The Department of French & Italian
Gertrude F. Weathers Lecture
Series
presents
BÉnÉdicte Monicat
De fil en aiguille: Savoir-faire et savoirs dans les ouvrages d’instruction pour filles
Friday,
February 2, 2007
2:30 pm
Persimmon Room, Indiana
Memorial Union
Bénédicte Monicat is Associate Professor of French and Women’s Studies at the Pennsylvania State University. A specialist in women’s writing, she has a particular interest in both travel narratives and in works written for girls. She is the author of Itinéraires de l’écriture au féminine and Devoirs de l’Ecriture as well as of various articles. She is currently engaged in the valuable task of creating a database of works written by women for children and young readers in the nineteenth century.
This talk will focus on the aims and functions of the instruction given to girls in the nineteenth century. While the emphasis placed on service in this education might seem to preclude idle curiosity or intellectual exploration, women writers nevertheless escaped from these dry parameters to offer areas of innovation in their pedagogical works. By concentrating on the idea of sewing, that symbol par excellence of the ultimate destination of education for girls, Professor Monicat will examine the links between skills and knowledge as revealed in manuals of domestic economy or books describing manual work, as well as works of fiction.
If you have a disability and need assistance, accommodations can be made to accommodate most needs. Contact Isabel Piedmont at 855-5458 or ipiedmon @indiana.edu.
