Posted by Beck on May 19, 1999 at 01:04:21 from 203.61.4.237:
In Reply to: Re: Arthur Ransome: Feminism is extraordinary posted by Alan Hakim on May 18, 1999 at 19:06:14:
Alan, I guess what you call 'forcing into a modern straitjacket' is what I'd call a re-examination of history from a contemporary woman's perspective.
I am rather baffled by this hostility towards feminist academia. Ian writes
'The point about academics decreeing that AR is a 'feminist author' is that academics teach others, and so the whole socio-political and resentful agenda which has been forced onto the Ransome matrix is then foisted onto students.'
At the risk of going off-topic for this board, I'd like to reply to this:
1. Describing the whole of feminist academia as 'resentful' is subjective & ill-informed, given the very diverse range of feminisms being taught today. Feminists can and do disagree with one another - that is their right. One bad experience does not reflect an entire philosophy.
2. I teach in an art college. I introduce feminist ideas when discussing specifically feminist art practices, as per the curriculum. I think, Ian, that you underestimate students' capacity for independent thought. In my experience they do not accept received opinion about ANYTHING without first challenging it. They have a healthy, if sometimes exhausting, skepticism of any ideas they perceive to be part of the official canon. Incidentally, all the boys think that the feminist 'battle' has been won. None of the girls think it has. Go figure.