Context Flashcards
How have women been portrayed in literature throughout time?
As the mother, the bith or the virgin
What did the first wave of feminsim consist of and when did it take place?
19th and 20th centuries, focused on the securement of legal rights and equality in education and peoperty ownership
When was the secon wave of feminism and what did it consist of?
1960s-1980s. Focused on criticisning the traditional family structure, perceptions od sexuaity and the female body. Confronted issues such as public opinion on rape and domestic violence. Focused also on gender equality in the workplace.
When the di third wave of feminism begina and what is it focusing on?
1980s. Focuses on redefinition of traditional gender norms, reclamation of language and semantics such as taboo words along with reproductive rights through the use of contraception and abortion. Combines traditional feminist theory with a more intersectional approach to do with race, class and politics.
What can post-modernism be defined by?
An attitude of skepticism towards the ‘grand narratives’ and the stability of meaning found in previous literary and art tropes
Where did atwood write parts of the handmaids tale and what effect did this have on her writing?
West Berlin and Alabama, which means she was influencd by the split in society and also a society that was still feeling the effects of a post-jim crow era.
When did Atwood write teh handmaid’s tale?
shortly after the elections of Ronald Reagan in the United States and Margaret Thatcher in Great Britain, during a period of conservative revival in the West partly fueled by a strong, well-organized movement of religious conservatives who criticized the growth in ‘permissive society’
