"Alison Bartlett and Margaret Henderson give us a new and compelling history of women's liberation – told through objects and what they meant to participants. Objects range from gestetners to bolt cutters, from tofu to the music of Poly Styrene, and encapsulate the politics of a life-changing social movement. An important contribution to historiography and a wonderful read."– Marian Sawer AO, Emeritus Professor, School of Political Science and International Relations, The Australian National University"It is a good reminder of the complexities of the movement, and a counter to the more trite texts that record the history neatly classified... For those who were there or around, it is a powerful reminder; for the young a useful corrective to more ideological reminiscence and a reminder that political action has many dimensions."– Eva Cox AO, Feminist activist, writer, sociologist, and social commentator

This collection of essays explores objects that changed Australian women's lives through their association with women's liberation, the women's movement, and feminism since 1970. The volume combines personal narrative, historical analysis, and memoir, creating a highly readable collection and a novel way of documenting, historicising, remembering and writing the Australian women's movement, its affects, and its material culture. The contributors include high profile women and grass roots activists, academics and writers, and everyday women living the ideas of liberation and feminism from a range of locations. They are funny and serious, raw and sophisticated, analytical and emotional. Some are factual, while others delight in gossip. Each essay hinges on a particular object that is remembered for its symbolic value and practical use as an object of liberation, ranging from overalls and Gestetners, to seasponges and kombis. The editors' introduction canvasses the current fascination with 'things', 'stuff', 'objects' and other material culture that comprises and shapes our lives; with ideas around memory and emotion as increasingly important components of social histories, and about the ways in which the Australian women's movement is remembered.Combined, this volume of essays presents a fascinating collection of objects, writing, remembrance and the affects of one of the major social movements of the twentieth century. Things that Liberate is an experiment in thinking about the ways in which social movements can be documented and studied through material culture and memory.
Les mer
This collection of essays explores objects that changed Australian women's lives through their association with women's liberation, the women's movement, and feminism since 1970.

Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9781443844130
Publisert
2013-05-10
Utgiver
Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Høyde
212 mm
Bredde
148 mm
Aldersnivå
UP, P, 05, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
240

Biografisk notat

Alison Bartlett is an academic at the University of Western Australia who teaches gender studies. Her research interests are in Australian feminist literature, theory and history. She is the author of Breastwork: Rethinking Breastfeeding (2005), and edits the online journal Outskirts: feminisms along the edge.Margaret Henderson teaches literary studies in the School of English, Media Studies and Art History at the University of Queensland. She is the author of Marking Feminist Times: Remembering the Longest Revolution in Australia, and has also published on feminist culture and writing, and the cultures of surfing and motorcycling.