Page 16 - Šolsko polje, XXXI, 2020, 5-6: Teaching Feminism, ed. Valerija Vendramin
P. 16
šolsko polje, letnik xxxi, številka 5–6
began in the early 1970s (Ezekiel, 1992, p. 81). In Italy, “Women’s Issues”
have been taught since the mid-1970s (Pravadelli, 2010, p. 63). Since the
1980s and 1990s, the number of university programmes and courses has
steadily increased all over the world.
Before the institutionalisation of feminist knowledge about sexism,
women’s oppression, political theory and political mobilisation against pa-
triarchy was created and circulated in feminist groups (e.g. Ezekiel, 1992;
hooks, 2000). In fact, all over the world, early women’s studies were close-
ly tied with feminist movements, springing up at almost at the same time
in a similar political climate. In the USA, women’s studies, i.e. “the studies
by, about and belonging to women” (Boxer, 2001, p. 13), were founded in
left-wing political activism (the Civil Rights Movement, the women’s lib-
eration movement, the gay and lesbian movement, the movement against
the Vietnam War) and the counterculture of the time. The first women’s
studies courses in Britain were linked to the British Women’s Liberation
Movement (Bird, 2003); in France, informal women’s study groups came
out “in the aftermath of the events in May 1968” (Ezekiel, 1992, p. 76). It
could be said that women’s studies themselves arose as a worldwide move-
ment of feminist writers, journalists, scholars, groups of politically en-
gaged women creating and transmitting feminist ideas through publica-
tions, protests and speak-outs (e.g. Ezekiel, 1992): “In the heyday of ‘the
personal is the political’, feminists working in academia were also active
in feminist groups and engaged in the battles for women’s rights. The con-
vergence between theory and practice can also be tested at another lev-
el: feminist academics worked alongside non-academics in different social
contexts and cultural practices” (Pravadelli, 2010, p. 62). The circumstanc-
es of their birth were reflected in distinct features of the early women’s
studies programmes: the equal focus on curriculum and political activity
in close cooperation with women’s organisations (Buhle, 2000), i.e. “the
alliance between theory and practice, institutional and non-institution-
al contexts” (Pravadelli, 2010, p. 63). As Pravadelli (ibid.) points out, fem-
inists believed that feminist thought could develop only by “moving in
and out of academia”.
The institutionalisation of women’s studies undoubtedly helped
spread feminist knowledge, encouraged critical thinking and challenged
patriarchal norms; it also provided a space for sophisticated feminist
thinking and the careers of many feminists. Yet, from the very beginning
the institutionalisation of women’s studies also evoked suspicion as well as
numerous questions and dilemmas on the feminist and anti-feminist side.
In this article, we are interested in the state of feminist teaching and relat-
ed practices in Slovenian higher education: how are feminist approaches
14
began in the early 1970s (Ezekiel, 1992, p. 81). In Italy, “Women’s Issues”
have been taught since the mid-1970s (Pravadelli, 2010, p. 63). Since the
1980s and 1990s, the number of university programmes and courses has
steadily increased all over the world.
Before the institutionalisation of feminist knowledge about sexism,
women’s oppression, political theory and political mobilisation against pa-
triarchy was created and circulated in feminist groups (e.g. Ezekiel, 1992;
hooks, 2000). In fact, all over the world, early women’s studies were close-
ly tied with feminist movements, springing up at almost at the same time
in a similar political climate. In the USA, women’s studies, i.e. “the studies
by, about and belonging to women” (Boxer, 2001, p. 13), were founded in
left-wing political activism (the Civil Rights Movement, the women’s lib-
eration movement, the gay and lesbian movement, the movement against
the Vietnam War) and the counterculture of the time. The first women’s
studies courses in Britain were linked to the British Women’s Liberation
Movement (Bird, 2003); in France, informal women’s study groups came
out “in the aftermath of the events in May 1968” (Ezekiel, 1992, p. 76). It
could be said that women’s studies themselves arose as a worldwide move-
ment of feminist writers, journalists, scholars, groups of politically en-
gaged women creating and transmitting feminist ideas through publica-
tions, protests and speak-outs (e.g. Ezekiel, 1992): “In the heyday of ‘the
personal is the political’, feminists working in academia were also active
in feminist groups and engaged in the battles for women’s rights. The con-
vergence between theory and practice can also be tested at another lev-
el: feminist academics worked alongside non-academics in different social
contexts and cultural practices” (Pravadelli, 2010, p. 62). The circumstanc-
es of their birth were reflected in distinct features of the early women’s
studies programmes: the equal focus on curriculum and political activity
in close cooperation with women’s organisations (Buhle, 2000), i.e. “the
alliance between theory and practice, institutional and non-institution-
al contexts” (Pravadelli, 2010, p. 63). As Pravadelli (ibid.) points out, fem-
inists believed that feminist thought could develop only by “moving in
and out of academia”.
The institutionalisation of women’s studies undoubtedly helped
spread feminist knowledge, encouraged critical thinking and challenged
patriarchal norms; it also provided a space for sophisticated feminist
thinking and the careers of many feminists. Yet, from the very beginning
the institutionalisation of women’s studies also evoked suspicion as well as
numerous questions and dilemmas on the feminist and anti-feminist side.
In this article, we are interested in the state of feminist teaching and relat-
ed practices in Slovenian higher education: how are feminist approaches
14
