2nd BIGS reading group 29/1

The second BIGS reading group examines Simone de Beauvoir in light of her recent centenary. There are 2 short pieces to read for this week's meeting.

The first is a 1976 interview with SdB, where she discusses her personal views on feminism 25 years after the publication of The Second Sex.
http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/ethics/de-beauvoir/1976/interview.htm

The second is a recent article from the Guardian that explores the potential difficulty of SdB's private life over-shadowing her work.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/gender/story/0,,2235170,00.html

Tuesday 29th January
7-9pm
317, 43 George Square

Last night's Launch

I'm pleased to say this was a triumphant success. It was so over subscribed that people were having to stand through the speeches. There was a meeting of well-established academics and those just emerging in the field. Feminist activists conversed with those entrenched in Queer Theory. I think in this time of Government cuts happening every which way in the arts, including the proposed-removal of funding from both the Drill Hall and queerupnorth, the BIGS institute is needed more than ever. The main website cites this aim, as follows:

"BIGS seeks to encourage new ideas and forms of understanding in gender studies. It provides a forum for scholarly exchange and collaboration within the college and beyond, bringing together scholars working in the arts and humanities, and the social sciences. BIGS fosters postgraduate teaching and research in gender studies."

BIGS Launch!

Bedrocks and Beyond: The Launch of the Birkbeck Institute of Gender and Sexuality.

A drinks reception and dialogue on issues of gender and sexuality in critical, personal and political perspectives.
Participants include Lisa Baraitser, Heike Bauer, Matt Cook, Rosie Cox, Sue Jackson, Daniel Monk, Sasha Roseneil and Lynne Segal

Monday 21 January 2008. 5:30-8:30pm.
Drill Hall,
16 Chenies Street,
London WC1E 7EX

To reserve a place please email c.seagrave@bbk.ac.uk, or call 020 7631 6661.