[ January 27, 2010; 18:00 to 19:00. 18:00 to 19:00. 18:00 to 19:00. ] African Studies Film Screenings

Ruth Padel’s resignation may have been necessary, but leaves bigger questions about Oxbridge sexism unanswered

[ May 27, 2009; 19:30 to 21:30. ] “Sex and the Cinema” is a series of film screenings which explore issues of sex and gender, followed by a discussion (no academic knowledge required!). These screenings are also completely FREE.

[ May 21, 2009; 17:30 to 18:30. 17:30 to 18:30. 17:30 to 18:30. 17:30 to 18:30. 17:30 to 18:30. ] As part of this year’s Ladyfest Oxford we will be celebrating women in literature by discussing Joyce Carol Oates’ short story ‘Faithless’.

[ May 19, 2009; 17:00 to 19:00. ] Ever wonder why images of ethnic minority women in film and media are often reduced to stereotypes or simply pushed into the background to the point of invisibility?

[ May 2, 2009; 20:00 to 22:00. ] To what extent is it possible for scientific research about gender and sexuality to be neutral and divorced from broader social attitudes and assumptions? Are the claims of science about gender opposed to those of queer theory, or are they asking different questions? To what extent should “the natural world” tell us what should and shouldn’t be sexually permissible? And what are the real life consequences of these differing views on gender?

These are only some of the questions that we will be discussing at our first meeting of Trinity term.

[ April 29, 2009; 19:30 to 21:30. ] “Sex and the Cinema” is a series of film screenings which explore issues of sex and gender, followed by a discussion (no academic knowledge required!). This week we’re watching classic “battle of the sexes” comedy *Adam’s Rib* (1949).

[ March 10, 2009; 14:15 to 16:00. ] Tuesday, March 10th, Exam Schools, 2:15 to 4:00 PM

[ March 6, 2009; 18:00 to 19:30. ] Gender and the Media, Friday 6th March, 6 to 7:30 PM, Wadham College

I’ve been thinking a lot about representation and cinema leading up to the Oscars this Sunday (details forthcoming!), especially the way that films like Brokeback Mountain and Milk are billed as gay blockbusters, or films like Sicko or An Inconvenient Truth are used for political leverage, or people endlessly debate whether Crash is racist or Million Dollar Baby endorses euthanasia or Slumdog Millionaire romanticizes poverty. It struck me that for all of the politicization of the Oscars, the question of whether films are or aren’t feminist is probably about fiftieth on the list.