Dear GCI followers,
Professor Jane Caputi, Florida Atlantic University, will be visiting the University of Illinois at Chicago on April 15 to present an analysis of the “Orange is the New Black” series produced by Netflix. The event is co-sponsored by UIC’s Gender and Women’s Studies, Institute for Race and Public Policy, and Great Cities Institute.
We are excited to have Jane here at UIC. She has a long history of publishing and speaking on issues of media images of women. In 1993, she wrote one of my favorite books, Gossips, Gorgons, and Crones, in which she analyzes and critiques the patriarchal aspects of nuclear age culture and the importance of female powers as a needed counterforce. She brings forward a marvelous analysis of “feminist, pre-patriarchal, Native American philosophies” around female power.
Since 1993, Jane has continued her work on challenging the negative popular culture images that deface and diminish the power of women. In particular, she has been a strong and vocal advocate against images of violence of women that become penetrated in the images that we see everyday – to the point that they become normalized – and we become numb to their message. Jane produced a video entitled, The Pornography of Everyday Life. Her new film is Green Feminism: Discovering the Earth Mother/Lover/Other.
I have known Jane for twenty-five years and am very excited that she will be her to share with us her many insights and analyses of why it is in all of our interest to critique patriarchal myths and values that perpetuate destruction. Her words continue to be timely. There is much at stake as we engage in strategies for survival, particularly in the face of the growing impacts of global climate change.
Her analysis of The Color Orange will be an illuminating analysis of how popular culture images reinforce what Beth Richie calls “prison nation.” Power is perpetuated in popular culture images. After Jane’s analysis, how we think about these issues will never be the same.
Please join us, April 15, 2014, from 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. at 1250 University Hall.
Sincerely,
Teresa Córdova
Director
