About the event
Jane Marcus Feminist University is a day-long celebration of the life and scholarship of Jane Marcus organized by her former students.
Distinguished Professor of English at City College and the Graduate Center, CUNY, Jane Marcus was a radical scholar, mentor, and activist. Her seminal work established Virginia Woolf as a major canonical writer. Her scholarship laid the groundwork for feminist studies to become a mode of inquiry within the academy. Because of her advocacy and radicalism as a teacher, numerous individuals were able to gain rights and access to professional opportunities—particularly within academia—that had traditionally been unavailable to people of color, women, and members of the working class.
Jane Marcus Feminist University will feature a round table discussion on feminist pedagogy; breakout workshops on her scholarship; readings from her work and primary influences; and a plenary on her legacy. This unconventional conference will honor Jane’s intellectual bravery and her lasting impact on the lives of so many students.
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
9:30-10:00: Registration
Register in person for breakout workshops (see below). Breakfast and coffee.
10:00-10:20: Opening remarks
J. Ashley Foster, Haverford College
Cori Gabbard, New York City College of Technology
Conor Tomás Reed, The Graduate Center, CUNY
10:30-12:00: Jane’s Feminist Pedagogy Plenary Roundtable
Linda Camarasana, SUNY College at Old Westbury
Page Delano, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Robin Hackett, University of New Hampshire
Jamie Weida, Borough of Manhattan Community College
Moderator: Tracyann Williams, The New School
12:15-1:30: Breakout Workshops—*Participants choose workshop at Registration Desk, 9:30-10am*
Modernist Women Writers and Activists
Led by Nancy Berke, LaGuardia College
This workshop will explore the connection between art production and social protest in the public lives of modernist women writers. Click here for full description.
The Spanish Civil War
Led by Margaret Carson, Borough of Manhattan Community College
This workshop will explore Jane Marcus’s engagement with the intellectual and creative work generated in the wake of the Spanish Civil War. Click here for full description.
Feminist Digital Pedagogy
Led by Amanda Golden, New York Institute of Technology
This workshop will explore feminist approaches to teaching literature, history, and culture using digital tools. Click here for full description and links to related readings.
Jane Marcus and New Historicism
Led by Harold Veeser, City College
This workshop will explore how to employ Jane Marcus’ method for accessing and interpreting the past through archival and historical objects as well as literary texts as part of our own research practice. Click here for full description and links to related readings.
1:30-2:45: Lunch (in English Lounge, room 4406): Time for reminiscences and memories.
2:45-4:15: Jane’s Scholarly Legacy Plenary Roundtable
Mary Ann Caws, The Graduate Center, CUNY
Laura Hinton, City College
Jean Mills, John Jay College
Anne Rice, City College
Moderator: J. Ashley Foster, Haverford College
4:15-4:30: Tea Time
4:30-6:00: Jane’s Reading List
Meena Alexander, The Graduate Center, CUNY
Leah Souffrant, New York University
Umar Nizarudeen, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Deli, India
Seamus O’Malley, Yeshiva University
Reagan Lothes, John Jay College
Magdalena Bogacka-Rode, Queensborough Community College
Michele Wallace, The Graduate Center
Blanche Cook, John Jay College
Sabine Broeck, Universität Bremen
Cheryl J. Fish, professor, BMCC
Moderator: Cori Gabbard
6:00-8:00: Reception in Jane’s honor (in English Lounge, room 4406). Dedicated time for reminiscences and memories.
Cosponsored by Lost & Found: The CUNY Poetics Document Initiative, the Phd Program in English, Global Studies Collective, Doctoral Students’ Council, the Twentieth Century Area Studies Group, and the Feminist Studies Group, the Women's Studies Certificate Program at the Graduate Center, CUNY; The International Rebecca West Society, Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature, The Feminist Press, Women’s Studies Quarterly, and Sandi Cooper, Michael Marcus, and Linda Camarasana.
