REACT: THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE AT 50
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NEW YORK, February 20, 2013- The New School announces REACT: The Feminine Mystique at 50, a two-day symposium, and a related exhibition celebrating the anniversary of the publication of Betty Friedan's groundbreaking book. Convening leading feminist scholars, writers and activists, the conference will examine the feminist movement's past and present as well as unresolved questions about domesticity, career and family, pointing to the continuing relevance of The Feminine Mystique in 2013. The conference takes place on February 22-23. Please note that the conference's location has been changed to accommodate high demand. Panel discussions will now take place at the Theresa Lang Student Center (55 West 13th Street, 2nd Floor). The exhibition and reception remain at the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center (66 Fifth Avenue). "With The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan transformed the national conversation about the role of women in American society," said Claire Potter, Professor of History at The New School for Public Engagement, who co-organized the symposium with Laura Auricchio, Associate Professor of Art History, Parsons The New School for Design and Chair of Humanities, The New School for Public Engagement. "From the battles over reproductive rights, to fair pay, to women's roles in the workforce and the family, the struggles and hopes articulated by Friedan in 1963 continue to reverberate today." REACT: The Feminine Mystique at 50 features a keynote address by Susan Ware, author of Game, Set, Match: Billie Jean King and the Revolution in Women's Sports and panel appearances by Feministing.com’s Samhita Mukhopadhyay, author Susan Brownmiller and others. The symposium is accompanied by an exhibition presented by the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center (SJDC) at Parsons of student works inspired by Friedan’s writing, curated by Parsons MA Decorative Arts and Design alumnae Natalie Balthrop and Deborah Engel. REACT, the exhibition, which runs from February 21 through March 5 in the SJDC’s Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries (66 Fifth Avenue) explores The Feminine Mystique from a contemporary lens in an effort to both honor the text and to provide critical analysis half a century after its publication. The exhibition features 25 works across a range of media - jewelry, fashion, photography, furniture, and video - each in response to Friedan. Said the curators: "We selected quotations, interviews, articles, objects, and advertisements from the book that we felt reflected mid-century America and the patriarchal society Friedan was reacting against. From the ways in which students were provoked to create work, it is clear to us that 50 years later it is absolutely worth revisiting." The full schedule of events follows: Friday February 22, 2013 3:30 PM. "Some American Feminists" (Canada, 1980) | Film Screening and Discussion 5 PM. House/Wife: The Feminine Mystique at Home | Panel Discussion 6 PM. Keynote Address: Susan Ware, author of Game, Set, Match: Billie Jean King and the Revolution in Women's Sports (University of North Carolina Press) and other books on American women's history; Editor, American National Biography (Oxford University Press), http://www.susanware.net/ 7 PM. Reception jointly honoring the symposium and the opening of REACT: The Feminine Mystique at 50, an exhibition of student work on view at the Parsons Aronson Gallery. Saturday, February 23, 2013 1 PM. Beyond the Book: Reverberations of Women's Liberation | Panel Discussion 2:30 PM. REACT: The Feminine Mystique at 50 | Exhibition Discussion 3:30 PM. The Feminine Mystique: Past, Present, Future | Panel and Audience Discussion All lectures and panels for REACT: The Feminine Mystique at 50 take place at the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Auditorium, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, Parsons The New School for Design, 66 Fifth Avenue. All events are free; reservations are require at mystiqueat50.eventbrite.com. For detailed information, visit the symposium's blog at thefemininemystique50.wordpress.com/symposium/. The symposium is co-sponsored by the Dean's Office of The New School for Public Engagement; the Dean’s Office of Parsons The New School for Design; the Humanities Department, Social Sciences Department and Food Studies Program of The New School for Public Engagement; the Gender Studies Program and History Department of Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts; the School of Art and Design History and Theory of Parsons The New School for Design; and The New School Student Activities Finance Committee. About The New School About the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center SJDC General Information ### |
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