Conversations with History: Institute
of International Studies, UC Berkeley
This interview is part of the Institute's "Conversations with History" series, and uses Internet technology to share with the public
Berkeley's distinction as a global forum for ideas.
Welcome to a Conversation with History.
I'm Harry Kreisler of the Institute
of International Studies. Our guest today is Ruth Rosen, who is a historian
and journalist. Her most recent book is The World Split Open: How the Modern
Women's Movement Changed America. Formerly a Professor at the University
of California at Davis, she is now an editorial writer and columnist for the
San Francisco Chronicle.
- Background ... influence of parents
... friends as mentors ... readings ... education ... interest in history
... seeing the U.S. from the outside ... the Civil Rights movement ... impact
of the sixties
- Becoming an Historian ... first women's
meeting ... discovering "normal" discrimination... perspectives
on prostitution ... analyst and participant ... understanding the cultural
context of the women's movement
- The Modern Women's Movement: The Younger Generation ...
The Feminine Mystique ... consciousness ... naming the injuries of
sexism ... importance of American sense of fairness ... discrimination
in the civil rights and antiwar movements ... seeing work and home in a
new way ... importance of consciousness raising sessions
- The Modern Women's Movement: The Older Generation ...
Kennedy's Commission on the Status of Women ... state and county commissions
... consequences of women talking to each other ... Title 7
- The Women's Movement as a Global Phenomenon ...
social change behind the big events ... U.N.'s International Women's Conferences
... expanded view of human rights ... redefining development ... other issues:
trafficking; refugees ... impact of the conference in China ... impact of
the war in Afghanistan
- The Role of Journalism ... bringing
issues into view ... journalists as educators ... .finding the right words
... the art of storytelling ... example: "ordinary" terror of
daily lives
- Conclusion ... advice to students
... history
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