[Though comic women have existed since the days of Baubo, the mythic figure who used sexual humor to lift the veil of mourning from the goddess Demeter's eyes, they have been neglected by scholars and critics. This pioneering volume tells the stories of five women who have created revolutionary forms of comic performance and discourse that defy the flagrant prejudices about women/feminists. The artists include 16th-century performer Isabella Andreini, 17th-century improviser Catherine Biancolelli, 20th century Italian playwright Franca Rame, and contemporary performance artists Deb Margolin and Kimberly Dark. All create humor that subverts patriarchal modes of representation, conventional notions of gender roles, and stereotypical images of women. Closing with a practical guide for performers and teachers of theater, this work illustrates the life-affirming possibilities of creating empowered communities and initiating social change through comedy, laughter and feminist humor.]

If the classroom is a potentially radical space, then feminists in educational institutions can act as agents of radicalization. However, efforts to breach ideological boundaries continue to present challenges to these activists. This collection of eleven critical essays unites scholars from various disciplines to explore how feminists live, survive, and thrive in the Academy. The pieces investigate innovative ways that women academics occupy the space of the Academy as real living bodies while resisting being judged, devalued, or valued on the basis of their biological bodies. Specific themes include abortion rights activism, authority in the classroom, feminist mentoring, the role of women's studies programs, division of labor, and the role of theater and performance in enacting lasting change.

This impressive collection of previously unpublished essays examines the relationship between competing conceptions of 'nature' and 'woman.' By looking historically and comprehensively at the problems and questions associated with human thinking about nature and woman, the contributors strive to gain the proper vantage point from which to assess modern virtues and vices. Also taking note of important religious and literary contributions to thought on nature and woman, these essays present a broad range of claims from classical Greece to the present intended to stimulate modern thinking. Nature, Woman, and the Art of Politics will prove indispensable to scholars of philosophy, political science and womenOs studies.

It's 1980s Romania: As the sun sets on the magical shore of the Black Sea and casts its last rays across the water, all Nora Teodoru can think about is pursuing her dream of becoming an accomplished artist - and of her love for Gigi, her childhood boyfriend from the Turkish part of town. But storm clouds are gathering as life under Dictator Nicolae Ceausescu becomes increasingly unbearable. His secret police are circling, never far from the young couple's doors. Nora and Gigi make plans to escape to Turkey, but nothing can prepare them for the events that follow. Five years later, the Romanian revolution is over, and Nora is on her own in Paris trying to make it as an artist. But then Gigi unexpectedly reappears in her life - and they are both faced with shocking revelations about each other. Nora realizes her life can never be the same...

"Immigrant Voices in the Pandemic" is a powerful collection of stories that showcase how the COVID-19 period has influenced the way we create art. This anthology is a testimony to how art can deliver our common humanity, especially in times of crisis, smuggling stories of immigration, exile, and loneliness into the pandemic frame. This second iteration of the anthology "Voices on the Move' is a varied tapestry that weaves in stories of grief and loss on one hand and recovery and hope on the other. The literature and art included here allow their creators and readers to inhabit a "flow state," enabling them to experience various levels of ecstasy rather than worry and pain. The authors gathered in this anthology are diverse, with some established in their respective fields, while others are just beginning their artistic journey. All of their voices come together to compose a choir whose song is audible beyond the pandemic. They are refugees, immigrants, and displaced people, and the entire book has emerged from directly lived experiences and personal stories. As an authentically feminist work, this collection also opens doors towards social change and equality. The pieces gathered here, whether in poetry, prose, drama, or visual arts, innovate at the aesthetic level, creating new languages and often breaking with traditional forms in all the genres. "Immigrant Voices in the Pandemic" offers a unique perspective on how the COVID-19 crisis has impacted the artistic expression of refugees, immigrants, and migrants. It is a must-read for those seeking to understand the impact of this moment in our common history on the artistic community and on humanity as a whole.

This multi-genre anthology is a collection of diverse artistic works ranging from poetry to creative fiction and non-fiction, from drama to photography. The collection is inspired by the multilayered experience of displacement, with a focus on the migration of what Edward Said calls "large aggregates of humanity" of the last several decades. Most of the contributors to the collection are themselves immigrants or refugees, or have worked with displaced peoples, such as migrants unfairly kept in detention centers or struggling to resettle in their host countries. This offers an added level of authenticity and truthfulness to their work. The multifaceted artistic exploration of the trauma of migration unfolds with a sense of urgency that engages and awakens readers to the harsh realities faced by millions as they escape war, famine, and gang violence only to encounter new and unexpected difficulties in the countries where they have asked for refuge. This book could not be more relevant and necessary today, having arisen as a direct and impassioned response to the present realities of the migration of peoples, in the belief that artistic expression in all its forms has the power to transform, heal, raise consciousness, and incite to real action in the world.

In the summer of 1977, seventeen-year-old Mona Manoliu falls in love with Mihai, a green-eyed boy who lives in Brasov, the romantic mountain city where she spends her summers. But under the Ceausescu dictatorship, paranoia infects everyone; soon Mona begins to suspect that Mihai is part of the secret police. As food shortages worsen and her loved ones begin to disappear, Mona realizes that she too must leave. Over the next twenty years, she struggles to bury her longing for the past, yet she eventually finds herself compelled to return, determined to learn the truth about her one great love.