Reading and Writing Workshop

Contemporary Challenges – Gender Equality, Reproductive Rights, and Violence Against Women
Reading Selections (Public Domain)

• "The Subjection of Women" (1869) – John Stuart Mill
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/27083
• "A Room of One’s Own" (1929) – Virginia Woolf
  https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200791h.html
• "The Social Basis of the Woman Question" (1909) – Alexandra Kollontai
  https://www.marxists.org/archive/kollontai/1909/social-basis.htm

Discussion Topics:

• How do these texts relate to modern issues of gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence against women?
• What has changed since these texts were written, and what has remained the same?
• What strategies can activists today learn from historical feminist thought?

Writing Prompts:

• Write a letter to a future generation about the challenges and victories of women today.
• Rewrite a passage from one of the readings as if it were written in the 21st century.
• Create a fictional narrative in which a historical feminist figure time-travels to the present and responds to today’s gender issues.

Session 2: Feminism and Global Solidarity – Women’s Rights as Human Rights
Reading Selections (Public Domain)

• "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" (1792) – Mary Wollstonecraft
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3420
• "On the Equality of the Sexes" (1790) – Judith Sargent Murray
  https://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/america-essential-learning/docs/Judith_Sargent_Murray-On_the_Equality_of_the_Sexes-1790.pdf
• United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (1948) – UN General Assembly (Public Domain)
  https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights

Discussion Topics:

• How does feminist thought interact with global human rights movements?
• What role does intersectionality play in modern feminism?
• How do these texts challenge or support the idea of universal women’s rights?

Writing Prompts:

• Write a speech advocating for a global feminist issue using the style of Mary Wollstonecraft.
• Create a modern feminist manifesto inspired by these readings.
• Compose a dialogue between a historical feminist and a contemporary activist discussing global solidarity.

Session 3: The Future of Feminist Activism and Policy
Reading Selections (Public Domain)

• "The Yellow Wallpaper" (1892) – Charlotte Perkins Gilman
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1952
• "Address to the New York State Legislature on Women’s Right to Vote" (1860) – Elizabeth Cady Stanton
  https://www.loc.gov/resource/rbnawsa.n7548/?sp=3
• "The Woman’s Bible" (1895) – Elizabeth Cady Stanton
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9880

Discussion Topics:

• What are the most pressing feminist policy issues today, and how can historical activism inform modern strategies?
• How does literature reflect and shape feminist activism?
• How have feminist movements been influenced by legal and social policies over time?

Writing Prompts:

• Draft a policy proposal addressing a modern feminist issue.
• Write a short story set in a future society where feminism has achieved its goals—or has failed.
• Imagine you are a legislator in the 1800s reading Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s speech—write a reaction.

Session 4: Final Reflections and Course Wrap-Up
​Reading Selections (Public Domain)

• "Ain’t I a Woman?" (1851) – Sojourner Truth
  https://www.nps.gov/articles/sojourner-truth.htm
• "Women and Economics" (1898) – Charlotte Perkins Gilman
  https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/624
• Selected excerpts from previous sessions

Discussion Topics:

• What have we learned from these historical texts that can shape the future of feminism?
• How do personal narratives and storytelling contribute to feminist activism?
• How can we continue engaging with feminist literature beyond this workshop?

Writing Prompts:

• Write a personal essay about what feminism means to you today.
• Compose a poem using phrases from the texts we’ve explored.
• Draft a short play depicting a conversation between three women from different centuries discussing the future of feminism.

ConclusionThis workshop aims to connect public domain feminist works with contemporary issues, inspiring participants to reflect, write, and contribute to the evolving conversation about women’s rights.