This past week, bell hooks, a long-time and prominent social activist, led four discussions with New School students about race, gender, feminism, and patriarchy.  hooks has published over 30 influential books, including “Ain’t I a Woman?: Black women and feminism,” “Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center,” and “Feminism is for Everybody.” She prefers to have her name remain all lower case to bring attention to her work rather than herself.

bell hooks opened her week-long residency on November 5 at Wollman Hall with a discussion about race with Eugene Lang College Dean Stephanie Browner. They talked and the role race plays in our society and suggested ways to combat white supremacy.

Women rights activist and playright Eve Ensler joined bell hooks in Tishman auditorium later that evening for a discussion examining how the bodies of colored women are routinely violated and objectified, and how to combat those oppressive forces. Both women drew on their own personal experiences to talk about these issues tangibly.

 

On November 8, hooks held a class with 25 students from multiple divisions of The New School. The discussion was called “Feminism Forever: Theory and Practice,” and each attendee was required to read the first two chapters of hooks’ book “Feminism is for Everybody” about feminist politics and activism.

Later that day, hooks had her final conversation entitled “Black Female Voices: Who is Listening” with MSNBC journalist Melissa Harris-Perry. Tishman auditorium was at full capacity with students sitting on the floor, eyes wide and ears open. hooks and Harris-Perry discussed how the country is oppressed by white supremacy and patriarchy, and what this generation can do to combat these oppressors.

Students seemed mesmerized at each of the heavily attended discussions. The talk with Eve Ensler resulted in having the doors to Tishman Auditorium shut because capacity had been reached. Many people were turned away due to the lack of space at every conversation. But, as Dean Stephanie Browner told her audience, this is the first week of hook’s residency of many more will come over the next three years.