Taking Feminism beyond the Academy

Taking Feminism beyond the Academy Anna Hotter (bio) Carrie N. Baker and Aviva Dove-Viebahn (eds.)'s Public Feminisms: From Academy to Community, Ann Arbor, MI: Lever Press, 2023 Philosophy books—even feminist ones—do not usually include calls to action. Perhaps they know their audience (sedentary introverts). Or perhaps they fail to see what Public Feminisms: From Academy to Community takes as its guiding principle: that academics should "reach out beyond their classrooms, labs, and libraries to engage a broader public in collaborative and mutually beneficial relationships that can lead to new knowledge and much-needed solutions to the most pressing problems of our day" (Baker and Dove-Viebahn, "Conclusion," 455). This rallying cry caps the collection's twenty-two essays about feminist praxis by scholars in anthropology, film and media studies, law, English, women and gender studies, and classics. They have all moved "beyond the confines of the ivory tower" to engage civilian communities in academic activism (Guy-Sheftall, "Foreword," xv). I agree with Public Feminisms's editors, Carrie N. Baker and Aviva Dove-Viebahn (professors of American studies and film and media studies, respectively), that scholars have something to learn from the contributors' examples. My philosopher colleagues and I could certainly use a break from the armchair. But Public Feminisms is no tedious how-to guide. It is a collection of vibrant stories by professors and students who have managed to puncture the spatial, epistemic, technological, and economic divide between academia and public life. Part 1 features essays about using "art, media, and public programming" to engage a variety of communities in feminist scholarship. A women's and gender studies professor at Mount Royal University leads walking tours on "Calgary's adult consensual sex industry" for up to twelve visitors (Williams, "From Classroom to Pavement," 57). Two professors at California State campuses host Las Doctoras, a podcast about Latinx End Page 339 feminism and motherhood that "makes accessible the feminism that we teach as profesoras in the university" (Rose and Lemus, "Las Doctoras," 39). An anthropologist creates a live-action role-play event that lets participants engage with the stories of Indigenous women who have experienced intimate partner violence (Eddy, "Day Angela Died," 83–84). Public Feminisms upends the dichotomy between serious scholarship and playfulness—feminist work can be creative and dynamic, while tackling difficult topics. Part 2, "Activism and Public Education," opens with a story about a Take Back the Night march that connects the University of Toledo to its local activist community. Another essay features three undergraduates who analyze the trans-inclusivity of their HWCs (historically women's colleges) using "duoethnographic methods" (Rodriguez Gonzalez et al., "Building Bridges," 177). I initially misread Public Feminisms's title—I skipped over the second s in favor of a sleeker Feminism. But the singular would shortchange the eclectic cross-section of disciplines, modes of engagement, localities, cultural contexts, and epistemic standpoints Baker and Dove-Viebahn showcase. "Feminists generally share a belief in equality and justice for women," the editors note, but "they define the term in multiple ways, with different emphases and priorities" (Baker and Dove-Viebahn, "Introduction," 12). Public Feminisms's plural, intersectional scope is not just a methodological virtue. It also makes the collection fun to read. Part 3 focuses on "public writing and scholarship" and presents Dove-Viebahn's own experience with interviewing women in film for Ms. magazine—"an online platform lends itself to an immediacy not possible with print books" (Dove-Viebahn, "A 'Feminist Lens' on Activism and Inclusion in the Film and Television Industry," 251). It also features a women's, gender, and sexuality studies professor at Oregon State University who publishes on her Baptist faith—"My university press books reached audiences of hundreds across several years. A single piece in Ms. Magazine … can reach thousands in just a few days" (Shaw, "Feminism, Faith, and Public Scholarship," 271)—and a Turkish translator collective that makes one of the few international contributions to Public Feminisms. The collection's North American bias (which Baker and Dove-Viebahn acknowledge in their introduction) underlines the Turkish writers' central point: amplifying underrepresented voices—through translation and other radical actions—must be an explicit aim of public...