Frieze Lectures to examine feminism starting Oct. 19
The Frieze Lectures series continues for its 26th year, from Oct. 19 to Nov. 9. The free public lecture series was created to celebrate the oldest library in Illinois, the Rock Island Public Library, founded under the Local Library Act of 1872.
This year's Frieze Lectures, a partnership between the Rock Island Public Library and the faculty of Augustana College, will include four presentations designed to create greater insight and context related to feminism. All of the programs involve faculty or students affiliated with Augustana’s Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) program.
All presentations begin at 2 p.m. at the downtown location of the Rock Island Public Library, 401 19th St. All events are open to the public, free of charge.
Feminism: From Basics to Barbie | 2023 schedule
Oct. 19: Intersectionality Explained: Why Feminism is About More than Gender Equality
Presented by Dr. Jennifer Heacock-Renaud, coordinator of the WGSS program at Augustana College
Learn more about this lecture
Oct. 26: Inaccessible Dreamhouses: Disability as a Feminist Issue
Presented by Dr. Cathy Webb, assistant professor of communication sciences and disorders
Learn more about this lecture
Nov. 2: Beyond the View from Barbie’s Beach House: Reconsidering the Waves of Feminism
Presented by Dr. Jane Simonsen, professor of history and Richard A. Swanson Chair in Social Thought
Learn more about this lecture
Nov. 9: Barbie as a Feminist Icon? A Discussion of Greta Gerwig’s 2023 Blockbuster
Panel discussion led by Dr. Jennifer Heacock-Renaud and including WGSS students
Learn more about this lecture
About the series
The Frieze Lecture Series was created in 1998 by the late Ruth Evelyn Katz, a library board member, to celebrate the library's 125th anniversary. The name comes from the architectural feature around the top of the historic downtown library building. The authors carved into the sandstone are Homer, Longfellow, Emerson, Virgil, Hugo, Shakespeare, Goethe, Burns, Hawthorne, Tegner, and Bancroft. Though not well known today, the names of Tegner, a Swedish poet, and Bancroft, a naval historian, would have been familiar to 1903 residents.
For additional information, please visit the Rock Island Public Library website at www.rockislandlibrary.org, or call 309-732-READ.