Tag: Women
We’re excited that you’ve joined the conversation! At HMU, we want to continue the great authors’ conversations in a contemporary context, and this blog will help us do that. We look back to Aristotle and the early philosophers who used reason and discourse to gain wisdom and now we endeavor to do the same every day.
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July 10, 2026
Thanks to Alissa Simon, HMU Tutor, for today’s post.
Xiaolu Guo’s novel Call Me Ishmaelle reimagines Moby Dick. The adventure begins when a fifteen year old girl, Ishmaelle, becomes an orphan. Born and raised in the poor village of Saxonham, a fictional coastal village in the UK, she tries to work as a ropemaker for a time but is quickly drawn to a life at sea.
» Read more about: BOOK REVIEW: Call Me Ishmaelle by Xiaolu Guo »
October 24, 2025
Thanks to Sabahat Ali Wani, a 2025 Fellow in Ideas, for today’s post.
In 1971, Linda Nochlin asked, “Why have there been no great women artists?” Triggering a series of conversations, debates, and gendered concerns around art history, this question still holds classical relevance, but also reveals Eurocentric ideals and practices of celebrated feminist art historical interventions, where non-Western women artists and their artworks are “doubly marginalised,” in fact,
» Read more about: Tracing the Ebbs and Flows of Feminism and Art History Now »
October 10, 2025
Thanks to Alissa Simon, HMU Tutor, for today’s review.
While I’ve always loved Jane Austen’s characters, it was only after becoming an adult that I understood Austen’s complex social commentaries. I’ve read most of her works multiple times. For some reason, however, I never picked up Persuasion. So, in honor of Austen’s 250th birthday this year, I read that final novel. As usual, I identify with the strong female voice.
March 14, 2025
Thanks to Alissa Simon, HMU Tutor, for today’s post.
“You should see me in a crown/ Your silence is my favorite sound.” – Billie Eilish
In Act II, Scene 3 of the First Part of Shakespeare’s Henry VI, the French Countess of Auvergne attempts to trick Talbot, the leader of the English army. She invites the soldier to her castle in order to trap him.
February 7, 2025
Thanks to Alissa Simon, HMU Tutor, for today’s post.
Last year at the Southwest Popular/American Culture Association conference what started out as a discussion on adventure novels turned into a discussion of why popular culture circles have stopped writing about war. This conference alone used to hold numerous War and Culture panels. These have dwindled in recent years. I find this astonishing considering that there are at least a dozen major conflicts in the world right now.
December 15, 2023
Thanks to Alissa Simon, HMU Tutor, for today’s post.
Apollonius of Rhodes fleshed out the story of Jason and Medea in The Voyage of the Argo. It describes a love story within a tale already full of adventure. More than a few things strike me as interesting about this work, such as the ship itself which creates a safe space for this rowdy band of heroes.
October 13, 2023
Thanks to Ally Zlatar, a 2023 Fellow in Ideas, for today’s post.
My journey into the realm of art activism was ignited by my personal battle with severe ill health, which included a protracted struggle with an eating disorder spanning over a decade. Throughout my recovery journey, I came to realize that many, particularly within the medical profession, often fixated on the diagnosis rather than recognizing the person grappling with the illness.
» Read more about: Ally Zlatar: Navigating the Intersection of Art and Activism »
June 2, 2023
Thanks to Alissa Simon, HMU Tutor, for today’s post.
Last week’s blog (https://hmu.edu/2023-5-26-reading-rabelais-part-ii/) concluded with a suggested connection between Book Two of Rabelais’s Gargantua and Pantagruel and Monty Python skits. We cannot stop at the end of Book Two, however. Moving into Book Three, we find a lengthy discussion between Pantagruel and Panurge about the pros and cons of marriage. Panurge wants to know whether or not he should marry.
» Read more about: Considering the Cuckold, Rabelais Continued »
March 24, 2023
Thanks to Eden Tesfaslassie, HMU 2022 Fellow in Ideas, for today’s post.
In Black Swan, the film utilizes the ballet performance Swan Lake, based on a fairytale, as a frame. The film uses other elements of the fairy tale genre, as evidenced by the character archetypes. The viewer can see characteristics of mothers, Prince Charmings, and villains reflected in the film’s ensemble cast.
September 17, 2021
Thanks to Rebecca L. Thacker, a 2021 HMU Fellow in Ideas, for today’s post.
Although I won’t deny the pleasures of “art for art’s sake” (I’m no stranger to a lazy day curled up with a plot driven page-turner), as a feminist cultural studies scholar, I’m interested in the role literature can play as a cultural change agent. Whether intentional or not, all literature is political.
» Read more about: Science Fiction and Liberatory World-building »