Events
Engaging our communities
Women, Philosophy, and History: A Conference in Celebration of Eileen O’Neill
This two-day conference continues the groundbreaking work of Eileen O’Neill ’75 by examining the standard narrative of the history of philosophy from a feminist perspective. O’Neill’s pioneering scholarship has brought to light the texts and ideas of women in the early modern period, and demonstrated the substantial contributions they made to philosophy. Her work has […]
Read MoreNew Feminist Activism
Mia Herndon, Ai-jen Poo, and Rinku Sen
BCRW has long been interested in supporting social justice movements that reach beyond the limits of traditional feminist activism. In past semesters, we have hosted programs that have taken up a variety of intersectional projects that join feminist activism and analysis with other progressive movements, including reproductive justice, workplace rights across the economic spectrum, and […]
Read MoreWomen and Work: Building Solidarity with America’s Vulnerable Workers
National Domestic Workers Alliance
Last year, BCRW hosted the first National Domestic Workers Alliance conference, bringing together domestic workers from across the country to develop a national agenda, and to discuss how best to educate the public and strategize to achieve fair labor standards for domestic workers, including a living wage, basic benefits, and health care. This year, we […]
Read MoreProse, Poetry and the Art of the Political
Antjie Krog and Adrienne Rich
For many decades, Antjie Krog and Adrienne Rich have been at the forefront of the dissident tradition within their respective language worlds, writing poetry and prose that pushes the limits of form while questioning the structures of political violence in which they live. Both are among the most lauded writers of their generation, receiving acclaim […]
Read MoreMuybridge’s Guatemalan Laundresses: Gender, Labor, and Aesthetics on a Coffee Plantation
Elizabeth Hutchinson
In 1875, the Anglo-American landscape photographer Eadweard Muybridge traveled to Central America as a guest of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. The trip resulted in an album of luxurious views that document the impact of U.S. involvement in the politics and economics of the region. In addition to producing picturesque views of the shady plantations […]
Read MoreBoys and Girls in Post-Conflict Societies
Megan Callaghan, Abosede George, Jessaca Leinaweaver, and Nara Milanich
Long after formal peace treaties have been signed, war continues to shape social institutions and interactions. Young people who have grown up amid violent conflict often experience its lingering effects through the loss of family, estrangement from local communities, destruction of the physical environment, or the instability of the government. This panel takes an interdisciplinary […]
Read MoreThe State of Feminism: Post-Election Race and Gender Analysis
Laura Flanders '85 and Patricia Williams
BCRW’s 2008 “Scholar and Feminist” Conference examined the state of democracy, and now that the election results are in and a new President has just been inaugurated, we turn to the state of feminism in the aftermath of the election. There is no question that the results of the 2008 U.S. presidential election were monumental. […]
Read MoreOff-Ramps and On-Ramps
Sylvia Ann Hewlett and Elizabeth Vargas
Economist Sylvia Ann Hewlett (top image, left) and news anchor and correspondent Elizabeth Vargas (second image, left) will engage in a discussion on the specific challenges facing professional women as they juggle work and family commitments. In her recent book, Off-Ramps and On-Ramps, Sylvia Ann Hewlett takes a critical look at how companies can attract […]
Read MoreSmall Talk: Cell-to-Cell Communication in Bacteria
Bonnie Bassler
Bacteria, primitive single-celled organisms, communicate with chemical languages that allow them to synchronize their behavior and thereby act as enormous multicellular organisms. This process is called quorum sensing and it enables bacteria to successfully infect and cause disease in plants, animals, and humans. Investigations of the molecular mechanisms underlying quorum sensing are leading to the […]
Read MoreThe Political and Social Economy of Care
UNRISD (United Nations Research Institute for Social Development) Conference: This conference is free and open to the public. All are welcome. Opening Remarks and Keynote Addresses(9:00-11:00) Joan Tronto, Hunter College and City University of New York Elizabeth Jelin, CONICET, University of Buenos Aires Shahra Razavi, UNRISD Session 1: State Responses to Social Change (11:00-12:50) Mary […]
Read MoreThe Politics of Reproduction: New Technologies of Life
Increased demand for assisted reproductive technology (ART) and transnational adoption has been propelled by a number of factors, including the development of new technologies and changes in familial form—such as childrearing in second or third marriages; lesbian, gay, and transgendered families; and delays in childbearing and subsequent difficulties in conception—that make ART helpful. Other relevant […]
Read MorePedagogy of the Dispossessed: Decolonization and the Struggle for Democracy
Sandy Grande
The post 9-11 deployment of unfettered neoliberalism (i.e. deregulation, privatization, downsizing, outsourcing) has led to a plethora of critiques of the U.S. as ushering in a new rise in empire building, global imperialism, and disaster capitalism. Examining the notion of the “American Empire,” from an indigenous perspective, Sandy Grande, associate professor of education at Connecticut […]
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