Revolutionize It! the Radical History of Second-Wave Feminisms

3 units

In this discussion-based course, we explore the complex, contradictory and profoundly multiracial history of the so-called second wave of the feminist movement (1960s-1980s). We will focus on those activists who understood themselves to be radicals and revolutionaries -- women's liberationists, women of color (or third-world) feminists, and lesbian-feminists -- as they collaborated and collided with each other. Among the questions we will ask are the following: What happens to our understanding of the second wave when we center the activism of African-American, Latinx, indigenous and anti-capitalist feminists? What were the promises and the pitfalls of a politics of sisterhood? How did sexual desire and sexual conflict shape both notions of identity and the movement on the ground? We will also consider the legacy of second-wave feminism for the politics of our time, including #MeToo, reproductive freedom, and the struggle for trans liberation.