Gender aspects of creativity by Joseph Conrad in English studies.

The article is devoted to the analysis of gender discourse in the artistic heritage of the English classics, a Pole by birth, Joseph Conrad, by modern studies, often in coverage of racial, national, political, postcolonial and other issues.

Avant-garde actresses and feminist theatre in Rome in the 1970s: new stages and new forms of expression

This essay is based on one of the ORMETE (Oralità Memoria Teatro: www.ormete.net) projects: Donne di teatro a Roma ai tempi della mobilitazione femminista (1965-1985). The research shows the inter-relations between the feminist movement and the actresses of the avant-garde scene in Rome. The focus of each of the women’s personal narrations is characterised by its strong and definite feminist or anti-conformist identity and by its determination to channel its own imagery in the experimental scene of the avant-garde. Many of the women gathered in feminist companies or joined collective groups; some ventured the road of dramaturgy, while still others dared more alternative, experimental kinds of solo performances. This text sheds light on a variety of alternative spaces for performances in Rome. It is there where these new forms of theatrical expressions were born.

Narastające migracje do bogatych krajów Północy ewokują pełen napięć dyskurs uprzywilejowani Oni versus mniej uprzywilejowani Inni. Znormatywizowane postawy wytworzone przez nacjonalistyczne „wspólnoty wyobrażone” oraz społeczno-ekonomiczne realia kraju, do którego udaje się emigrant, ugruntowują strukturę nierówności oraz brak dialogu in between. Na podstawie powieści Vigdis Hjorth zatytułowanej Et norsk hus autorka zwraca uwagę na istotność owych procesów komunikacyjnych oraz potrzebę tworzenia polifonicznej przestrzeni wzajemnej odpowiedzialności, opartej na solidarnościowych założeniach feminizmu.

The Mothers of democracy. The involvement of women in the fight for a free Poland in the 1980s

The purpose of this article is to present a cross-section of the 1980s in Poland from the perspective of female protagonists and to describe the role they played in the process of democratic changes, their involvement in the active opposition, strikes and later the Solidarity underground. The aim is to describe how they coped with everyday struggles, what roles they took on in life and highlight their contribution to the gradual liberation from the communist regime. Women took an active part in the struggle for Poland’s independence. Women described in this article manifested their opinions on politics, labor and civil rights. In presenting the activities of women’s resistance, the authors took into account gender and cultural perspectives. The article was written based on historical publications, interviews with witnesses of the aforementioned events and opposition activists themselves, as well as articles on the subject.

Feminist deconstruction of the traditional image of women in Qiu Jin’s works

Women’s issues are a significant subject of study in the realm of Chinese literature. In many works, it can be seen to oppose stereotypes or norms imposed on the female gender and to take measures leading to the emancipation of the individual. Such literature is symptomatic of a desire for change in society, that is, the overthrow of the patriarchal system and the introduction of equal rights between the sexes. An example of such prose is the works of China’s first feminist, Qiu Jin, who decided to fight for women’s rights. She was sentenced to death for her revolutionary activities. However, her texts introduced a completely new image of women into the public sphere - different from the one that had been reproduced for hundreds of years in ancient China. The poet chose to endow her heroines with charisma, courage, intelligence and the will to fight for a better life. Her aim was to make women aware of their situation in life, their social role, and to encourage them to leave the male-dominated world. Michalina Koniuk, in the chapter “Feminist Deconstruction of the Traditional Image of Woman in Qiu Jin’s Works”, proposes to analyse Qiu Jin’s works and present that the characters created by the writer oppose and destroy the image of the obedient and uneducated woman that existed in ancient China. First, the social role imposed on women in Chinese society has been described, namely that of obedient daughter, wife and daughter-in-law. The requirements and rules expected of Chinese women have been presented, and how Confucian norms contributed to the belittling of women’s role and position in Chinese society. As the poet was inspired by her own life experiences, Qiu Jin’s life were briefly introduced. Her childhood, during which the first signs of dissatisfaction with the obligations and social norms imposed on girls could be observed. An unsuccessful marriage mobilised the feminist to fight for women’s rights, to oppose the doctrines of Confucius and to leave home and go abroad. This was a great act of courage and at the same time a struggle for freedom and independence in the life of a feminist. That part was followed by an analysis of Qiu Jin’s works, whose female characters exemplify the kind of norms and behaviours that Qiu Jin rebelled against. At the same time, these characters deconstruct the traditional image of a woman and introduce a new one of a strong and independent individual. In this chapter, all poems and quotations have been translated by the author from Chinese into Polish.

Feminism in the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Feminism in the Netherlands began as social movement during the 19th century. The prominent representatives of the first feministic movement are: Wilhelmina Drucker, Aletta Jacobs and Helena Mercier. Later, the struggles of Second-wave feminism in the Netherlands mirrored developments in the women’s rights movement in other Western countries. Nowadays the position of women in the Netherland’s society have changed, but there are a lot of problems like part-time jobs, discriminating political parties, which must been encouraged to guarantee the full emancipation.

The Role of Cultural Gender in Musicological Research – Outline of the Research Field of Feminist Musicology

This article’s aim is to follow new directions in musicology research, that aspire to be interdisciplinary in character and to focus on cultural, analitical and critical approach to music. Almost entirely unknown to Polish readers, this research, defined as “new” musicology, refers to ethnomusicology and sociology of music’s outputs, and tries to apply some of the methods used in those disciplines to analyze classical Western music. Feminist musicology, on which I focus the most, is a still evolving, very popular in the US and at the same time very wide field of study. It’s analyses, although they are sometimes ideological, are one of the most interesting examples of widening the frames of traditional musicology, that are worth knowing. Not assuming to exhaust the topic, I find it crucial to outline the fields of research for this discipline.

Feminism as a philosophical concept is a general reflection on gender issues and women’s conditions. Since the 70s of the 20th century feminism has become an alternative way of creating knowledge from women’s perspective. The author notices that in Poland, unlike the West, feminist thought has not been treated with respect. She explains what the feminist theory is and then analyses the connections between feminist thought and social pedagogy; for both of them the essential categories are: engagement and empowerment. Applying the feminist perspective allows to examine the earlier periods of development of social pedagogy, especially its beginnings, and to discover women’s presence in the public sphere and their participating in developing socio-pedagogical thought.