Lucy Bradnock— Instances of feminist artists citing Artaud are curious and not a little confusing. The French poet and dramaturg died in 1948, leaving behind a legacy that was both bound up in historical modernism and dogged by accusations of misogyny. Neither would seem to align him with second wave
Karen R. Jones— “I figure if a girl wants to be a legend, she should just go ahead and be one.” This phrase, popularly attributed to Calamity Jane, is strewn across the twenty-first-century internet, emblazoned on T-shirts, striding out across coffee mugs, and hollering provocatively from wall posters. It
Here are five books that shaped the study of women printmakers active in the twentieth century. James Watrous, A Century of American Printmaking, 1880-1980 (1984) Watrous’s well-researched survey of American printmaking was the first book I accessed on the subject as an undergraduate, when writing my senior thesis at Georgetown.
Thomas Kselman— “Since no one was instructing me in religion, it occurred to me I needed one, and I made one for myself. ” – George Sand, History of My Life George Sand (1804-1876) is known to modern readers as a symbol of feminism, a woman who challenged patriarchal values through
Today is International Women’s Day, a day to honor the women who have fought for political and social equality around the world. But even as we celebrate the courage, creativity, and resolve of women, we recognize that equality has not been attained, and we must all work together to achieve
Eileen Hunt Botting— Memes are a staple of contemporary popular culture, but most people would be hard pressed to define what exactly they are. Simply put, memes are widely recognizable yet variously replicated symbols of ideas. In the twenty-first century, most people associate the meme with social media, in which a
Simran Chahal— After the recent and controversial release of India’s Daughter, a documentary regarding the brutal gang rape of 23 year-old physiotherapy student Jyoti Singh in 2012, many questions are being raised about the status of women in Indian society. However, though I support the unearthing of such stark realities
A writer, novelist, filmmaker, and activist, Susan Sontag was an engaged intellectual for whom thinking was a form of feeling and feeling a form of thinking. One of the most influential critics of her generation, she was widely admired by many women and something of a contested figure within the LGBTQ communities,
Caroline Hayes— Paula Modersohn-Becker (1876-1907) was a groundbreaking painter whose often-overlooked place in modernism forces us to reconsider our understanding of art in the early twentieth century. Modersohn-Becker was the first artist to paint herself nude, as well as mothers and children nude, and in doing so, challenged traditional representations
August Strindberg was not only a novelist, satirist, poet, photographer, painter, alchemist, and hellraiser but also, as Arthur Miller suggested, “the mad inventor of modern theater” who led playwriting out of the polite drawing room into the snakepit of psychological warfare. Best known for his play Miss Julie, Strindberg was