Simone de Beauvoir Institute turns 35
The role of women in the Western world saw a major shift in the 1950s as women left the home to enter the workforce by choice rather than circumstance. By the late 1960s, women were realizing that “sisterhood is powerful” as they joined together to fight for social and economic equality with men. This new feminist consciousness spread across universities, and women’s studies courses quickly began sprouting on campuses across North America, including at Concordia’s two founding institutions: Sir George Williams University (1970) and Loyola College (1971).
The merger of these two very different institutions presented an opportunity to create a college dedicated to women’s studies. “It was also a practical issue because the courses were split between the two campuses,” says Maïr Verthuy, the first principal of the Simone de Beauvoir Institute, which was founded in 1978 to consolidate those courses. The social undercurrent also presented the perfect impetus for this venture. “There was an underlying need for women to get together,” she added.
On April 17, the Simone de Beauvoir Institute, named after the French feminist and philosopher (1908-1986), will celebrate its 35th anniversary. To mark the occasion, it will host a three-day international conference (April 17 – 19) that will bring together feminists from a range of fields and disciplines. The conference is titled Rethinking Race and Sexuality: Feminist Conversations, Contestations, and Coalitions.
“The institute’s journey reflects the feminist journey,” says Geneviève Rail, principal of the Simone de Beauvoir Institute. “We aren’t just talking about women’s lives anymore. We give students the tools to understand power dynamics and interlocking systems of oppression, according to gender, race, class, etc., so they can better fight for social justice.”
In addition to giving students the tools to examine power issues, the institute encourages them to engage with the community.
“Unlike any other department, faculty or college at Concordia, our community engagement informs our teaching and research,” says Rail. The institute works closely with several community groups, such as Women of Diverse Origins or Breast Cancer Action Montreal, an ecofeminist group that focuses on primary cancer prevention and environmental health.
In encouraging students to fight for progressive change, the institute often gets involved in debates, taking public positions on contentious issues. One of the most recent instances was during the 2012 student protests in Quebec. The institute released a statement on Quebec tuition fees and their impact on women. “Before our statement was released, the tuition increase wasn’t conceived of as a women’s issue,” says Viviane Namaste, a professor at the institute. “And it’s our moral and intellectual duty to point out the blind spots of what we know and how we know it.”
So what is on the horizon for the next few years for the Simone de Beauvoir Institute? “After obtaining our major in interdisciplinary studies of sexuality, creating a master’s degree in critical studies of activism,” says Rail. “In the next three to five years we hope to have a new major and a graduate program to help students who are interested in taking a critical perspective on activism.”
The institute is one of the oldest and most innovative places in Canada for feminist studies and will welcome feminist scholars, activists and artists from as far away as Tunisia to present at the 35th anniversary conference. “The conference is a good way to celebrate 35 years because it will give us time to reflect,” says Namaste. The conference will focus on the intersection of race and sexuality. The opening keynote address is open to all and will be given by Anne McClintock, who holds the Simone de Beauvoir Chair of English and Gender Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Alumni of the institute are invited to attend a reunion event on April 18. Find out more.
Related links:
• Simone de Beauvoir Institute
• 35th anniversary conference
• Keynote speakers