Author: Jacob Goldstein
Occidental influence abounded at a women’s studies seminar held on March 1 at Huntington Gardens in San Marino. The seminar-entitled “Feminisms in the Twentieth Century: Lessons for the Twenty-first Century”-was co-organized by Occidental Assistant Diplomacy and World Affairs Professor Laura Hebert and Assistant History Professor Alexandra Puerto, both of whom are members of the Steering Committee of the Huntington Women’s Studies Seminar Series. Assistant Politics Professor Caroline Heldman was one of the seminar’s featured panelists.
Hebert began the event by explaining her and Puerto’s vision for the seminar. (Puerto could not attend as she is currently researching abroad.) While most seminars organized by the committee bring together three or four scholars to speak on a specific topic pertaining to women, both Hebert and Puerto wanted this seminar to have a broader, interdisciplinary feel, especially considering it was to celebrate the start of Women’s History Month. “When we began planning the event last summer, we had several key goals,” Hebert said. “We wanted our event to be interactive, allowing for dialogue amongst the participants; we wanted our participants to represent a diversity of backgrounds and feminists perspectives and we hoped the discussion would engage both the points of convergence and difference across feminists and feminism.”
Hebert’s introduction was followed by the seminar’s main event, a roundtable discussion featuring Heldman, Research Scholar, UCLA Center for the Study of Women Jennifer Abod, Assistant Professor of Chicana/o Studies, CSU Dominguez Hills Marisela Chavez and Associate Professor of English, World Literature and Black Studies, Pitzer College Laura Harris. The discussion was centered on four broad questions, which asked the panelists to consider how their own feminist practice and theory has transformed through time; what political and social forces have shaped generational differences among feminists; how feminist debates on difference and intersectionality have shaped their views and how transnational forces have shaped contemporary feminism. Though each panelist took a different approach to answering these questions, all four drew on a mixture of lived experiences, personal research and academic feminist framework.
Heldman spoke on how her personal experiences have shaped both her perspective on feminism and her political activism. Reflecting on growing up in rural Yacolt, Washington, Heldman recalled her struggles to overcome poverty and growing up in what she described as a “patriarchal and evangelical” household. These experiences spurred her interest in feminism, which she pursued as an undergraduate student and later as a political science graduate student at Rutgers University.
Heldman noted, however, that her upbringing more directly influences her passion for activism, such as her current work with Common Ground to rebuild post-Katrina New Orleans. “My scholarship doesn’t reflect the subjectivity I bring to the table, but my activism does,” she said. “The Academy doesn’t always study the issues that affect women’s lives.”
Heldman also spoke of her struggles with the “liberal, white women’s feminism” that dominates feminist thought today, both in the academic and public sphere. Heldman sees this feminist perspective as ineffective at dismantling the current patriarchal power structure. “Feminism told me I can do anything a man can do . . . but I realized I don’t want to do those things,” Heldman said. “If we don’t celebrate the feminine, then we’re degrading women.”
The roundtable portion of the event was followed by a question-and-answer period, allowing the panelists to elaborate on topics such as ageism, the representation of women in the media and panel’s idea of what would compromise a feminist utopia. The seminar concluded with lunch and a screening of panelist Abod’s documentary “Look Us in the Eye,” a film on the intersection between sexism, ageism and feminism.
Hebert, for one, was pleased with the outcome of the event. “When organizing a roundtable, it is nearly impossible to know in advance whether participants will have chemistry together,” Hebert said. “In this case, I think the willingness of each of the speakers to share quite personal and moving insights into how they came to self-identify as feminist and how their approach to feminism has evolved over time really set the tone for the discussion.”
Allison Riemer and Shannon Kincaide (sophomores) were similarly impressed by the event. “The seminar was a great chance to hear the personal anecdotes of four amazing women on how their experiences have shaped their scholarship and activism,” Riemer said.
Kincaide felt the panelists were particularly skilled at demonstrating that feminism remains important in the 21st century. “The dynamic group of panelists made it clear that feminism is as relevant today as it ever has been,” Kincaide said.
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