Cherchez la femme: Women and Values in the Francophone World

by Erika Fülöp (editor), Adrienne Angelo

Throughout the history of all civilizations at least until very recently, the most fundamental values at the basis of societal organization and culture were determined and sanctified almost exclusively by men - including the values traditionally associated with women, such as corporeal beauty, purity, motherhood, or empathy. However, from the ancient times already, and increasingly toward the end of the second millennium, women have always found ways to overcome the limits set to them by the patriarchal discourse and made their contributions to the revision of values and to the establishment of new ones. 'Cherchez la femme' offers a selection of essays inquiring into the nature of aesthetic, linguistic, cultural, and social values created, informed, or reformed by women in the French-speaking world, as well as studies on how the discourse of (male) power used female figures to strengthen its own position. With the addressed topics ranging in time from Semiramis' ancient legend until today and in space from Quebec to Haiti, metropolitan France, and New Caledonia, the volume provides an insight into the richness and fruitfulness of the female perspective in art, culture, theory, and political action.

299 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2011