Lia Secci

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Articles for DWF


Von Hippel's Essays on the Emancipation of Women, 1976, n. 1, pp. 127-140

This article, meant as a contribution to the history of feminism, retraces and evaluates the life and works of Theodor Gottlieb von Hippel. Von Hippel, German writer of the eighteenth century, friend of Kant, to be recognised as one of the forerunners of German and European feminism in that he anticipates most of the present day themes. He preceded and is to be compared with John Stuart Mill, sharing his ideas, even sometimes surpassing them, as for example in his theories on the division of roles within the couple.

He considered all behaviour, all attitudes to be socially determined, and anticipating modern cultural anthropology on this point. Von Hippel demonstrates how artificial is the division of the sexes. Greatly influenced by the French Revolution and the Encyclopedists he insists on absolute equality between the sexes. His most important work, "On The Civic Advancement of Women" was one of the pamphlets of the German feminist movement at the beginning of this century.

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The woman question in East-German literature: themes and trends, 1981, n. 18, pp. 49-60

The author's aim is to verify whether in socialist countries literature written by women shows any hints of that general discontent women have widely displayed over the last decade towards male institutional power, in spite of their acceptance of different political ideologies. East-Germany offers a particularly rich example in this respect of a broad literary production, both by women and men focusing on the contradiction between emancipation de facto (e.g. an advanced social legislation, massive presence of women in the labour force) and female identity.

The paper offers an exhaustive study of such a literary production, from the sixties to nowadays, focusing both on some of the most important women writers and on the most recent western literary criticism concerned with them.

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Reviews for DWF


JANSSEN-JURREIT Marielouise, Sexismus. Ueber die Abtreifung der Frauenfrage
, München, Carl Hanser Verlag, 1976
rev. by Lia Secci, 1977, n. 4, pp. 150-153

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Translations for DWF


MORGNER Irmtraud, Life and adventures of the trobadora Beatriz. A novel in thirteen books and seven interludes
tran. by Lia Secci, 1981, n. 18, pp. 7-15

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