Alcott, feminist criticism
Feminism in America; Commentary on “Woman and the Demon”
What is the status of feminism in America? In historical terms, where are the origins of feminism in the United States? Tracing the women’s movement to England in the late 18th and early 19th-centuries, Professor Fox-Genovese discusses feminism and its impact on women, social classes, and politics in the mid-1980s.; Soundings on feminism concludes with a book review by a scholar who recently completed a fellowship at the National Humanities Center, Patricia Meyer Spacks (Professor of English, Yale University), who discusses Nina Auerbach’s recent book Woman and the Demon: the Life of a Victorian Myth (Harvard University Press).
Women, Nature, and Society
This recording opens by replaying Werner Dannhauser’s interview with Soundings on February 20, 1983 (“Back to Nature,” Episode #125), in which he commented on the women’s movement, feminism, and social values. Following [4:40] is a response to Dannhauser from Margreta De Grazia, Leila Ahmed, Patricia Spacks, and Martha Woodmansee, who describe Dannhauser’s stated views as “authoritarian and patriarchal.” They open their response by questioning Dannhauser’s choice of a “commentary” style when speaking to Soundings and explicitly state that their response will be in the form of a discussion. Next, they question the correctness of Dannhauser’s use of various terms and language (such as nature, feminism, and sex), and they define and clarify those terms in their own responses. They disagree with Dannhauser’s notion of a natural, historical, and cross-cultural sexual norm between men and women, as well as with his generalizations about feminists. The respondents also discuss the implications of, goals of, and inspiration for Dannhauser’s theories. The speakers debate further issues regarding feminism, women’s rights, communication, and sex.
At the time of this interview, Dannhauser was a Fellow at the National Humanities Center (1981-83) and professor of government at Cornell University. De Grazia was a Fellow at the National Humanities Center (1982-83) and professor of English at Georgetown University. Ahmed was a Fellow at the National Humanities Center (1982-83) and professor of English at the University of Massachusetts. Spacks was a Fellow at the National Humanities Center (1982-83) and professor of English at Yale University. Woodmansee was a Fellow at the National Humanities Center (1982-83) and professor of German and English at Northwestern University.
This edition of Soundings was conducted by Wayne J. Pond.
Feminism, East and West
Where do western notions about women in the Middle East and the Islamic world come from? Are these perceptions accurate? What is the status of feminism in the Middle East? Must women in the Middle East choose between cultural and sexual identities?
The State of the Language Part 4
The conversation focuses on some of the connections between language and social issues: Has feminism affected usage of American English? Does black English exist? Is language a device for racial, ethnic, or economic discrimination? How do linguists view these matters?
A Dilemma of Feminism
Mary Armfield Hill shares research from her biography of activist and social reformer Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935). Gilman experienced lifelong conflict between her career and her wish to be a good wife and homemaker. Hill traces Gilman’s life from adolescence, through her first marriage and subsequent motherhood and decision to divorce a loving husband in favor of her felt obligations toward social justice and writing. Hill speaks about Gilman’s ideas about social justice, her rejection of social Darwinism, and theories about women’s liberation. Gilman worked to uncover the reasons for women’s second-class status, both economic and social, and had complex views on motherhood, the role of a wife, and the education of women. Finally, Hill reflects on her work as a biographer, discussing the element of polemic in Gilman’s career, and speaks to how the work of Charlotte Perkins Gilman compares with Hill’s own feminist ideals.
At the time of this interview, Mary Armfield Hill was a National Humanities Center Fellow (1981-82) and professor of history at Bucknell University.
This edition of Soundings was conducted by Wayne J. Pond.
Observations from Overseas About American Culture Part 2
Muriel Bradbrook [NHC Fellow 1978-79, 198o-81], Alfred Hornung [NHC Fellow 1980-81], and Ralph Elliot [NHC Fellow 1980-81] discuss American culture, focusing on feminism and women’s rights movements, religion, education and literacy, and the humanities and humanism in the United States. The scholars conclude by discussing their views of America’s greatest strengths and weaknesses.
Posted in Episodes
Tagged Culture, Europe, Feminism, Humanities, Religion, United States
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Women, Education, and Feminism in 19th and 20th Century America
Anne Scott [NHC Fellow 1980-81] discusses feminism and women’s voluntary associations in 19th-century America, arguing that women’s actions and lives are too complicated to fit within strict categories of feminist and anti-feminist and should instead be regarded on a continuum. Scott writes about the spread of feminist values in the 19th century, using the first school for women’s higher education, founded by Emma Willard, as a lens to understand the implementation of education as a means to ensure parity of opportunity for women. She describes the contributions of women’s voluntary associations as “institution-building phenomena” whose effects resonate still. Scott concludes by explaining that studying the history of women’s movement truly matters by providing perspective for contemporary women activists.
Feminism and Literature
Annette Kolodny comments on the status of women in American social, academic, and economic life in the 1960s. She does so through the prism of her book, The Lay of the Land: Metaphor as Experience and History in American Life and Letters. Kolodny argues that by way of language and literature, feminism is shaping the national imagination and influencing perceptions of the national landscape, hopes, and expectations. She also offers an overview of American women writers in the early 1980s and the role of women’s studies in American universities.
At the time of this interview, Kolodny was professor of English at the University of New Hampshire.
This edition of Soundings was conducted by Wayne J. Pond.