November 1982 Newsletter
Title
Subject
Description
WOMEN IN GERMAN
Number 29
November 1982
Another WiG conference has come and gone. If I had to sum up WiG 1982 in a word--and thank goddess I don’t--I would probably choose action. Not to describe the various comings and goings, though there were quite a few, but the intense, action-oriented discussion, often leading to suggestions for practical steps we can and should take, as individuals and collectively, to make our organization even more effective, and the need to communicate these ideas to the whole membership. The sentence most often addressed to me personally was an imperative: "Put that in the newsletter!"--a grammatical form that also says something about the mood of WiG 1982. I hope you’ll find things you can act on among the many proposals, events and projects resorted on in this issue.
All was not urgent calls to action, of course; there was a lot to learn and enjoy. The conference summaries will give you some idea of the variety of topics addressed. LUISE RINSER was a vocal and interested participant in most of the sessions, besides giving an animated, delightful reading. She also generously returned her $200 honorarium to WiG, with the proviso that the money be used to buy books for students attending the conference. (Joey Horsley and a representative from Schoenhof books in Boston have worked out the details of this arrangement.) We decided to name Luise Rinser a lifetime Ehrenmitglied of WiG in expression of our appreciation and respect.
Another welcome guest from the other side of the Atlantic was Sigrid Weigel from Hamburg. She announced a conference on feminism and Germanistik to take place in Hamburg in May (see announcement, p. 26). Sigrid has been a subscriber to WiG for several years, having learned of our existence from American exchange students. She has published on feminist topics, and hopes to form a German coalition of Frauen in Germanistik. She plans to join us again at MLA in Los Angeles, and will doubtless have more news to report by then. The prospect of our becoming a truly international feminist network seems more concrete because of Sigrid Weigel’s visit.
The conference in Boston was also, as always, a chance to renew old acquaintances and make new ones. Not surprisingly, more women from eastern states attended than ever before, some for the first time (one woman told me she was "long overdue" for a conference like WiG). However, many people noted with some chagrin that there seemed to be fewer students at WiG 1982 than at former conferences. A frequent topic of discussion was "für den Nachwuchs sorgen," and we agreed that student participation in the conference should be a priority of our "outreach" for 1983. Outreach for 1982
Page 2
was coordinated by Barbara Wright, who did a heroic job of preparing a mailing to 1000 women AATG members in several eastern states. (Responses to that mailing are still coming in as this newsletter is being prepared!) Thanks are due everyone who worked on the conference, but especially to Barbara as general coordinator and publicizer; to Joey Horsley for making all the arrangements with the conference center and handling registration; and Martha Wallach for her work with the Goethe Institute to arrange Luise Rinser's visit.
Joey Horsley reports that there will be money to give (partial) travel reimbursement to those who requested it after all conference expenses are paid. Joey also sent a list of all 1982 conference participants' addresses and phone numbers. If you would like to have this list in addition to the complete WiG membership list (enclosed), write to WiG and it will be sent to you.
Work and planning are already underway for WiG 1983--see summary of the business meeting and calls for papers. In the meantime, don't forget all the other WiG events, coming up sooner than you think.
AATG 1982
|
Thur. Nov. |
25 |
|
7:30-9:45 |
pm |
|
Fri. Nov. |
26: |
|
4:30-6:00 |
pm |
|
Fri. Nov. |
26: |
|
6:00-7:00 |
pm |
full-day workshop, MAINSTREAMING THE FL CURRICULUM: Male and Female Stereotyping in Beginning-Level Teaching Materials
FAIRY TALES IN THE CLASSROOM
FAIRY TALE MOTIFS IN GERMAN WOMEN’S WRITING
WOMEN IN GERMAN BUSINESS MEETING
See August 1982 issue of WiG or AATG newsletter for workshop and session participants and topics.
The major agenda item for the business meeting is discussion of WiG's participation at the 1983 AATG meeting. The topic proposed for both 1983 sessions is WOMEN AND PEACE.
In Courage 9 (Sept. 1982) findet ihr einen Bericht über den Frauen-Friedensmarsch Berlin-Wien, 1982. "Nein, nein, das ist nicht wahr, nicht recht, die Frauen sind kein schwach Geschlecht ..." Informationen über weitere Pläne über: Ellen Diederich, Finkenhofstr. 32, 6000 Frankfurt 1.
Page 3
MLA 1982
Sessions arranged by WiG for MLA 1982:
(291) Tue. Dec. 28 BUSINESS MEETING AND CASH BAR
5:15-7:30 pm Presiding: Marianne Burkhard, Linda Pickle
There will be a report on decisions made at the WiG business meeting at AATG; discussion of plans for WiG at MLA 1983 in New York (proposed topic: WOMEN AND LITERARY HISTORY); news of forthcoming events and projects, etc. Concerning 1983, we need to remember that, beginning in 1983, allied organizations may arrange two meetings for a convention (with the proviso that a proposal for a third meeting may be submitted to the program committee for review—see MLA newsletter, fall 1982). This affects WiG, since we have always arranged two sessions and a business meeting.
What are our alternatives?
(610) Wed. Dec. 29 Film showing: DIE BLEIERNE ZEIT
7:15-9:00 pm Margareta von Trotta
The film showing is made possible by the Goethe Institute, San Francisco.
(635) Wed. Dec. 29 WOMEN AND GERMAN FILM
9:00-10:15 pm Presentation of papers and discussion
See MLA convention program for participants and topics.
Also of interest to us, especially given the many projects we proposed during the 1982 WiG conference, is:
(264) Tues. Dec. 28, 3:30-5:15 pm OPEN HEARING OF THE MLA COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN THE PROFESSION
As many of you know, one of WiG's founding mothers, Evelyn Beck (U. Wisconsin, Madison) was recently appointed to the commission. She encourages WiG members to attend the open hearing to state our concerns and to present proposals for projects, forums, etc.
A few of the many other sessions that will interest WiG members are: (29) Feminist Re-Visions of New German Cinema; (104) The Rediscovery of Romanticism by Contemporary German Writers and Literary Critics; (549) Critical Perspectives on Christa Wolf; (666) Brecht and Women. WiG members participating in these and other MLA sessions, please remember to take advantage of the opportunity to spread the word about WiG events and our organization!
As always at MLA there are many conflicts. To give just one example, the WiG business meeting conflicts with: (285) The Future of the Division on Women's Studies in Language and Literature; (298) The Gay Caucus Cash Bar; (299) The Women's Caucus Cash Bar. (!)--Can't be changed for this year, but we can speak up about it, and try to insist on more thoughtful programming for the future.
* Update: Marjorie Tussing reports a possible second film: Deutschland, bleiche Mutter (Helma Sanders-Brahms). If available, it will also be shown on Dec. 28; watch the "Convention Daily."
Page 4
MEETING WITH CHRISTA WOLF
Plans are underway for a one-day meeting for WiG members with Christa Wolf in Columbus, Ohio. The date is Saturday, April 9, 1983, just two weeks before the conference on women and fascism, April 28-30, also in Columbus.
All WiG members in the US and Canada will be sent a special first- class mailing containing detailed information about the April 9 meeting, registration form, and so on. If you haven’t received this special mailing by early December, please contact Jeanette Clausen, Dept. of Modern Foreign Languages, Indiana U.-Purdue U., Fort Wayne, IN H68O5. Phones: [redacted]
For information on the women and fascism conference, please write to Helen Fehervary, Dept. of German, Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH 43210.
WIG 1982
LUISE RINSER
On Saturday evening (Oct. l6), Luise Rinser read two selections from her works. The first was a section from the Dorothea Lilienthal story in her novel Der schwarze Esel (1974), which describes the arrest of the old Jewish woman by the Nazis. Rinser then presented parts of her new unpublished novel (still without title), which attempts a new interpretation of the Maria Magdalena figure emphasizing emancipatory aspects. A long, intense discussion followed the readings, focusing primarily on the second text, but it also included general questions about Rinser’s works.
-- Elke Frederiksen
ÜBER DIE FRAGE: GIBT ES EINE WEIBLICHE GERMANISTIK?
Oct. 15, 1982. Chaired by Sandy Frieden (U. Houston)
Each of the panelists responded to this question on the basis of her personal experience. Elke Frederiksen (U. Md.) outlined some theoretical considerations. She urged conceptual clarification and differentiation ("feministisch,” “weiblich"), quoting Gisela Bock: "Wir wollen mehr als nur Objekt und Subjekt der Wissenschaft werden: wir wollen sie und die Gesellschaft verändern. Radikal." (opening address, first Frauensommeruni, Berlin 1976). Elke also emphasized that we must guard against having our work relegated to
Page 5
(weibliche Germanistik, continued)
a “Sonderecke für Frauen." Ruth-Ellen Boetcher Joeres (U. Minn.) addressed several "problem areas," among them: 1) Women's Studies as a program tends not to acknowledge national literatures other than English and American; (2) many Germanists oppose WS; (3) new research on women is often regarded with suspicion, by students as well as faculty; (4) conflicts between German and American Germanists; (5) isolation of feminist Germanists; (6) difficulties in doing interdisciplinary research. She urged that we not be intimidated by the "non-specificity" of interdisciplinary work and adopt/adapt new methods while guarding against over-using jargon and ahistorical analysis; she suggested that open-endedness may become the major contribution of feminist aesthetics. Sidonie Cassirer (Mt. Holyoke), picking up on points the first two speakers had made, gave a brief review of how the profession, especially the MLA, has dealt with us since 1969 (when the MLA Commission on the Status of Women was created). She urged that we renew our emphasis on literature within WS, and that we make ourselves visible in new ways in the MLA and other professional organizations Jeannine Blackwell (Indiana U.) sent the following summary of her presentation.
‘‘Anonym, verschollen, trivial. Methodologische Hindernisse in der germanistischen Forschung über Frauenliteratur."
To examine the distorted image of German women’s literature to which we have access primarily through standard reference works of Germanistik, we have to develop new ways of reading the "old" scholarship. Using the examples of Frederike Helene Unger and Therese Huber, I explained that we must learn "rückwärts lesen"-- we must turn articles and lexicon entries backwards to find the interesting, nonconformist information; we have to read appendices and later editions to discover pennames, anonymous writings, discrepancies in dating and false attributions; seek women's writings under the names of fathers, sons, and husbands’, read title pages, forewords, and pictures (rather than library entry cards) to find more information on the author (place, earlier works, familial connections). We have to read 19th and early 20th century Frauenliteraturlexikone critically. We need to have scholarly feminist work on the following topics: Frauenzeitschriften; the differentiation of Frauenliteratur and Trivialliteratur; a new Lexikon deutscher Frauen der Feder, with reviews of works and first editions listed, and with short discussions of novels from a feminist perspective. We need research on f.amily connections of female authors: LaRoche-Brentano-Arnim, Wolzogen-Schiller,Karsch-Chezy, Gatterer-Nathusius-Reuter; investigation of women's collaboration on journals, anthologies, etc. (Fouque and Helvig); work on women's income, self-support, and writing--women authors and money. And of course, we need a comprehensive history of German women's literature.
-- Jeannine Blackwell
Page 6
(weibliche Germanistik, continued)
After the panel presentations we divided into small groups to come up with concrete suggestions for dealing with the problems raised. Here is Sandy Frieden's summary of the small group reports, which she presented during the concluding session on Sunday, 10-17-82.
Sandy emphasized that we must learn to think of ourselves differently: We, Women in German, are making history, and we need to take our WiG identity "out there" (i.e., everywhere), and think of ourselves as agents of change.
1. Ongoing items for publication in the WiG newsletter: a) reports of work in progress; (b) a thematic listing of new translations of women's writings; (c) a listing of WiG members' specialties (possibly to develop a speakers' bureau, etc.); (d) an exchange of syllabi on feminist courses we've developed.2. Projects for potential publication in Germanist journals:
(a) collect and publish tips on feminist pedagogy; (b) publish articles on integrating feminist methodology and theory into Germanistik; (c) do a survey of German departments to find out where feminist courses are taught. (Ed. note: an example of how not to do such a survey is the one published by Monatshefte in 1978 (Vol. 70, pp. 290-308). I would recommend we use the model of Everywoman's Guide to Colleges and Universities (available from The Feminist Press, Old Westbury, NY 11568. $12.95 paper). In other words, we should aim to identify German departments that provide a good environment for feminist study, teaching and research in German Studies).
3. For future WiG sessions: work as a group to update reading lists (for undergrad., M.A., and Ph.D. programs) so that German women writers are included. (This is related to identifying our specialties, 1.(c) above, since those who've worked in a given area could make the most informed recommendations).
4. Coordinated WiG projects: a) publish a new WiG membership list (included in this mailing); (b) make a concerted effort to put pressure on publishers for new editions of out-of-print works, inexpensive editions of new and old works, and new translations; (c) organize a German-American feminist festival; (d) publish WiG conference proceedings; consider forming a publishing collective (the latter idea from Sidonie Cassirer; contact her if you are interested) .5. PR about WiG: a) expand the WiG mailing list; distribute the WiG information sheet (the yellow sheet enclosed with this newsletter) to non-members; (b) be mentors for other women ("für den Nachwuchs sorgen!"); become more visible at regional as well as national MLA meetings; (d) attend interdisciplinary conferences such as WAGS (Western Association for German Studies) and explain WiG's work.
Page 7
(weibliche Germanistik. continued)
6. Tips: a) make an effort to get "our things" into university libraries (new editions, translations, etc.); (b) compile a bibliography of alternative sources (e.g., sources that aren’t "normally" included in, say, a research methods course); (c) initiate faculty study groups on your campus; (d) think of other things to do, and let the rest of us know about them!
Concluding session: MAKING CONNECTIONS, RESPECTING DIFFERENCES 10-17-82. Chaired by Sara Lennox and Jeanette Clausen.
Sara opened the session by suggesting that we think about utopias, a theme of Luise Rinser's reading and a structuring theme for WiG (the annual WiG conference as a concrete utopia, a place to begin to realize some of our visions; the larger utopia—beyond getting women's literature into the curriculum). She proposed discussing: 1) how Wig 1982 had met and failed to meet our utopian expectations; (2) the larger utopia and what keeps us from making the ' necessary connections (e.g., why did the unspeakable not get spoken?); (3) "Was tun, was nun?" Erste Schritte.
The discussion began with language, especially how the language used during the conference affects those attending for the first time. The discussion showed that, however non-hierarchical we strive to be, we may come to WiG with very different hierarchies in terms of our expectations. Some women felt strongly about using more (or only?) German at WiG, especially when the guest author has difficulty understanding English. Others found the mix of languages comfortable and appropriate. Several people reminded the group that individuals may have strong emotional responses to using one or the other language to discuss sensitive (or unspeakable) topics such as antisemitism. Some were not aware of the policy agreed on a couple of years ago (presentations in the language preferred by each speaker; discussion in both languages but in German as much as possible in consideration of the guest author).
Suggestions for dealing with some of these problems were: 1) to provide a list of all conference participants to everyone attending; (2) to consider using a different color name tag for those attending WiG for the first time; (3) to review previous policy decisions at the beginning of the conference or before individual sessions; (4) to have more small groups, especially to begin the conference; to have small groups discuss personal concerns (rather than, or in addition to, focusing on a topic); (5) to ask presenters wishing to speak English to hand out a German summary (or ask presenters to prepare summaries in each language); (6) to specify that some sessions (especially those involving the author and/or her works) be in German, and that others (interdisciplinary sessions and CR-type sessions) be in English (or both languages) and announce this in the conference program.
Suggestions concerning the conference in general were: to have fewer presentations in each session, with time for discussion after each presentation; to renew efforts to keep the length of presentations to 10 minutes; for longer sessions, to structure in a 10 or 15-minute break; to announce specific texts to be read ahead of time.
Page 8
(Concluding session, continued)
Suggestions concerning the BUSINESS MEETING were: to get nominations (and, where appropriate, biographical information) to the steering committee in time to have an agenda duplicated and distributed; to assign a time limit to agenda items to keep them from expanding to fill all the time available.
Turning to the larger topic ("how can we use feminist Germanistik to change the world?") (not to forget how the world changes us!), we discussed mainstreaming, the need for more grass-roots work, outreach, etc. It was suggested that theoretical developments in Women’s Studies are tending more toward a separatist feminist position, while the practical movement is not, and cannot.
Concerning "Was tun, was nun?" Sandy Frieden presented her summary of the suggestions that had come out of the small group discussions on Friday evening (see p. 6).
-- summary by Jeannette Clausen
ERSTE SCHRITTE
Are you feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the "concrete suggestions" for action? Are you unsure what you personally can do? Here are some things we can all do, as individuals, starting immediately.
1. Convince your department to become a SPONSOR of WiG (idea from Leslie Adelson and others at OSU). Sponsoring departments will pay $25.00 per year (or more if they choose) to receive the WiG newsletter and any other WiG mailings. Money generated in this way will be used to help finance WiG projects such as publication of a yearbook or conference proceedings. See revised membership form at the end of this newsletter.2. Xerox 5 (or more) copies of the statement about what WiG is (the yellow sheet enclosed with this newsletter) and send it to women Germanists who aren’t yet members inviting them to join (check membership list, enclosed).
3. Give someone a gift subscription to WiG if you can afford to. (Special offer: you can give two one-year student subscriptions for $5.00!)
4. Encourage students to join WiG, attend conferences, send in proposals. When feasible, encourage students to choose course projects that dovetail with WiG session topics and/or the works of the author we invite. (Do this especially if you are a faculty member).
Page 9
(Erste Schritte, continued)
5. Try to get your department (or other university office or organization) to fund student travel to WiG. Say it’s important to a course project you're doing (see no. 4 above) or, if you're a faculty member, to a course students are taking from you. Especially if you are a department chair or other administrator, help others learn how to get funding for travel, etc.6. After you've attended a WiG conference or WiG sessions at other conferences, circulate a short summary of what went on to everyone in your department, offering to share bibliographies, etc. that you've brought back. (Idea from Jeannine Blackwell, who was pleasantly surprised at the number of responses she got to her summary of WiG 1982 from her colleagues: "I figured they'd use it for scratch paper, but they read it!")
7. Think about which larger project you'd like to work on, and let WiG know—the newsletter editor and steering committee can put interested people in touch with each other.
One project will already be underway by the time you read this: Sydna Weiss (Hamilton College) and Sidonie Cassirer (Mt. Holyoke) volunteered to write to all WiG members to collect syllabi for feminist courses, and to investigate possibilities for publishing or otherwise distributing them.
*****
(WiG 1982, continued)
FEMINISTISCHE WISSENSCHAFT 10-15-82. Chaired by Sara Lennox.
Our five panelists outlined recent developments in various areas of feminist scholarship. Linda Gardiner (Philosophy, Wellesley) located the concerns of feminist philosophy in the political and cultural context of a struggle for civil rights, a tradition of self-help psychology, and the lack of a left party here. Feminist philosophers have concentrated on ethics, the nature and causes of women's oppression, and on philosophy of language and the usefulness of male methodology for feminists. Barbara Kaltz (Linguistics, Waterloo) distinguished three areas of research in feminist linguistics: language and sexism; language, gender, and power; and the possibility of a women's language. She argued for linguistic precision (e.g. a distinction between sexist language and the sexist use of language)and said that much of the necessary research remains to be done. Hélène Wenzel (Women's Studies, Yale) discussed recent French thought, stressing the contributions of Hélène Cixous (écriture feminine and writing the body), Luce Irigaray (the mother/daughter relationship, the importance of touch, a female morphology to replace that of male language), Julia Kristeva (the semiotic as a component of language deriving from the pre-oedipal relation to the mother), and Monique Wittig (the creator of a feminist discourse which draws on other French literary traditions). Gertraud Gutzmann (German, Smith) discussed themes important for women's writing in the GDR: tradition and generational continuity in women's writing, the importance of the
Page 10
(Feministische Wissenschaft, cont.)
generation of women who built the GDR (Wolf, Morgner, Wander), issues of isolation and alienation in younger GDR women's writing, and the relationship of literature to social changes toward which GDR women aim. Sigrid Weigel (Literaturwissenschaft1iches Seminar, Hamburg) outlined a theory for investigating German women's writing, stressing their participation in and simultaneous exclusion from male norms, producing what she terms "der schielende Blick."(A longer version of this talk is published in Die verborgene Frau, to appear). The abundance of material presented in this session made it, Wiggles seemed to feel, both frustrating, since there was virtually no time to discuss the many issues the panelists had raised, and extremely fascinating.
-- Sara Lennox
Bibliography distributed at the above session
(A selective listing of works in feminist philosophy from the last ten years or so» focusing especially on very recent works. The books which contain substantial further bibliographies are marked with an asterisk.)
A. BibliographiesN.T. Bazin, "The Concept of Androgyny: a Working Bibliography", Women's Studies 2, no. 2 (1974).
J. English, "Review Essay: Philosophy". Signs 3 (Summer 1978).
J. Moulton. "Review Essay: Philosophy". Signs 2 (Winter 1976)
C. Pierce. "Review Essay: Philosophy", Signs 1 (Winter 1975).
M.A. Warren, ed., The Nature of Woman: an Encyclopedia and Guide to the Literature (1980).
B. Historical AnthologiesR. Agonito, ed., History of Ideas on Woman (1977).
M. Mahowald, ed., Philosophy of Woman (1978).
* M.L. Osborne, ed., Woman in Western Thought (1979). A. Rossi, ed., The Feminist Papers (1973).
C. Anthologies of Current ArticlesR. Baker and F. Ellison, eds.» Philosophy and Sex (1975).
S. Bishop and M. Weinstein, eds.» Philosophy and Women (1979).
* Building Feminist Theory: Essays from Quest (1981).
J. English, ed., Sex Equality (1977).
C. Gould and M. Wartofsky, eds., Women and Philosophy: Toward a Theory of Liberation (1976: based on the Philosophical Forum issue listed below).
Page 11
(Anthologies, continued)
B. Harding, ed., Discovery and Reality: Feminist Perspectives on Metaphysics, Epistemology, Methodology and the Philosophy of Science (forthcoming 1783).* A. Jaggar and P. Rothenburg, eds., Feminist Frameworks (1978).
A. Koedt, E. Levine, A. Rapone, eds., Radical Feminism (1973). J. Sherman and E. T. Beck, eds., The Prism of Sex (1979).
A. Soble, ed., Philosophy of Sex (1980).
M. Vetter1ing-Braggin, F. Ellison, J. English, eds., Feminism and Philosophy (1977).
* M. Vetterling, ed., Sexist Language (19B1).
M. Vetterling, ed., "Femininity", "Masculinity”, and ”Androgyny“: a Modern Philosophical Discussion (1982).
D. Special issues of journalsThe Monist 57 (January 1973): Women's Liberation: Ethical, Social and Political Issues. .
Philosophical Forum 5 (Fall-Winter 1973-74): Women and Philosophy.
Signs 7 (Spring 1982): Feminist Theory.
Several journals in Women's Studies and in Philosophy regularly include articles on feminist philosophy: these include Signs, Feminist Studies, Women's Studies, International Journal of Women ' s Studies, Women's Studies International Forum, Philosophy and Public Affairs, and New Left Review. Hypatia, a journal of feminist philosophy, will start publication in 1983.
E. Books* M. Barrett, Women 's Oppression Today: Problems in Marxist-Feminist Analysis (1980).
A. Dworkin, Woman Hating (1974).
A. Dworkin, Pornography: Men Possessing Women (1979).Z. Eisenstein, The Rad i ca1 Future of Lib era 1 Feminism (1981).
* J.B. Elshtain, Public Man, Private Woman (1981).
N. Hartsock, Money, Sex and Power (forthcoming 1983).
B. Hooks, Ain't I a Woman? Black Women and Feminism (1981).* S. M. Ok in, Women in Western Political Thought (1979).
J. R. Richards, The Sceptical Feminist (1980).
S. Rowbotham, Woman's Consciousness, Man's World (1973).
S. Rowbotham, L. Segal and H. Wainwright, Beyond the Fragments: Feminism and the Making of Socialism (1981).
Linda Gardiner
Wellesley College
Page 12
WiG 1982 (continued)
RANDBEWEGUNGEN IM DEUTSCHEN SPRACHRAUM.
Oct. 15, 1982. Chaired by Linda Pickle and Brigitte Wichmann.
’’Die neue bundesdeutsche Friedensbewegung.” Der Doppelbeschluß zur ’’Nachrüstung” der NATO vom 12. Dezember 1979 ist die wichtigste Ursache für das große Wachstum der Friedensbewegung in den letzten paar Jahren, das fast allen eine Überraschung war, sogar in der Bewegung selbst. Die NATO hat vor, amerikanische Pershing II-Mittelstreckenraketen und Marschflugkörper (cruise missiles) 1983 und 1984 in Europa, besonders in der BRD, zu stationieren, was ’’das Gleichgewicht des Abschreckens" ändern wird, denn sie hätte zum ersten Mal von Europa aus eine Erstschlagkapazität gegen die UdSSR. Besonders die Krefelder Initiative, eine Gruppe von Kirchenleuten, Wissenschaftlern, ehemaligen hohen Militärs und Vertretern politischer Parteien und Verbände versucht, die Mehrheit der Bundesbürger/innen gegen die Nachrüstung zu gewinnen. Der Kernsatz des Krefelder Appells lautet: "Wir appellieren an die Bundesregierung, die Zustimmung zur Stationierung von Pershing II-Raketen und Marschflugkörpern in Mitteleuropa zurückzuziehen." Vom 16. November 1980 bis zum Frühjahr 1982 haben 2,5 Millionen in der BRD den Appell unterzeichnet.
Die Teilnahme der christlichen Friedensorganisationen und einzelner Christen ist die wichtigste Basis der neuen bundesdeutschen Friedensbewegung. Die große Bonner Demonstration vom 10. Oktober 1981 wurde von der evangelischen Aktion Sühnezeichen organisiert. Vom 8. bis zum 22. November 1981 hatten 3000 evangelische Kirchengemeinden Friedenswochen. Die zweite Hauptquelle der Bewegung sind die Gewerkschaftler, obwohl sie heute weniger beitragen als in früheren Jahren. Der Deutsche Gewerkschaftsbund selbst bleibt relativ zurückhaltend. Die Ökologie-Bewegung ist nicht nur eine dritte wichtige Quelle der Friedensbewegung, sie ist zum Teil das Vorbild für die lokale und politisch autonome neue Bewegung, die sich erheblich von den allgemein-politischen Orientierungen der älteren friedenspolitischen Orientierungen unterscheidet.
Viele Deutsche behaupten immer noch, daß die Friedensbewegung eine Randbewegung sei. Ich zitiere Dietmar Schonherr: "Ich habe gesagt-- in einer Live-Sendung des Schweizer Fernsehens--, daß ich es für eine Frechheit halte, wenn 300.000 Leute in Bonn auf die Straße gehen, das als eine Demonstration von Randgruppen zu bezeichnen." Als Germanisten/ innen müssen wir präzis mit der Sprache umgehen. Ich nenne die Friedensbewegung eine Alternativenbewegung, eine lebensnotwendige Alternative zum Wahnsinn der Aufrüstung. Und wenn wir diese Alternative nicht zur Basis unseres Lebens machen, bleiben wir alle am Rande der atomaren Vernichtung.
--Ric Johnson
Indiana U.-Purdue U. at Ft. Wayne
* * * * *
Wish I'd said that dept.: "Ich wähle hier die weibliche sprachliche Form ’Studentinnen’ als allgemeine Form, da sie die männliche einschließt." (Sigrid Metz-Göckel, "Feminismus an der Hochschule").
Page 13
(WiG 1982, continued)
SPEAKING THE UNSPEAKABLE, 10-16-82. Chaired by Angelika Bammer.
This session was an exploration of the politics of language--the many (often unacknowledged and unconscious) ways in which social relations of power both shape and, in turn, are shaped by what we say, how we say it, and what remains unsaid. The presentations (by Lynnie Ozer, Marlene Heinemann, Jeanette Clausen) explored the importance of naming ("lesbian," "Jewish," "working-class") as a means of self-affirmation and respectful recognition of our differences. They also, once again, made very evident the fact that naming, in and of itself, will not bring about change as long as the names still function to mark categories of oppression in the society at large. In the ensuing small CR-group discussions, we collectively encountered some of the very language barriers the presentations had brought out. We found how easy and comfortable it is to use our (academically trained) verbal skills to avoid speaking of that which is confusing, painful, and often perceived as shameful to us. Intellectual abstraction, we found, can disguise the degree to which we are, in fact, "betroffen." We struggled, finally, with the question of how to use our ability to analyse and verbalize as a tool to help us confront and work our way through the territory of the unspeakable, rather than as a means of talking and getting around it. As each of the small groups in turn shared the result of their discussion with the group as a whole, we concluded, not with answers, but with the questions we wanted to think about and work on in the future. We asked (among other things): How much is important to say? Can one say too much as well as too little? Does naming separate us by reenforcing othernesses or does it create a community in which difference can be acknowledged? Can we identify ourselves in solidarity with an oppressed group without being a member of that group personally? Do we make sore spots more sore by touching them? Or does touching, ultimately, heal?
Angelika Bammer
Page 14
WIG BUSINESS MEETING, Oct. l6, 1982
Chaired by Marianne Burkhard and Linda Pickle.
The meeting began with announcements of forthcoming conferences (see list, p. 26).
1. It was moved and seconded (Helen Fehervary, Elke Frederiksen) that WiG pursue possibilities for obtaining institutional and other financial support. The motion was approved.2. The first agenda item was to elect steering committee members for vacant slots. Also, some modifications were proposed: (a) to lengthen the term to three years instead of two, because continuity is desirable and because the first year may be spent mostly in learning; (b) to make the treasurer/newsletter coordinator position ex-officio. This modification allows for six regular members with staggered terms and also gives more flexibility since the newsletter position isn't tied to an elected term. The following statement incorporating these modifications was approved:
The Steering Committee is made up of 6 members of WiG who serve staggered three-year terms, and one ex-officio member with voting rights who is the treasurer and newsletter coordinator. The two members in their third year of service act as co-chairs for that year. New members are elected at the annual WiG conference but their term begins at the December MLA meeting and ends with the MLA meeting in three years' time. New members elected at the conference serve as non-voting members until the MLA meeting. Unexpected vacancies on the Steering Committee are filled by runners-up in the election. A geographic distribution of SC members is desirable.
The Steering Committee is responsible for conducting the ongoing business of the organization. They do this in accordance with the charges given them by the WiG membership as expressed at the annual conference. Their duties are determined by the concerns of the membership. Decisions which have to be made in between the yearly conferences are accomplished by mail or phone contacts among SC members. Agreement of a majority of the SC members is necessary for such decisions.
Discussion of vacancies and continuing positions followed. Linda Pickle preferred not to extend her term for a third year because she will be on leave. Marianne Burkhard, Martha Wallach, Joey Horsley and Almut Poole were willing to extend their terms. Nominations for the two vacant slots were then discussed. Two nominees, Sandy Frieden and Helen Fehervary, asked to withdraw their names because of their many other commitments but stated that they were willing to serve as alternates in case vacancies came up. Barbara Wright and Jeannine Blackwell were elected by ballot (a landslide) to
Page 15
(Business meeting, continued)
fill the remaining positions. So, the SC membership now is:
1980-1983: Marianne Burkhard (U. Ill., Urbana), co-chair 1983 and chair, political action committee. Martha Wallach (UWGB), co-chair 1983 and fund-raiser for guest author.
1981-1984: Joey Horsley (U. Mass., Boston). Almut Poole (UCLA).
1982-1985: Barbara Wright (U. Conn.). Jeannine Blackwell (IU Bloomington).
Treasurer/Newsletter: Jeanette Clausen (IPFW), 1981-?
Alternates: Sandy Frieden (U. Houston) and Helen Fehervary (OSU).
Ed. note: Outgoing member Linda Pickle chairs the textbook committee, which expects to publish its report in spring 1983. Thus, it seems reasonable to wait until the WiG conference 1983 to decide on a new chair for that committee. Other previously proposed SC duties (bibliography committee, outreach, etc.--see "charges, functions and duties," Nov. 1980 newsletter) need to be discussed at a future meeting.
3. WIG 1983 (and 1984)Location
There was a long discussion of whether to hold the 1983 Los Angeles area (as proposed last year) or to remain in the east for another year. Ultimately, the group decided on the latter, the major reason being to build a strong active membership in the east (as we had done in the midwest) before moving to another area. The following resolutions were approved:
a) to make a strong effort to reach and actively involve west-coast people, starting immediately (and especially during MLA 1982).
b) to meet in the east at least one more year and review the whole situation again next year.
c) to agree to Thompson Island as an acceptable meeting place for 1983 while investigating other possibilities (the major reason being that flights from most major cities to New York usually cost less than to Boston, so a site easily accessible from La Guardia would probably be preferable to one in Boston). Members who agreed to investigate possible sites were: Martha Wallach, Barbara Wright, Sidonie Cassirer, Edith Waldstein.
d) to hold a 3-day conference again in 1983 (Thursday evening through Sunday noon).
Page 16
(Business meeting, cont.)
According to our previous agreement as to the date (third weekend in October) the dates will be Oct. 13-16, 1983 (unless the conference center isn't available then, or some such).
Conference organizers will be Joey Horsley, Edith Waldstein, Barbara Wright and Martha Wallach.
Guest author, 1983 and 1984
As agreed last year, IRMTRAUD MORGNER had been invited to be WiG’s guest in 1983. (Many thanks to Karen Achberger for assuming responsibility for contacting her). Morgner sent word that for family reasons she couldn’t accept for 1983 but was interested in being invited for a later date. Accordingly, it was agreed to write her right away to invite her for 1984. (NB: Karen has already done this).
After much discussion, the group voted in favor of inviting BARBARA FRISCHMUTH (Austria) for 1983. (NB: the letter of invitation, written by Karen, who is becoming something of an expert at this, has already gone out, so with luck we may have an answer by the time we meet again at MLA). If Frischmuth is unable to accept, Verena Stefan and Gabriele Meixner will be invited; if they can’t come, Ilse Aichinger will be asked. (Ed. note: if no one wants to come, the steering committee will go into a little frenzy of phone-calling).
Conference Theme and Session Topics, WiG 1983
The overall theme agreed on for WiG 1983 was STIMME SUCHEN, STIMME FINDEN. The theme is intended to encompass a wide spectrum of issues discussed this year, ranging from being able to speak loudly enough to be heard across the room, to "speaking the unspeakable," finding an authentic personal/professional voice (for writing and speaking), and more.
With details still to be worked out by the respective coordinators, sessions agreed on were:
Thursday evening: informal get-acquainted time, possibly with small group discussions of a personal nature rather than on an assigned topic. Coordinator needed, please volunteer.
Friday morning: Interdisciplinary panel, "Stimme suchen" (presentations in English), to include work from feminist psychology on voice, identity, space, conversation, Öffentlichkeit. Coordinators: Helen Fehervary, Judith Jamieson.
Friday afternoon: Literary session (presentations in German), to include discussion of the guest author’s work. Focus will be fantasy if Barbara Frischmuth is the guest (coordinators: Dagmar orenz, Barbara Wright); if Verena Stefan and Gabriele Meixner are the guests, the focus will be translation (coordinators: Jeanette Clausen and another person).
Page 17
(Business meeting, continued)
Friday evening: CR session, focus on violence against women. Coordinator: Almut Poole (and another person?).
Saturday morning: “Stimme Finden." Focus on the personal/professional and how not to have the split between them. Coordinators: Jeanine Blackwell, Irmgard Taylor, with Almut Poole
Saturday afternoon: Business Meeting
Saturday evening: Author's reading, followed by discussion. Coordinator: Karen Achberger (if Barbara Frischmuth is the guest)
Sunday morning: ''Lost Voices/New Voices." Coordinators: Dorothy Rosenberg and Resa Dudovitz.
For detailed announcements received so far, see pp. 18-19.
4. WiG at AATG, 1983.
The topic agreed upon for both WiG sessions (I. pedagogy; II. literature/culture) at the 1983 AATG meeting is WOMEN AND PEACE. Members who volunteered to work on this topic were: Gertraud Gutzman, Helen Fehervary, Margaret Ward, Pat Herminghouse Irmgard Taylor, Laureen Nussbaum, Martha Wallach, Leonora Cayard. Coordinators for the two sessions Will be decided when it is known where the AATG will meet in 1983. If the meeting is in West Berlin, WiG members attending will try to plan an extra meeting with feminist Germanists there.
5. WiG at MLA, 1983 (to be held in New York).Near the end of this four-hour meeting, Helen Fehervary moved that the WiG topic for MLA 1983 be "Women and Literary History," and the exhausted group approved this topic. Since there was neither time nor energy to work Out details, further discussion and appointment of coordinators will take place at MLA 1982.
6. The final item of discussion was the April 9, 1983 WiG meeting with Christa Wolf. Jeanette Clausen will coordinate the announcements, schedule, and registration; Leslie Adelson (OSU) will coordinate logistics in Columbus.-- Summary of meeting by JC.
FINANCIAL REPORT: a conservative calculation of WiG finances shows that after all expenses for 1982 are paid (including the November newsletter, other mailings, bulk mail permit renewal, and cash bar at MLA) We will still have at least $1100.00 in the WiG account!
Page 18
WIG 1983: CALLS FOR PAPERS
Friday morning, Interdisciplinary Panel, “Stimme Suchen.” Feminist Perspecties on Work from Other Disciplines (tentative title).
The coordinators see a variety of possibilities for WiG to begin discussing voice from a feminist perspective. Judy Jamieson suggests three broad areas: 1) social studies fields, both theoretical and applied; (2) politics, broadly defined to include media coverage of political events and issues as well as theory and/or women active in the political arena; (3) the arts, again broadly defined to include music, dance, crafts, etc. as well as literature and visual arts. Presentations might focus on German women using their voices in any of these areas. Helen Fehervary is especially interested in new theories of identity, sexuality, Öffentlichkeit, culture. She asks: “Do the findings of contemporary critical theory, structuralism, etc. provide models of discussion which we (feminists) can modify or expand? To what extent does our knowledge of such tradition help/hinder us in the search for women’s voices?” Possible topics might be Focault and the question of sexual and gender identity; Habermas or Negt/Kluge and the notion of Offentlichkeit regarding such forms as the salon; and/or others. Send questions proposals, suggestions to both: Helen Fehervary, German Dept., [redacted] OSU Columbus, OH 43210, and Judith Jamieson, Prividence College, Providence, RI 02918, by April 1, 1983.
Friday evening, Consciousness Raising Session
Almut Poole is planning a session to deal specifically with rape and sexual assault (rather than dealing superficially with the entire area of violence against women). She proposes to discuss: a) the scope and extent of the problem; (b) causes and prevention models, primarily a contrast of the traditional protection model as espoused by law enforcement and a (re-educational) empowerment model of feminist origin; (c) an analysis of why we have rape in society (possibly using a videotape about one. woman's victimization). The presentation will be followed by CR sessions in small groups. Almut writes: "I'd very much like to see a follow-up on this issue: how does literature deal with it? Another important related issue is language and the importance of language change. And, most of all, how can we incorporate these topics into our teaching?" Address: Almut Poole, [redacted]
Saturday morning, "Stimme finden"
1. Ten minute presentations (in German or English) on practical strategies for success in finding a voice in the classroom and in the university: for example, getting women authors into the German Dept. curriculum, methods for dealing with the administration, handling classroom problems of gender/genre/performance. One-page-abstracts by March 15, 1983 to both Irmgard Taylor, and Jeannine Blackwell, [redacted]
Page 19
(Stimme finden, continued)
2. We also ask everyone to send in their specific classroom and university problem situations : i.e. , racist student remarks, faculty interaction problems, administration refusal of money or space for women's studies projects, lack of German in women's studies courses. Send us your problems: we will try to find solutions in the small group discussion, using role playing. Please make the description very brief--less than one page. Send to both Irmgard Taylor and Jeannine Blackwell.
Sunday morning, "Lost Voices/New Voices" (tentative title)
Questions we would like to address include: What are the ideological functions of women's popular literature? What need does popular literature fill? Why have scholars been reluctant to look seriously at women's popular literature past and present? What are the relationships between popular literature and the "canon"? Send inquiries or proposals to both: Dorothy Rosenberg, [redacted] and Resa Dudowitz, [redacted]
* * * * *
FACULTY POSITION IN GERMAN
Miami University, Ohio
Chair, Department of German, Russian, and East Asian Languages; Senior
level appointment beginning Fall 1983. Specialist in German literature or linguistics with evidence of scholarly accomplishment and with commitment to teaching at all levels of the curriculum. Administrative experience desirable. Department consists of 15 full-time faculty teaching German, Russian, Chinese and Japanese. M.A. program in German.
Send resume and 3 letters of reference by November 19, 1982 to Dr. Joseph Urell, Dean, College of Arts and Science, Upham Hall, MIAMI UNIVERSITY, Oxford, Ohio 45056.
Miami University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.
Page 20
RESEARCH PROJECTS
The following list of research projects was collected during the October 1982 WiG conference in Boston. All WiG members are invited to send information about their research to the newsletter.
Margaret E. Ward, Wellesley College: working on a critical biography of Fanny Lewald (18II-I889); projected completion date January 1985.
Mary ONeill, U. Maryland, Baltimore County: translating sections of Gabriele Wohmann, Ausflug mit der Mutter.
Marianne Burkhard, U. Illinois, Urbana: Grillparzer's Sappho, Stael's Corinne and Goethe's Tasso: images of poets.
Almut R. Poole, UCLA: Diss. Still (!) working on a linguistic analysis of modern feminist (German) literature (autobiographical writings) to show that certain linguistic features are utilized at a higher frequency by feminist writers than by others (male and female). Also: editor of The Delphi, newsletter that functions as a link between research and services related to rape and sexual assault.
Sydna Weiss, Hamilton C.: germ of an idea only--Aging Women, probably in 19th and 20th C. German literature.
Patricia Herminghouse, Washington U.: Anthology of post-war women writers for new Suhrkamp/Cambridge series of readers for American students of German; recent developments in feminist criticism (for Wisconsin Workshop).
Lioba Multer, OSU: book review/essay on Ingeborg Drewitz, Bettina von Arnim and others (Gisela Dischner), to appear in New German Critique.
Edith Waldstein, M.I.T.: Bettina von Arnim and the Literary Salon (finished diss.); Comparison of Berlin and Boston salons (Bettina von Arnim u.a. and Margaret Fuller)--Goethe Institute Symposium 1983; Women's Studies and Germanistik--working paper for Wellesley Center for Research on Women.
Leslie Adelson, OSU: finished diss. "Botho Strauß and West German Prose of the 1970's." Research projects: the changing notion of history in contemporary literature; authenticity problematized; article on feminist aesthetics in Beyond the Eternal Feminine.
Anna K. Kuhn, U. Pennsylvania: working on monograph on Christa Wolf (in English).
Barbara D. Wright, U. Conn.: monograph on interaction of German expressionists (activists) and German women’s writing at beginning of the 20th C.
Page 21
(research projects, continued)
Charlotte Armster, Dartmouth C.: article on "Stereotypes in Katharina Blum; anthology on 19th century writings on and by women (in English")""; article on Handke’s Left-Handed Woman — Gesture as Communication and Confinement.
Dorothy Rosenberg, Seattle: women, work and family in GDR literature and society.
Gertraud Gutzman, Smith C.: women's autobiographies l880's to present (especially working women, politically active women); women writing under and about Nazism; (especially Irmgard Keun, Seghers, Rinser); tradition and innovation in recent GDR women's writing; intertextuality, Anna Seghers and Christa Wolf. Book: Literature and Society in Anna Seghers' Exile Prose (Camden House 1984).
Sara Lennox, U. Mass, Amherst: article on recent GDR women's writing to appear next year; essay on feminism and deconstruction; essay on Christa Wolf; review essay on Sander Gilman's "On Blackness without Blacks: Image of Black in German Literature" (for New German Critique).
Joey Horsley, U. Mass., Boston: working on article on Bachmann; work on women authors in the Weimar Republic.
Julie Prandi, New York: working on article on Kleist's Krug; also on bigger project: Glück/Entsagung in Goethe, focus on women characters.
Sue Bottigheimer, Princeton: Grimm's Tales: l) Spinning Tales; (2) Mute Women; (3) Illustrations 1812-1982; (5) Work Ethic. Also Spinning in Literature--please send quotes from poems, novels, plays!
Elke Frederiksen, U. Maryland: Luise Rinser monograph, to appear in Autorenbücher series, Beck Verlag, Munich.
Karen Achberger, St. Olaf C., Northfield, MN: 1) the mythic subtext and musical structures in the prose of Ingeborg Bachmann; (2) article on humor in Irmtraud Morgner.
Dagmar C. Lorenz, OSU: Ilse Aichinger (1981); Stifters Frauen, A. Stifter Gesellschaft. In progress: Grillparzer, Dichter des Sozialen Konflikts (Neubearbeitung des österreichischen Vormärz, etc.) .
Sigrid Weigel, U. Hamburg: Buch über Frauenbilder bei Kleist (zus mit Inge Stephan); Frauenliteratur der Gegenwart (für Hansers Sozialgeschichte); Ingeborg Bachmann.
Jeannine Blackwell, Indiana U.: l) Frauen-Bildungsroman 1900-1982 (2) weibliche Robinsonaden 1720-1800; (3) Rage and Order in Helene Böhlau and Gabriele Reuter.
Page 22
(research projects, continued)
Sandy Frieden, U. Houston: 1) diss. Autobiographical German- Language Writings of the 1970's: Self into Form (U. Siegen)--to appear soon, Peter Lang Verlag; (2) article on Elisabeth Plessen in fall issue, Seminar; (3) article soon on Bachmann’s Malina and Todesarten in GQ; 4) article on Schwaiger and Handke in Beyond the Eternal Feminine; (5) working on films of Ulrike Ottinger.
Irmgard Taylor, SUNY, Cortland: Das Bild der Witwe in der deutschen Literatur (1980).
Martha Wallach, UWGB: working on German prose turned into films (Katharina Blum, Marquise of 0, Effi Briest); figure of mother in German drama; female characters in Heinse's Ardinghello; German immigrant women.
Angelika Bammer, Bryn Mawr C.’’Visions and Re-Visions: The Utopian Impulse in Feminist Fictions," diss. U. Wisconsin 1982 (analyses of Stefan, Christa Wolf; bits on Reinig).
* * * * *
Brigitte Cooper (Palmer, Alaska) and V. Joan Moessner (Dept. of Linguistics and FL, U. Alaska, Fairbanks, 99701) are looking for additional information on AUGUSTE ENDERS-SCHICHANOWSKI, a German artist who went to Alaska between 1900-1910 and is known to have had a brother in Brooklyn. They are working on a biography of Schich anowski and a translation of her book, Im Wunderland Alaska.
* * * * *
The Modern Humanities Research Association (King's College, Strand, London WC2R2LS England) publishes Germanic titles in its dissertation series and will send listings upon request.
* * * * *
LOST WIGGIES
Mail for the following individuals has been returned marked "undeliverable. ’’ If you know where any of these women are, and if they still want to receive the newsletter, please write.
Thanks.
Skippy Acuff [redacted]
Gail W. Cope [redacted]
Susanne Mensel [redacted]
Verne Moberg [redacted]
Elisabeth Ruge [redacted]
Annegret Stroetges [redacted]
Page 23
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Semiotext(e): The German Issue (Vol. IV, No. 2). 522 Philosophy Hall, Columbia U., New York 10027. $5.95.
Beyond, the Eternal Feminine. Critical Essays on Women and German Literature, eds. Susan Cocalis and Kay Goodman"”fstuttgarter Arbeiten zur Germanistik, No. 98) (Stuttgart: Akademischer Verlag Hans-Dieter Heinz, 1982).
Harry G. Shaffer, Women in the Two Germanies. A Comparative Study of a. Socialist and a Non-Socialist Society (Pergamon Press, 1981).
Quote from Shaffer’s preface: ”I plead nolo contendere to being a man; but I do not feel that a study on women must necessarily be made by a member of the female sex. ... I do not believe that my sex interfered with my comprehension or in any way prejudiced my analysis of the issues treated in this book.” --Remember this statement when you look for information on lesbian rights; battered women's shelters; foreign women as workers and wives-- to mention a few topics not listed in the index. Still, the book does contain a lot of useful information and should be very helpful to students, especially undergraduates. I think we should bring it to the attention of Women's Studies programs too, and urge for more courses on women's situations in German-speaking areas. (unsolicited commentary and advice from JC).
off our backs, Vol. XII, No. 9 (Oct. 1982) contains an interview with Sibylle Plogstedt (one of the editors of Courage) discussing German feminism.
Jump Cut, No. 27 contains a special section, Film and Feminism in Germany Today (essay by Marc Silbermann); includes an essay on the German Women's Movement (by Renny Harrigan); Helke Sander on Feminism and Film; Gertrud Koch on Female Voyeurism; interviews with Helga Reidemeister, Jutta Bruckner, Christina Perincioli , and more. A forthcoming issue of Jump Cut will include the second installment of Film and Feminism in Germany. Address: [redacted]
Marie-Louise Janssen-Jurreit, Sexism, English translation from Farrar, Straus, and Giroux (1982).
Ruth-Esther Geiger/Sigrid Weigel, Sind das noch Damen? Vom gelehrten Frauenzimmer-Journal zum feministischen Journalismus Weissmann Verlag, Frauenbuchverlag, München 1981)” 204 S., DM 29.80.
Dokumente, Kommentare, Faksimiles. Sind das noch Damen ist ein Lesebuch zur Entwicklung der Frauenzeitschriften durch drei Jahrhunderte, das zugleich die Geschichte der deutschen Frauenbewegung kritisch dokumentiert und dem Leser heute zugänglich macht. Adresse: Frauenbuchverlag, Kreittmayrstr. 26, 800 München 2.
Page 24
RECENT PUBLICATIONS (continued)
Sigrid Weigel,“. . . und selbst im Kerker frei.“ Schreiben im Gefängnis. Zur Theorie und Gattungsgeschichte der Gefängnisliteratur, 1750-1933. (Verlag Guttandin und Hoppe, 1982). 244 S. mit Abb., DM 24.80.
Senta Trömel-Plötz, Frauensprache: Sprache der Veränderung (Reihe "Die Frau in der Gesellschaft," Fischer, Band 3725, 1982). DM 11.80.
Ricarda Schmidt, Westdeutsche Frauenliteratur in den 70er Jahren. (Rita G. Fischer Verlag, Alt-Fechenheim 73, 6000 Frankfurt 61, 1982). 360 S., Paperback, DM 34.00, ISBN 3-88323-373-0.
Anhand exemplarischer Textanalysen der in den 70er Jahren im Kontext der westdeutschen Frauenbewegung hervorgebrachten Literatur werden Entwicklungen und Konzeptionen feministischer Prosa erarbeitet. Das Verhältnis zwischen Emanzipationsstreben und ästhetischer Form wird dabei im kulturellen Nexus betrachtet, um die Frage nach der Existenz einer weiblichen Ästhetik einzugrenzen und zu präzisieren auf die Frage nach einer feministischen Ästhetik. Diese heuristische Kategorie wird im Prozeß der Analyse am konkreten Material entwickelt.
Die Diskussion darüber, was Literatur von Frauen sein und leisten könne und ob es eine "weibliche" Ästhetik gebe, wird vertieft durch die Analyse der Gedanken von Frauen aus der Vergangenheit sowie moderner strukturalistischer Ansätze aus Frankreich und empirischer Untersuchungen in den USA.
isa Kahn, Utahs Geheimnisse (Berlin: Stoedtner-Verlag), can be ordered through Mary Rosenberg [redcted] or the Trilogy Bookstore [redacted]
FORTHCOMING PUBLICATIONS
Inge Stephan, Sigrid Weigel, Die verborgene Frau: 6 Beiträge zu einer feministischen Literaturwissenschaft (Argument Verlag, Reihe "Literatur im historischen Prozess," Winter 1983).
Vorwort: Feministische Literaturwissenschaft - Auf der Suche nach der verborgenen Frau.
1. Inge Stephan, "Bilder und immer wieder Bilder ..." - Überlegungen zur Untersuchung von Frauenbildern in männlicher Literatur.2. Inge Stephan, Hexe oder Heilige? - Zur Geschichte der Jeanne d’Arc und ihrer literarischen Verarbeitung.
3. Sigrid Weigel, Wider die romantische Mode - Zur ästhetischen Funktion des Weiblichen in Friedrich Schlegels "Lucinde."
4. Sigrid Weigel, Der schielende Blick - Thesen zur Geschichte weiblicher Schreibpraxis.
Page 25
PORTHCOMING PUBLICATIONS (continued)
Die verborgene Frau (continued)
5. Sigrid Weigel, Die geopferte Heldin und das Opfer als Heldin - Zum Entwurf weiblicher Helden in der Literatur von Männern und Frauen.6. Inge Stephan, "Daß ich eins und doppelt bin ..." - Geschlechtertausch als literarisches Thema.
Frauen im Mittelpunkt/Focus on Women. Anthology of 11 post-war women writers, with introductions, notes, German-English vocabulary. (Suhrkamp/Cambridge, Spring 1983).
Women Authors in Translation, ed. Isabelle de Courtivron and Margery Resnick (Garland Press, late 1982 or early 1983). Includes titles that have been translated into English from French, German, Spanish, Russian and Italian since 1945. (Helen Cafferty, one of the contributors to this volume, notes that the German section may be slightly out of date by the time this appears--the German contributors were the only group to meet the original deadline, which was spring 1980!)
German Women: Politics and Literature. Anthology of recent (since about 1968) writing by women in the German-speaking countries, including literary texts, interviews, manifestoes, theory, etc. (Buffalo, New York: SUNY, spring 1983).
* * * * * * * *
from Courage
Nov. 1982
nachrichten
DIE WICHTIGKEIT DER MÄNNER UND DIE ENERGIEN DER FRAUEN
Die diesjährige Sommeruniversität für Frauen in Berlin hat die Macht der Männer in vorher nicht gekanntem Ausmaß zu spüren bekommen. Sie wurde erstmals nicht als förderungswürdige Bildungsveranstaltung anerkannt, d.h. es gab keinen Bildungsurlaub, so daß berufstätige Frauen sich kaum beteiligen konnten. Hauptgrund: Gefährdung der Sittlichkeit. Insbesondere Jugendliche sollten vor einer Bildungsveranstaltung geschützt werden, an der nicht nur auch lesbische Frauen teilnehmen würden, sondern in deren Rahmen sogar homosexuelle Neigungen zum Thema gemacht würden. Kurz vor Beginn der Sommeruni wurden auch noch 5 Veranstaltungen schlicht verboten, weil die Gefahr bestünde, daß in ihnen zur Gewalt (gegen die Staatsgewalt) aufgerufen würde.
Die Tatsache, daß das Lesbenreferat des Allgemeinen Studentenausschusses (ASTA der Freien Universität Berlin) als Veranstalter auftrat, mag diese Staatseingriffe erleichtert haben. Nicht nur, weil sich Männer vielleicht provoziert fühlen, wenn Lesben sich offiziell als solche bezeichnen, sondern auch, weil studentische Vertretungskörperschaften formal kein „politisches Mandat" haben. Darauf aber sich zu berufen, um Verbote zu begründen, heißt lediglich, einen beliebigen juristischen Hebel zu benutzen.
CONFERENCES
Common Differences: Third World Women and Feminist Perspective, U. Illinois at Urbana/Champaign, April 9-13, 1983. Guest speakers include Nawal El Saadawi, Cherrie Moraga, Goria Anzaldua, Gloria Joseph, and possibly Christa Wolf. For information write to: Office for Women’s Resources and Services, [redacted]
Women, Fascism, Everyday Life, April 28-30, 19Ö3, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. Keynote address by Christa Wolf. For registration and further information, contact Professor Helen Fehervary, Dept. of German, [redacted] OSU, Columbus, OH U3210.
First Feminist Germanist Conference in the FRG. Vom 24. bis zum 28. Mai 1983 findet in Hamburg eine Tagung statt zum Thema:
FEMINISTISCHE LITERATURWISSENSCHAFT ZUM VERHÄLTNIS VON FRAUENBILDERN UND FRAUENLITERATUR
Zielsetzung der Tagung ist die Kommunikation zwischen Frauen über Forschungsergebnisse und methodische Erfahrungen bei der Rekonstruktion weiblicher Kulturgeschichte. Wir wollen in erster Linie Literaturwissenschaftlerinnen, aber auch Frauen, die in anderen Fächern feministische Forschung betreiben, ansprechen. Die Tagung soll einen Überblick über den Stand historischer Forschung und Theorieentwicklung ermöglichen. Alle Teilnehmerinnen sollten die Ergebnisse und Probleme ihrer Projekte im Hinblick auf feministische Theoriebildung und Kulturkritik in die Diskussion einbringen. Am Ende der Tagung sollten Überlegungen und Planungen stehen, die eine kontinuierliche Weiterarbeit und Zusammenarbeit unter den beteiligten Wissenschaftlerinnen ermöglichen.
Geplanter Tagungsverlauf
1. Theoretische Überlegungen und historische Beispiele aus dem Gebiet "Frauenbilder”2. Theoretische Überlegungen und historische Beispiele aus dem Gebiet "Frauenliteratur"
3. Projektvorstellungen aus den Gebieten "Frauenbilder" und "Frauenliteratur"
4. Feministische Wissenschaft in Geschichte, Kunstgeschichte, Psychoanalyse und anderen Disziplinen
5. Feministische Wissenschaft - Erfahrungen in den USA und Perspektiven in der BRD
Alle, die interessiert und weitere Informationen haben wollen, bitten wir sich zu wenden an Inge Stephan/Sigrid Weigel, Literaturwissenshaftliches Seminar, [redacted]
Page 27
CALL FOR PAPERS
Ninth International New Hampshire Symposium on the German Dem. Republic
June 17-24, 1983
World Fellowship Center
Conway, N.H.
The 1983 New Hampshire Symposium on the GDR has been scheduled for the week June 17-24, to be held at the World Fellowship Center near Conway. As in past years, the Symposium will be interdisciplinary in approach. Economists, historians, political scientists, sociologists, etc., as well as Germanists are invited to participate. Papers are being solicited for the following seminars:
Seminar I: Economic, Social, and Political Issues in the GDR - Arthur A. Stahnke, Dept. of Government, So. Illinois Univ., Edwardsville, IL 62026; Volker Gransow, Fachbereich II, Universität Bielefeld, D-48OO Bielefeld.
Seminar II: Relations of Church and State in the GDR: Luther Year, Peace Movement, Coexistence - Nancy Lukens, Dept. of German, College of Wooster, Wooster, OH 44691.
Seminar III: Changes in Marx Reception in the GDR and in the West - Volker Gransow (Seminar I); Christiane Lemke, Zentralinstitut für sozialwissenschaftliche Forschung, FU Berlin, Babelsbergerstr. 14-16, D-1000 Berlin 31.
Seminar IV: Cultural Heritage and Tradition in the GDR: Art, Architecture, Literature, Music, Restoration - Nancy A. Lauckner, Dept. of Germanic and Slavic Lang., University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37916; James Knowlton, Dept. of German, Rutgers University, Camden, N.J. 08102.
Seminar V: Theater and the Performing Arts in the GDR - Margaret Ward, Dept. of German, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA 02181.
Seminar VI: Reception of GDR Literature in East and West - Duncan Smith, Dept. of German, Brown University, Providence, R.I. 02912.
Seminar VII: Changes in Language and Lexicography in the GDR
H. Jochen Hoffmann, [redacted] Fritz König, Dept. of Modern Languages, University of No. Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA 50613.
Seminar VIII: Travel Literature in the GDR - Alexander Stephan, Dept. of Germanic Lang., U.C.L.A., Los Angeles, CA 90024.
Seminar IX: Lyric Poetry in the GDR - Christine Cosentino, Dept. of German, Rutgers University, Camden, N.J. 08102; Wolfgang Ertl, Dept. of German, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242.
Seminar X: Writers Relatively Unknown in the West - Margy Gerber, Dept. of German and Russian, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43402.
Page 28
Seminar XI: Recent Developments in GDR Literature and Aesthetic Theory - Christine Zehl Romero, Dept. of German and Russian, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155; Dieter Sevin, Dept. of German, Vanderbilt Univ., [redacted] St. B, Nashville, TN 37221.
Seminar XII: Teaching of GDR Literature and Culture - Margy Gerber (Seminar X).
Detailed proposals (title plus 2-3 pages) should be submitted to the appropriate seminar organizer(s)—in case of co-organizers, two copies— by Feb. 1, 1983; completed papers must be submitted no later than April 15. Papers should not exceed 30 minutes; the preferred language is English. The proceedings of the Symposium will most probably be published. For more information on the Symposium, contact W. Christoph Schmauch, World Fellowship Center, Conway, N.H. 03818, [redacted]
* * * * *
LIST OF DEADLINES '
January: preliminary deadlines for proposals to MLA and AATG— check with the national offices!
February 1, 1983: deadline for receiving paid registrations for April 9 WiG meeting with Christa Wolf. To Jeanette Clausen, newsletter address.
February 15, 1983: ABSOLUTE FINAL DEADLINE for items to be published in the March issue of WiG.
March: deadlines for detailed proposals to MLA and AATG—check with the national offices!
March 15, 1983: proposals for WIG 1983 session “Stimme finden,” to Jeannine Blackwell [redacted] and Irmgard Taylor [redacted].
April 1, 1983: proposals for WiG 1983 session "Stimme suchen," to Judith Jamieson (Providence College, Providence, RI 02918) and Helen Fehervary (German Dept., [redacted] OSU, Columbus 43210).
* * * *
This newsletter was typed by Marilyn Gibbons (Women's Studies,
IPFW) and Connie Munk (Mod. For. Lang., IPFW). During this same week, they also typed and mailed the Femini st as Uni das newsletter, took care of their families, attended classes and did their work in their departments. Connie and Marilyn stand for many other women without whom organizations like ours couldn’t work. Please remember them when you read this newsletter.
* * * *
Feministas Unidas, coalition of feminist scholars in Spanish, Spanish-American, Afro-Portuguese, Luso-Brazi1ian, Puerto Rican and Chicano Studies, meets annually at MLA and publishes a newsletter twice a year (November, April). For information: Linda Fox, Women's Studies, IPFW, Fort Wayne, IN 46805.
page 29
SUBSCRIPTIONS/MEMBERSHIP
This is Newsletter 29. Read your label and renew when numbers match.
WiG sister, Jane 29
Feminist University
Everywhere, USA
Unlike most professional organizations, WOMEN IN GERMAN has not raised its rates in the past three years. We are able to keep rates low for students and the unemployed in part because of individual members who voluntarily pay the supporting membership rates (see dues structure below). Membership/subscription money is used to finance the publication of the WiG newsletter (three issues per year, March, August, November) and to partially cover expenses for the annual WiG conference and other events.
As part of our efforts to generate additional funds to support more extensive WiG projects, such as publication of conference proceedings, we have added an additional category, sponsoring departments. Besides receiving the newsletter and other information sent to the WiG membership as a whole, German departments which become WiG sponsors will be eligible to purchase published materials at the same discount available to individual members. Also, they will be listed as sponsors in the August issue of the newsletter and in any publications partially funded through their support.
Please fill out this section, detach and return with check (payable to Women in German) to: WOMEN IN GERMAN, Dept. of Modern Foreign Languages, Indiana U.-Purdue U., Fort Wayne, IN 468O5.
Name __________________________________________________
Address _______________________________________________
Check if applicable: change of address
Creator
Source
Date
Contributor
Rights
Format
Language
Type
Identifier
Files
