Nanette Fondas (West Virginia & Brasenose 1981) explains, Why 'The Feminist Mystique' Is Still Worth Reading in 2013

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"This month marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan's book that raised the consciousness of millions who read it and shared it in a 1960s kind of way: by placing it into the hands of another woman, thereby sparking a second wave of the women's movement for equality." Read more at The Atlantic. 

Rachel Maddow (California & Lincoln 1995) To Probe Lies That Led to Iraq War in TV Special 'Hubris'

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"Perhaps you think you’ve read or heard it all. Hell, I even wrote my own book about it, So Wrong for So Long,. But now Rachel Maddow is promising surprising revelations in her MSNBC special Hubris: Selling the Iraq War, next Monday night in her regular time slot." Read more at The Nation. 

Sagarika Ghose (India & St Antony's 1987) writes about 'The closing of the Indian Mind'

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"From the Grand Mufti's fatwa against the all-girl band in Kashmir, to the now lifted ban on the film Vishwaroopam, to Salman Rushdie's aborted visit to the Kolkata Literature Festival, to the forcible removal of paintings at a Bangalore art gallery to protests against nude paintings at a Delhi art gallery, the freedom of artists, writers and filmmakers is threatened like never before. Group identities are on the ascendant. There are aggrieved bands of proud Hindus, angry Muslims, outraged Marathi manoos everywhere. "Hurt sentiments" of every kind are pushing the country into what Rushdie has already termed a "cultural emergency"." Read more at Sagarika's blog, "Bloody Mary."

Marnie Hughes-Warrington (Tasmania & Merton 1992) will be the keynote speaker at the Higher Education Technology Agenda

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"The history of education is punctuated by disruptive changes, and some people have even argued that it is the point of education to be disruptive. Drawing on her background in world history and her role as the head of ANU Online — a technology supported initiative that takes a new lens to programs, people and possible futures — Marnie Hughes-Warrington will explore what it means for staff and students to navigate the edge of the world, including the critical role of relationships in education, and  whether current trends in education are radically different to the past." Read more at the Higher Education Technology Agenda. 

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Lara Anderson (Utah & Magdalen 2004) delivered a lecture at the Special College of Science Colloquium

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"In this talk, I will outline recent progress in connecting string theory (a consistent quantum theory of gravity) with contemporary particle physics.  This will include new results on two long-standing challenges in string constructions." Read the rest of the abstract at the Special College of Science Colloquium. 

Heather Long (Pennsylvania & Balliol 2004) asks, Does President Obama need some 'binders full of women'?

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"It might not be the comparable to the Grammys or Oscars, but the annual State of the Union address has some red carpet flair to it. The power players of American politics gather, and the president and his top secretaries are some of the last to walk into the room. Congressmen and senators line the aisle vying for their attention." Read more at the Guardian.

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Rachel Carrell (New Zealand & Balliol 2002) writes an article in the Guardian about online communities and public health

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"Local authorities will inherit plenty of challenges when they take responsibility for public health in April, but they have a stellar track record of innovation in this arena.

In the 19th century, for instance, local councils' Victorian counterparts managed to halve infant mortality through improving water and housing, and by eradicating the foul, infectious sludge-loos known as "privy middens"." Read more at the Guardian. 

Monica Marks (Kentucky & Queen's 2010) co-authors article in the New York Times about the assassination of Chokri Belaid

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"TUNIS — Tunisian officials moved quickly Wednesday to contain the fallout after a leading opposition figure was assassinated outside his home. They announced that they would restructure the Islamist-led government and form a national unity cabinet as thousands took to the streets in protests that security forces beat back with tear gas." Read more at the New York Times. 

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Anna Kloeden (Queensland & Magdalen 2008) blogs about a landmark domestic violence ruling in China

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"Last weekend, a Beijing court granted a divorce on grounds of domestic violence, in a case which has garnered widespread attention and debate in China for the past year. In 2011 an American woman, Kim Lee, went public on social media websites (including with graphic photographs) with allegations that her husband, an infamous English teacher by the name of Li Yang (founder of “Crazy English”), was abusive." Read more at the Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog. 

 

Carrie La Seur (North Dakota & University 1993) writes "Climate Legislation Redux: The View From the Red Seats"

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"One casualty of our Too Big to Fail, 24-hour news cycle culture has been the faith that people used to put in the value of small things. Small farms, small communities, even "small" people, who will never headline a news program, but may possess priceless knowledge of a place and a people developed over generations, have slipped from most Americans' radar." Read more at the Huffington Post

Video feature: Forum Live Interview with Ngaire Woods (New Zealand & Balliol 1987)

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"Ngaire Woods, Dean of Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government, says that while many people are disappointed with the performance of the G20 group of nations, it has an important role to play in holding countries to account for the global financial crisis, given that promised financial regulatory reforms have yet to be implemented." Watch at the World Economic Forum 

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