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WiSe 22/23: American Feminist Movements

Maria-Michaela Hampf

Kommentar

The seminar will focus on the history of feminist movements in the United States from the 19th to the 21st Century. We will also explore the usefulness of the analogy of a wave to describe the feminist movement, or more accurately movements, that have always been characterized by a degree of internal disagreement and critique. From the First Wave of feminism, which in the US began with the Seneca Falls Convention in North America in 1848 to the criticism of Second and Third Wave feminisms brought forth by women of color, among others, not only the goals of the movement, but also the subject(s) of feminism itself have been contended. We will look at documents from the Declaration of Sentiments by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and others to Valerie Solana’s SCUM Manifesto and beyond. After women’s suffrage was achieved in 1920, feminists focused on topics such as the Equal Rights Amendment, access to birth control and reproductive rights, discrimination in employment, affordable child care, and equal pay. The so-called Feminist Sex Wars, which exposed some of the contradictions within the liberal consensus of white, middle-class second wave feminists have ushered in the era of Third Wave feminism in the early 1990. Issues such as women’s sexuality and pornography, but also the critique by feminists of color, the riot grrrl movement, cyberfeminists, and queer, intersex- and trans* activists have continued to challenge the historical omissions, white-washed historical narratives and marginalization of women’s voices both within and outside feminism. Finally, the seminar will explore key areas where postfeminism and the emergence of the fourth wave overlap, such as the phenomenon of celebrity feminism; the apparent ‘generation wars’ between women such as bell hooks and Beyoncé; the controversial feminist activist group, Femen, or the importance of online activities in contemporary feminist activism. Schließen