The department of humanities held its annual ‘Feminists Reading Feminists’ gathering on Monday, Mar. 19, at the Peterson Library between 3:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. The gathering is an annual celebration of women and their voices in the fight for universal equality. The organizer, Dr. Patricia Sotirin, said, “this is the 9th annual Humanities homage to the feminist scholars and activists who have inspired us.”
Prior to the gathering, participants were asked to choose a passage from their favorite text or a favorite video clip to share. The selection was to take 5 minutes or less to read or view and either be prose, poetry, or media. This year’s readings spanned a long period of time. Dr. Laura Fiss and Dr. Andy Fiss read from “The Mathematikado” published in 1886, while Silke Feltz read from “Burger. Object Lessons” published in March 2018.
There were also readings from diverse authors. Tolulope Odebunmi read an excerpt from Florence Nwapa’s “Efuru” (1966), a work that is considered to be the first published literary work by a female Nigerian writer. Parijata Prabhakara read from the Indian-Canadian poet, writer, illustrator and performer Rupi Kaur. Elizabeth Flynn, Professor Emerita of reading and composition read Malea Powell’s “‘Word by Word, Bread by Bread: Making a Scholarly Life”.
Geethu Jose Macdekal is a second-year PhD student in the Rhetoric, Theory and Culture Program who attended the gathering. “It was a wonderful opportunity to listen to readings from around the world by people who understood the cultural contexts from which the writings come. The background that readers provided was helpful in my conception of the varied ways in which women issues are articulated from diverse places,” she said.
Established in 2009 by feminist professors in the department of humanities, “Feminists Reading Feminists” is a Women’s History Month event. Started in 1911, Women’s History Month is an annual celebration of women’s contributions to historical events and current society. In the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, it is celebrated during March to correspond with International Women’s Day on March 8. In Canada, it is celebrated in October to correspond with the celebration of Persons Day on October 18.
In 1987, after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress declared the month of March 1987 as Women’s History Month. The theme for the 2018 celebration chosen by the National Women’s History Project is “Nevertheless, She Persisted: Honoring Women Who Fight All Forms of Discrimination against Women”, referring to Mitch McConnell’s “Nevertheless, she persisted” remark about Elizabeth Warren.
