Womanhouse V4.0 celebrates the 40th anniversary of the CalArts' Feminist Art Program's project of the same name. We hope to re-envision this project and ask how issues of feminism, identity, the home, gender roles, politics, artistic production and geography affect us today. How do we get from here to there? ("There" being a collaborative installation-performance-house-takeover early 2012.) We talk. We read. We look. We create. We talk some more. Join the dialogue!
Friday, April 22, 2011
Summer Reading List
Now that summer is almost upon us, I'm soliciting suggestions for some good feminist reads...and will share some of my own, starting with Penelope Mortimer's The Pumpkin Eater (1962).
I'm about halfway into Mira Schor's A Decade of Negative Thinking and I love it so far, would recommend. I don't know if this is a feminist read, but Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson is one of my all time favorite books. I feel like it fits within this project somehow!
I'm going to rec a book that was suggested by a friend. I've only gotten through one essay, because it just came on Saturday, but I can already tell I'm going to love it.
Yes Means Yes!: Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape.
It's a collection of essays dealing with the rape culture in this country and the factors that perpetuate it. The first essay I read talked about victim blaming and the way society puts the responsibility of preventing rape on the individual woman, instead of expecting men to, you know, not rape.
I think this is a great idea. Always need good books.
I’m currently reading Sistah Vegan: Black Female Vegans Speak on Food, Identity, Health, and Society, which is a collection of writings by black-identified vegan women. What I love about the book is that the women come from all different ages and backgrounds—it’s not just a bunch of academic essays. I’m really enjoying it so far, and learning quite a bit about different perspectives on food+identity+personal activism. If you’re interested in food politics and feminism you should definitely check it out. Oh and here’s the website: http://sistahvegan.wordpress.com/
I also recently read & re-read Claire Bishop’s “Antagonism and Relational Aesthetics” (October Magazine, Fall 2004). It used to be available free online through the MIT press journals website but they recently took it down and I’m not sure why. Anyway, I think Bishop’s thoughts could really be critical to how we decide to structure the Womanhouse project(s). If anyone else has read this, I’d love to talk to you about it!
And just in case anyone is actually dying for things to read, here are my top favorites: Soil Not Oil, by Vandana Shiva Exile and Pride, by Eli Clare Borderlands, by Gloria Anzaldua Anything by bell hooks. The piece that is singlehandedly responsible for my journey into feminism is “Feminism: A Movement to End Sexist Oppression” from Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center.
"Women’s Review of Books provides a unique perspective on today’s literary landscape and features essays and in-depth reviews of new books by and about women."
This month's issue contains the following reviews, among others.
The Judicial Temperament In Defense of Women: Memoirs of an Unrepentant Advocate By Nancy Gertner
Women Win On and Off the Court Game, Set, Match: Billie Jean King and the Revolution in Women’s Sports By SusanWare
A Law Named After A Woman Pink Pirates: Contemporary Women Writers and Copyright By Caren Irr
Discovering a Meaningful Life The Other Dickens: A Life of Catherine Hogarth By Lillian Nayder
No "True Womanhood" For Her Harriet Hosmer: A Cultural Biography By Kate Culkin
Unruly Women Louisa May Alcott: A Personal Biography By Susan Cheever; Jane Addams: Spirit in Action By Louise W. Knight
I'm about halfway into Mira Schor's A Decade of Negative Thinking and I love it so far, would recommend. I don't know if this is a feminist read, but Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson is one of my all time favorite books. I feel like it fits within this project somehow!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to rec a book that was suggested by a friend. I've only gotten through one essay, because it just came on Saturday, but I can already tell I'm going to love it.
ReplyDeleteYes Means Yes!: Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape.
It's a collection of essays dealing with the rape culture in this country and the factors that perpetuate it. The first essay I read talked about victim blaming and the way society puts the responsibility of preventing rape on the individual woman, instead of expecting men to, you know, not rape.
Have you heard about the Toronto Slutwalk*, Caitlin?
ReplyDelete*Alison gets credit for sending me the story.
I saw that this morning, a friend posted it on facebook. :D
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great idea. Always need good books.
ReplyDeleteI’m currently reading Sistah Vegan: Black Female Vegans Speak on Food, Identity, Health, and Society, which is a collection of writings by black-identified vegan women. What I love about the book is that the women come from all different ages and backgrounds—it’s not just a bunch of academic essays. I’m really enjoying it so far, and learning quite a bit about different perspectives on food+identity+personal activism. If you’re interested in food politics and feminism you should definitely check it out.
Oh and here’s the website:
http://sistahvegan.wordpress.com/
I also recently read & re-read Claire Bishop’s “Antagonism and Relational Aesthetics” (October Magazine, Fall 2004). It used to be available free online through the MIT press journals website but they recently took it down and I’m not sure why. Anyway, I think Bishop’s thoughts could really be critical to how we decide to structure the Womanhouse project(s). If anyone else has read this, I’d love to talk to you about it!
And just in case anyone is actually dying for things to read, here are my top favorites:
Soil Not Oil, by Vandana Shiva
Exile and Pride, by Eli Clare
Borderlands, by Gloria Anzaldua
Anything by bell hooks. The piece that is singlehandedly responsible for my journey into feminism is “Feminism: A Movement to End Sexist Oppression” from Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center.
Anyone else way into eco-feminism? Food politics?
Caitlin, that book sounds good. I'd be really interested to hear what their proposed solutions are.
ReplyDeleteHave you read this one?
http://www.amazon.com/Female-Chauvinist-Pigs-Raunch-Culture/dp/0743284283/ref=pd_sim_b_4
Talks about sexual power in a different way, but definitely related. It's pretty good. Fast read.
There is a "Women's Review of Books" publication.
ReplyDelete"Women’s Review of Books provides a unique perspective on today’s literary landscape and features essays and in-depth reviews of new books by and about women."
This month's issue contains the following reviews, among others.
The Judicial Temperament
In Defense of Women: Memoirs of an Unrepentant Advocate
By Nancy Gertner
Women Win On and Off the Court
Game, Set, Match: Billie Jean King and the Revolution in Women’s Sports
By SusanWare
A Law Named After A Woman
Pink Pirates: Contemporary Women Writers and Copyright
By Caren Irr
Discovering a Meaningful Life
The Other Dickens: A Life of Catherine Hogarth
By Lillian Nayder
No "True Womanhood" For Her
Harriet Hosmer: A Cultural Biography
By Kate Culkin
Unruly Women
Louisa May Alcott: A Personal Biography
By Susan Cheever;
Jane Addams: Spirit in Action
By Louise W. Knight