Panel Discusses Women's History

Six prominent women scholars gathered in Agassiz House yesterday to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Mary Wollstonecraft's Vindication of the Rights of Women.

The panelists, all bringing very different backgrounds and approaches to the topic, were writer Betty Friedan, psychoanalyst and author Juliet Mitchell, University of Wisconsin history professor Gerda Lerner and Williams College political science professor Dessima Williams.

Joined by Professor of Education Carol Gilligan and Bina Agarwal, an economist from the University of Delhi and a former visiting professor in women's studies, the panel engaged in a broad-based discussion on the current state of the feminist movement.

The event, which drew a crowd of more than 400, was part of the seventh annual Women's Studies Colloquium on Gender, Culture and Society and was the final event of Women's History Week.

Assistant Professor of History Susan Pedersen introduced the colloquium by discussing Wollstonecraft's turbulent life and the public response to Wollstonecraft's work in the century following her death.

"Wollstonecraft was a product of her particular moment, but was appropriated by many eras," Pederson said.

Lerner, the first panelist to speak, gave a historical perspective on Wollstonecraft as a feminist thinker.

Lerner contrasted Wollstonecraft to her feminist predecessors in the 17th century, arguing that her major innovation was the inclusion of poor, single and middle class women into John Locke's framework of human rights.

Following Lerner, Mitchell contrasted Wollstonecraft's Vindication to her fiction. While Vindication was an optimistic work, she said, it was later dwarfed by Wollstonecraft's more pessimistic novels, which revealed her views on the inequality between men and women.

"The novels undercut the opti- mism of the Vindication and show theproblems in fighting for women's rights," shesaid.

Williams then related Wollstonecraft's writingsto female leaders in developing countries and tothe need for a more broadly based feministmovement.

"We need an extension in the fights for women'srights--not vindication, but empowerment," shesaid.

Betty Friedan, author of The FeminineMystique and founder of the NationalOrganization for Women (NOW), followed Williamswith a speech that stressed the need for a newparadigm in the fight for women's rights.

Women need a movement that extends far beyondthe basic rights that Wollstonecraft advocated,she said.

"When I wrote the statement of purpose forNOW," she said, "I had the dimmest vision of equalrights of women, just as Mary Wollstonecraft hadthe dimmest vision of women's rights."

In the past 25 years, she said, the women'smovement has advanced far beyond both MaryWollstonecraft's vision and the first wave ofmodern feminism.

After a short commentary by Radcliffe PresidentLinda S. Wilson, Gilligan and Agarwal summarizedthe themes raised by the four panelists andtargeted issues related to the current status ofthe women's movement.

Gilligan said that a woman's development iscentral to the themes of framework andrelationship that the panelists discussed in termsof Wollstonecraft's work.

Agarwal reflected on the panelist's talks fromher perspective as a third world woman confrontinga "western feminist agenda."

One problem of the feminist movement in theUnited States, she said, is the division betweenacademics and those who fight for grassrootssocial change.

"Does the education that Mary Wollstonecraftadvocated necessarily divide women?" she asked thepanel.

Despite one audience member's accusation thatLerner and Mitchell were not responding toAgarwal's question and that Friedan had sleptthrough Agarwal's speech, the colloquium ended ona congenial note.

The panelists stood and joined together in asong that proclaimed "breaking the chains thewomen come, they'll come and they'll find a newworld."

Although cultural critic bell hooks wasexpected to join the colloquium, she could notattend due to illness and was replaced byWilliams, who was a fellow at the BuntingInstitute in 1989-90

Williams then related Wollstonecraft's writingsto female leaders in developing countries and tothe need for a more broadly based feministmovement.

"We need an extension in the fights for women'srights--not vindication, but empowerment," shesaid.

Betty Friedan, author of The FeminineMystique and founder of the NationalOrganization for Women (NOW), followed Williamswith a speech that stressed the need for a newparadigm in the fight for women's rights.

Women need a movement that extends far beyondthe basic rights that Wollstonecraft advocated,she said.

"When I wrote the statement of purpose forNOW," she said, "I had the dimmest vision of equalrights of women, just as Mary Wollstonecraft hadthe dimmest vision of women's rights."

In the past 25 years, she said, the women'smovement has advanced far beyond both MaryWollstonecraft's vision and the first wave ofmodern feminism.

After a short commentary by Radcliffe PresidentLinda S. Wilson, Gilligan and Agarwal summarizedthe themes raised by the four panelists andtargeted issues related to the current status ofthe women's movement.

Gilligan said that a woman's development iscentral to the themes of framework andrelationship that the panelists discussed in termsof Wollstonecraft's work.

Agarwal reflected on the panelist's talks fromher perspective as a third world woman confrontinga "western feminist agenda."

One problem of the feminist movement in theUnited States, she said, is the division betweenacademics and those who fight for grassrootssocial change.

"Does the education that Mary Wollstonecraftadvocated necessarily divide women?" she asked thepanel.

Despite one audience member's accusation thatLerner and Mitchell were not responding toAgarwal's question and that Friedan had sleptthrough Agarwal's speech, the colloquium ended ona congenial note.

The panelists stood and joined together in asong that proclaimed "breaking the chains thewomen come, they'll come and they'll find a newworld."

Although cultural critic bell hooks wasexpected to join the colloquium, she could notattend due to illness and was replaced byWilliams, who was a fellow at the BuntingInstitute in 1989-90