subjects of debate: secular and sexual exceptionalism,and Muslim women in the Netherlands

This article attends to the transformation of national identity that occurs in the context of ‘the multicultural debate’ in the Netherlands, and unfolds on the terrain of Dutch (secular and sexual) exceptionalism. First, it explores the connections between two topics that are prominent in the ‘multicultural debates’ all over Europe and undergird the civilizational discourse of a post-Cold War geopolitical era: discussions about secularism on the one hand, and gender and sexual politics on the other. Through a mode of ‘secular nostalgia’, which mobilizes the understanding of the Netherlands as a place par excellence of emancipation for both women and sexual minorities, the Dutch secular arrangement is restructured in new exclusionary ways. Second, it explores how dominant discourses on the symbolic and material borders of the nation interpellate young Muslim women who often figure as the central ‘subjects of debate’. I rely on the notion of interpellation (Althusser) to explore the question of subject formation, with a particular attention to the epistemological conditions of ‘talking back’ as a subject whose constituency and agency is always already informed by the terms in which she is addressed.     

The right to culture and the culture of rights: a critical perspective on women’s sexual rights in Africa

The opposition of ‘culture’ and ‘rights’ is not uncommon in feminist legal discourse. This article argues that such an approach is fraught with danger as it creates an extremely restrictive framework within which African women can challenge domination; it limits our strategic interventions for transforming society and essentially plays into the hands of those seeking to perpetuate and solidify the existing structures of patriarchy. Drawing examples from a parallel research on Gender, Law and Sexuality, I propose that a more critical and interpretative approach to these two concepts may present a different perspective to portrayals of ‘tradition’ as constraining and/or fixed often displayed in mainstream feminist legal thinking.     

The meaning and effect of the UN decade for women on black women in America

Thirty Black women activists within different age categories, from varied educational and occupational backgrounds, and representing Black women's organizations from different regions of the U.S. were interviewed to determine their views on the meaning and effect of the UN Decade for Women on the lives of Black American women. Their responses to questions about the Decade indicate that the masses of Black women are poorly informed or totally uninformed about the UN Decade for Women. And, among that segment of the Black female population which is well informed about the Decade, positive views on the benefits of the Decade for Black women correlate strongly with employment in a national women's organization or governmental agency dealing with women's issues, and personal involvement in UN Conferences. Many Black women feel that the opportunity to network with third-world women is the major benefit that Black American women gained from the Decade. They also feel that American racism and class bias effectively prevent equitable implementation of a national plan of action to improve the status of women in the United States.     

[举案说法]不签书面劳动合同应承担什么法律责任?

当事人基本情况: 申诉人:朱某,男 被诉人:某公司 案情简介: 李某为北京某外资公司的总经理,2008年2月李某通过熟人介绍朱某帮其开车,李某认为,朱某是自己私人聘请的,朱某的工资也是由自已发放,于是并未与朱某签订劳动合同.     

The international conference on research and teaching related to women: Report of the coordinator

Between July and August 4, 1982, 350 women from 71 countries met in Montreal at Concordia University for the first International Conference on Research and Teaching Related to Women. These meetings provided a unique opportunity for educators and investigators to make contact with their colleagues, gain insights from the experience of others and lay the foundation for future exchanges. They also helped to legitimize this new field of activity world-wide.In the course of the encounters suggestions and observations were also made on new methods of teaching, new approaches to research, and on objectives and strategies. It was a first, in that never before had such a large number of practitioners from so many different countries assembled to discuss research and teaching related to women.The following is the coordinator's report, a non-specialist herself in either teaching or research on women, but an internationalist and a feminist who strongly believes in the need for women to communicate, to pool resources, to network at all levels.The Montreal Conference was seen as a further building block on the foundation which had been laid in 1980 in Copenhagen to bring researchers and educators together. It helped to strengthen existing associations and to encourage the establishment of new associations where none existed.     

From the margins to the center: urban housing for single Jewish women in pre-state Israel

From the mid-1920s on, single urban Jewish women in Palestine under the British Mandate (1920–1948) experienced a chronic shortage of suitable and affordable lodgings. This spurred Zionist women’s organizations to take action and solve the problem. Their cooperation led to building four ‘Women Pioneers’ Houses’, which offered single immigrant working women modern lodgings and vocational training. Women architects designed the buildings, keeping in mind their future women residents. The buildings’ architects, who had studied and worked in Europe before immigrating to Mandatory Palestine, applied modernist concepts to the buildings’ design. All the houses followed the highest contemporary standards of living and working environments. They became urban female hubs and notable socio-cultural forces in the city, eventually reaching beyond the female sphere, and offering the public at large a variety of activities. The houses had significant visibility and prominence in the urban landscape and were a source of pride for women.     

‘The film gone male’: women and the transition to sound in the British film industry 1929–1932

ABSTRACT

Taking its cue from Dorothy Richardson’s essay, ‘The Film Gone Male’ written for the critical, Left-wing British film publication Close Up in 1932, this article looks at women working in the British film industry during the transition from silent to sound cinema between 1929 and 1932. It considers the effects of new sound technology on women’s roles in front of and behind the camera from production to reception and critique. It also questions whether sound technology further marginalised women as producers of cinema and interrogates whether synchronised sound masculinised film as Richardson asserted.     

The London trade in the printing and binding of books: An experience in exclusion,dilution and de-skilling for women workers

The role of women in the bookbinding and printing trades has always been significant in that they provided a variety of essential functions. The early days of printing saw the continuation of business rights and assets through marriage to the widows and daughters (often technically skilled) of printers whose livelihoods were controlled by the powerful Stationers' Company. By the nineteenth century when the industrial revolution slowly had its effect on the trades, women performed a vital role in the bookbinding process as folders and sewers. But they had always been considered marginal within the trades and this too persisted into the nineteenth century when mechanisation and the growth of unions provided new arenas for industrial antagonism between male and female workers. By the end of this period women were established in low paid, low status work in spite of their historic inclusion as skilled workers in certain sectors. Even in these exceptional trades the more common patterns in the evolution of women's work had prevailed.     

试论社会主义工业化必须与时俱进

以与时俱进精神,观察世界工业化的历史演变,总结我国社会主义工业化的历史经验和重大成就,就要更加认识到工业产业存在的问题,更好地贯彻落实党的十六大提出的走新型工业化道路的战略目标。     

Adolescents' Commitment to Developing Talent: The Role of Peers in Continuing Motivation for Sports and the Arts

The role of peer relationships in supporting or hindering adolescents' talent development has received little research attention, despite the importance of peers in adolescents' lives. We conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with 41 adolescents talented in sports or the arts, and their parents, to investigate (a) the role of peer relationships in adolescents' continued involvement in their talent activities, (b) possible differences in this role by activity domain, and (c) possible gender differences. Thematic analysis indicated that peers typically played a positive function in supporting the continued involvement of talented adolescents in their talent activities. There were differences in opportunities for peer relationships and social satisfaction between in-school and out-of school activities, but not between activity domains. Both males and females mentioned equally social benefits of such involvement. However, females mentioned receiving negative peer attention more frequently than males, and more often cited social dissatisfaction as a significant contributor to decreased involvement or quitting.     

从排斥到促进：中国高龄劳动者就业规制的反思与转型

由于传统"孝老"文化的老龄观、劳动力市场和社会保险体制的二元化、计划经济时代国家强制退休制度的影响,我国立法和司法层面排斥高龄劳动者就业,否定他们的劳动者主体资格,存在就业年龄歧视,并违反劳动法的实质正义价值。美国、韩国和日本等国家制定了高龄劳动者就业保障的法律法规,以促进高龄劳动者就业。但由于不同国家人口结构和雇佣体制的差异,导致规制路径和制度设计存在较大差异。随着人口老龄化的加剧以及积极老龄化国家战略的确立,中国对高龄劳动者就业规制应该由排斥向促进转型。研究认为,可以采取将高龄劳动者纳入劳动法保护的范围之内、通过立法允许雇主在劳动条件方面对高龄劳动者进行合理的差别对待、建立高龄劳动者基准就业比例、修改《失业保险条例》以覆盖高龄劳动者等措施来促进中国高龄劳动者就业。