Elin Wägner's Alarm Clock: Ecofeminist Theory in the Interwar Era
This book analyses the ideas of the Swedish journalist, feminist, and literary author Elin Wägner (1882-1949), as conveyed in her book Väckarklocka (1941), in a European feminist context. This context is presented in terms of three elements. Firstly, the German sociologist/educationalist Mathilde Vaerting and her sociology of power played an important role in Wägner's development of a theory of matriarchy. Secondly, the influence of the Austrian feminist Rosa Mayreder and her theory of masculine civilization and feminine culture are analyzed in relation to Wägner's development of what might be called an early ecological feminism. Thirdly, the mainly unknown Women's Organization for World Order (WOWO) is presented.
0s and 1930s, which wanted to strengthen women's position and confidence as political citizens by providing them with a historical past where women ruled (matriarchy). Thereby they not only reinvented a past, but also revitalized the emergence or eternity of patriarchy. These women discussed the possibility of women offering an alternative to the prevailing order. A special analysis is made of Mayreder's and Wägner's way of discussing what woman is and in what ways she can challenge the system. Both argued that women ought to have the same rights and duties as men, but that this should not require them to adapt to the distorted male system. This study argues that this position, easily characterized as "essentialist" in modern feminist terms, is in fact functional and strongly emancipatory in its time and context.
In this reevaluation of Väckarklocka Katarina Leppänen has established this important Swedish novel as a text central to the development of the feminist movement. Elin Wägner's Alarm Clock is a book suitable for students of Swedish Literature and European Feminism.
1140549469
Elin Wägner's Alarm Clock: Ecofeminist Theory in the Interwar Era
This book analyses the ideas of the Swedish journalist, feminist, and literary author Elin Wägner (1882-1949), as conveyed in her book Väckarklocka (1941), in a European feminist context. This context is presented in terms of three elements. Firstly, the German sociologist/educationalist Mathilde Vaerting and her sociology of power played an important role in Wägner's development of a theory of matriarchy. Secondly, the influence of the Austrian feminist Rosa Mayreder and her theory of masculine civilization and feminine culture are analyzed in relation to Wägner's development of what might be called an early ecological feminism. Thirdly, the mainly unknown Women's Organization for World Order (WOWO) is presented.
0s and 1930s, which wanted to strengthen women's position and confidence as political citizens by providing them with a historical past where women ruled (matriarchy). Thereby they not only reinvented a past, but also revitalized the emergence or eternity of patriarchy. These women discussed the possibility of women offering an alternative to the prevailing order. A special analysis is made of Mayreder's and Wägner's way of discussing what woman is and in what ways she can challenge the system. Both argued that women ought to have the same rights and duties as men, but that this should not require them to adapt to the distorted male system. This study argues that this position, easily characterized as "essentialist" in modern feminist terms, is in fact functional and strongly emancipatory in its time and context.
In this reevaluation of Väckarklocka Katarina Leppänen has established this important Swedish novel as a text central to the development of the feminist movement. Elin Wägner's Alarm Clock is a book suitable for students of Swedish Literature and European Feminism.
128.0 In Stock
Elin Wägner's Alarm Clock: Ecofeminist Theory in the Interwar Era

Elin Wägner's Alarm Clock: Ecofeminist Theory in the Interwar Era

by Katarina Leppänen
Elin Wägner's Alarm Clock: Ecofeminist Theory in the Interwar Era

Elin Wägner's Alarm Clock: Ecofeminist Theory in the Interwar Era

by Katarina Leppänen

Hardcover

$128.00 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Qualifies for Free Shipping
  • PICK UP IN STORE
    Check Availability at Nearby Stores

Related collections and offers


Overview

This book analyses the ideas of the Swedish journalist, feminist, and literary author Elin Wägner (1882-1949), as conveyed in her book Väckarklocka (1941), in a European feminist context. This context is presented in terms of three elements. Firstly, the German sociologist/educationalist Mathilde Vaerting and her sociology of power played an important role in Wägner's development of a theory of matriarchy. Secondly, the influence of the Austrian feminist Rosa Mayreder and her theory of masculine civilization and feminine culture are analyzed in relation to Wägner's development of what might be called an early ecological feminism. Thirdly, the mainly unknown Women's Organization for World Order (WOWO) is presented.
0s and 1930s, which wanted to strengthen women's position and confidence as political citizens by providing them with a historical past where women ruled (matriarchy). Thereby they not only reinvented a past, but also revitalized the emergence or eternity of patriarchy. These women discussed the possibility of women offering an alternative to the prevailing order. A special analysis is made of Mayreder's and Wägner's way of discussing what woman is and in what ways she can challenge the system. Both argued that women ought to have the same rights and duties as men, but that this should not require them to adapt to the distorted male system. This study argues that this position, easily characterized as "essentialist" in modern feminist terms, is in fact functional and strongly emancipatory in its time and context.
In this reevaluation of Väckarklocka Katarina Leppänen has established this important Swedish novel as a text central to the development of the feminist movement. Elin Wägner's Alarm Clock is a book suitable for students of Swedish Literature and European Feminism.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780739120033
Publisher: Lexington Books
Publication date: 11/06/2007
Pages: 252
Product dimensions: 6.30(w) x 9.42(h) x 0.96(d)

About the Author

Katarina Leppänen is a researcher at the Center for Public Sector Research and a teacher in the Department of History of Ideas and Theory of Science, Göteborg University.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction
Part 2 Movements
Chapter 3 Alarm Clock for the Age and the Movement
Part 4 History
Chapter 5 Matriarchy and J.J. Bachofen
Chapter 6 Towards Feminist Politics
Part 7 Civilization and Nature
Chapter 8 Is Civilization Unnatural?
Chapter 9 Earth and the Environment
Chapter 10 Woman as Alternative
Chapter 11 re:Fwd: feminisms
Chapter 12 Appendix: Program from the Women's Organization for World Order
From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews