Toni Morrison and the Natural World
Through the works of Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison, this week's review links critical studies in African American literature and ecocriticism
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Posted on March 5, 2018 in Review of the Week
International Women’s Year: the greatest consciousness-raising event in history
Olcott, Jocelyn Oxford, 2017
334p bibl index, 9780195327687 $34.95, 9780199716647
This essential book, meticulously researched and elegantly written, captures a key historical moment in the development of transnational feminism. Olcott (Duke) recounts the politics that led to the creation of the 1975 “International Women’s Year” in a way that reclaims the significance of the now-vanished “Second World” of the Cold War era. This “Eastern bloc” claimed for itself a special role in advocating more than merely civic and political rights, while “Western” voices found the association with socialism threatening, mobilized actors from the developing world, and managed the first conference in Mexico City in a structure designed to encourage contacts and debates that crossed not only national but class borders. Undoing the dominant narrative of this UN event as a “failure,” Olcott shows the continuation of such conferences up to Beijing to be a crucial success constructed in and through this first event. By following the money and exploring contestation as well as celebration, the study illuminates the complexity of NGO-ization for feminist movements. Necessary for every serious research library, but great reading for any student of transnational history, feminism, or non-governmental organizations.
Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates and above.
Reviewer: M. M. Ferree, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Subject: Social & Behavioral Sciences – History, Geography & Area Studies, Women’s & Gender Studies
Choice Issue: Jan 2018
Through the works of Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison, this week's review links critical studies in African American literature and ecocriticism
Posted on in Review of the Week
In honor of Public Works Week, we take a sociological look at city development and planning in Dividing Paradise. This week's review presents a case study of Paradise Valley, which demonstrates class tensions and economic disparity in rural areas.
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In celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, this week's review brings together research on "1.5 generation" Koreans in the US and beyond
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To commemorate Mental Health Awareness Month, this week's review looks at how "mattering" impacts one's well-being, relationships, and community
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