Thursday 25th April 7:30pmWomen’s Studies Without Walls: Back to the Roots (Symposium for the Gender & Education Association Conference 2013. Everybody welcome.)

Panel of speakers, Sarbjit Johal, Anne Rossiter, Ruth Nicholson and Aura Lounasmaa, talking about accessibility, consciousness-raising, reaching beyond established institutions, and the relationship between activism and academia. Followed by a general discussion; with art exhibition by Sarbjit Johal. (Tours of the Feminist Library from 2 p.m.)

Thursday 2nd May 7pm An introduction to Feminist Consciousness-RaisingGail Chester and Aura Lounasmaa

A practical session on consciousness-raising (CR). Through doing it, we will tackle such questions as: What is a CR group? How do you set one up? Is CR a useful organising tool in today’s world as it was in the 1970s and 80s? WSWW hopes to set up a register of women looking for local groups and putting them in touch with each other.

Sunday 19th May 3pm – 6pm London Irish Women’s Network hosts an afternoon focussed on the Magdalene Laundries

The keynote speaker is Mary Lodato, who is writing a PhD on her personal journey of survival, redress and recovery, charting the childhood experience of institutional abuse in an Industrial School which had a Magdalene Laundry attached to it. Some of Mary’s artwork will be on display and Survivor poet, Emer O’Keefe, will read poetry.

Thursday 30th May 7pm Women and Disability Clare Cochrane

Disabled & non-disabled feminists exploring personal & political responses to disability in a supportive atmosphere. We’ll explore questions such as: What does ‘disabled’ mean? How do feminism and disability interact? How can experiences of disability transform society? This will be a workshop, not a lecture – so come ready to share your thoughts and learn together.

Thursday 13th June 7pm Women Taking Direct Action Angie Zelter

As a founding member of Action Atomic Weapon Eradication, Angie will talk about the need for more women’s action to eradicate atomic weapons in the world, followed by a discussion on direct action more generally.

Thursday 27th June 7pm Stuff Your Sexist Boss!South London Solidarity Federation

London SolFed is producing a pamphlet about practical methods of resisting sexual harassment in the workplace. So come along, share experiences, and exchange ideas on tactics for working collectively against workplace harassment and discrimination.

Sunday 7th July 3pm – 6pm London Irish Women’s Network hosts an afternoon on the Making and Breaking of Images of Irish Women

Who do we carry around in our heads? We will be going on a journey around what we’ve absorbed, what we’ve made or left unmade, and whether we should be doing anything about it. A participative event.

Thursday 11th July 7pm Feminist Film Showing and Discussion (Film TBC)

Thursday 18th July 7pm Review, Planning and Party

Review of activities so far, and all your ideas for our autumn series, followed by food, drink and music.

Please register in advance; contact us for more info:

Email wsww@feministlibrary.co.uk

Phone 020 7261 0879 Twitter @feministlibrary #WSWW

Website http://feministlibrary.co.uk/womens-studies-without-walls-2/

Suggested donation on entry: £3-8 per session

All self-defined women welcome. See you there, sisters.

Feminist Library, 5 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7XW

This is a book of stencils of the faces of some amazing activist women, accompanied by short stories of the life of each one. The stencils are bold and graphic, so can be used to make stencils out of card or foam board, which can then be used with paint to decorate walls, or used in many school and home art projects.

One of the women included in the book is Harriet Tubman, an education activist who began her life being sold into the slave trade at the age of five. During her early childhood, she protected another slave from being hit by their master, and as a result suffered from narcolepsy from the injuries she sustained. She worked on underground railroads, which provided secret housing for people escaping slavery, and during her lifetime she rescued many other slaves and brought them to safety.

The sheer bravery and fight of all the women in this book is astounding and inspiring.

Another example is Rosa Luxemburg who was one of the most important and well-remembered women of the German radical socialist and anti war movement prior to World War 1. She founded the paper Sprawa Robotnicza (The Workers’ Cause ) which was strongly opposed to the views of the nationalist policies of the Polish Socialist Party, as she basically believed in overthrowing capitalism, as many activists still do today.

It is interesting to note that the causes that women activists in this book were fighting for, are still being fought for today, such as overthrowing capitalism, and fighting for freedom from exploitation for women and all people.

This is an informative read and a good tool for artists interested in feminist activism, as the stencils can be referred back to time and time again.

Reviewed by Shelley Jamaine Iqbal

Class and Gender in British Labour History: Renewing the Debate (or starting it?)Edited by Mary Davis (Merlin Press, 2011)

“Historians have a lot to answer for: our knowledge of the past is filtered through their collective lens” (Mary Davis, p14)

Davis argues that despite the enormous contributions made by marxist historians to our understanding of class, the failure of labour and marxist historians to acknowledge the role women and black workers have played in class formation, trade union struggle and political action, has resulted in an incomplete and gender-blind analysis of class and capitalism. This collection of essays seeks to rectify this omission and document the valuable role played by women in the UK as workers, trade unionists and political activists.

Women and children were among the first factory workers, occupying unskilled factory roles as industrialisation developed, particularly within the textile and clothing industries, and there are several chapters documenting these women workers, the effect of their work on their communities, the development of their class-consciousness, and women’s perceptions of themselves as workers and organisers. The income brought in to families by women’s work in factories and sweatshops was valued by their menfolk during harsh economic times, yet they reacted against women working and the imposition of industrial capitalist labour processes onthem, viewing the necessity of women working outside the home as subversive to existing social and sexual relations and the exercise of male power.

Women workers organised autonomously for better working conditions, joined trade unions and supported male workers’ struggles, however many of the trade unions did not support women’s rights to a decent wage, and treated women with suspicion. Female labour was viewed as undermining man’s right to be the main breadwinner, and it was felt that campaigning for higher wages for women would reduce male workers right to higher wages. The Trade Union movement failed to realise the importance of a decent wage for all, and frequently campaigned for a segregated workforce, with women occupying the lower paid, lower prestige jobs, therefore maintaining the status quo and male workers rights to a superior wage.

I found the chapter on the exclusion of women from the building trade particularly interesting. The authors traced the fallacy of “skill” and “skilled work” as being an essentially male trait, and it’s use by male workers, trade unions and the capitalists, as a way of deliberating denying women workers to training, apprenticeships and jobs. The result of this is felt even today, with women depressingly under-represented in the construction industry.

This book is a very in-depth examination of the history of women, work and trade unionism in the UK. Although some of the chapters felt quite academic, because so much of the material was totally new to me, I found it an enjoyable and very interesting read. It enlightened me on my own position as a worker, trade unionist and political activist, and on the impact of the historic sidelining of women on my own perception of class identity. A must read for all those interested in labour and women’s history, women’s liberation and the class struggle.

Reviewed by Una Byrne

The library will be open as usual on Thursday 6:30-9:30pm.

Enjoy!

To celebrate Women’s History Month, the launch of our new e-bulletin and the upcoming launch of our amazing new website, we will be holding a fundraising social at the Feminist Library from 6:30 pm on Saturday 23rd March 2013.

The Feminist Library proudly presents an evening of FEMINIST POETRY, SPOKEN WORD AND MUSIC!

Held at the Feminist Library on Saturday 23^rd March 2013 at 6:30pm
5a Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7XW
(nearest tubes Lambeth North, Waterloo and Elephant & Castle)

Open mic line up TBC
Hosted by Gail Chester

Entry free but suggested donation £3-£8 on the door.
This space is wheelchair-accessible and open to all.
There will be vegan, gluten-free food to share and alcoholic/non-alcoholic drinks too.

For further information and to reserve your open mic spot, please contact us:

office@feministlibrary.co.uk
twitter.com/feministlibrary
www.feministlibrary.co.uk
020 7261 0879

This month the London Student Feminist Network presents the Student Feminist Conference 2013, which will take place at the University of London Union on the weekend of the 23rd and 24th February. Organised by grassroots activists from an array of universities, colleges and schools in and around London, this event is an opportunity for feminists of all genders to get together, share ideas and reflect on the current state of feminist activism.

The London Student Feminist Network is a loose network of feminist students and societies set up during the summer of 2012. It meets monthly in the Feminist Library to discuss campaigns, build connections and support each other’s activities.

The Student Feminist Conference 2013 will include training workshops, skill-shares and other discussion-based sessions on a variety of different topics, including an introduction to feminism, how to set up societies, sex work, trans* and black feminism, mental health, feminism in further education, intersectionality and organising in the workplace. There will also be self-defining caucuses for LGBTQ, disabled and BME activists and carers/parents.

“Studentfems2013 is going to be a special chance for student feminists nationwide to come together and organise a network of full feminist activism,” said Susuana from Royal Holloway, who founded the London Student Feminist Network.

“I can’t wait to meet so many other feminists! It will be such a great opportunity to find out more about what I am passionate about,” said Lili, a secondary school student and founder of the Twitter Youth Feminist Army.

The conference will take place in the ULU building on Malet Street, in Bloomsbury, central London. It is free to attend, fully wheelchair-accessible and there will be a crèche. Light refreshments will be available and there are many places to buy food nearby. Please make sure to book your place online at http://www.studentfems2013.co.uk.

Recordings made by Yula Burin and participants of the Women’s Studies Without Walls inaugural event on the 19th and 20th of January 2013.

Big thanks to Camden Community Radio for hosting these podcasts.

On consciousness raising: http://canstream.co.uk/camden/index.php?id=497

How the event felt: http://canstream.co.uk/camden/index.php?id=496

On making Women’s Studies inclusive: http://canstream.co.uk/camden/index.php?id=495

On connecting theory, feelings and political response: http://canstream.co.uk/camden/index.php?id=494

On the history and value of Women’s Studies to activists: http://canstream.co.uk/camden/index.php?id=493

Personal choices are constrained by politics: http://canstream.co.uk/camden/index.php?id=492

Refelctions on “the personal is political”: http://canstream.co.uk/camden/index.php?id=491