This podcast is a creative performance based on El eterno femenino, by Rosario Castellanos, a play about a woman named Lupita that goes to the beauty salon to get her hair done before her wedding. She tries out a new hairdryer, which puts her into a dream state. This podcast episode covers the fictitious experience of a witness at the hair salon named Ramón Hernández, who recounts his experience witnessing Lupita murmur things to herself while dreaming.
Both Florinda by Maria Rosa Galvez, and El Eterno Femenino by Rosario Castellanos, are works of theater that focus greatly on the theme of female oppression. In this infographic, we compare this theme within the two works, and the relevance this theme still has today. While both works take place in a patriarchal society, and ultimately end with the unhappiness of their female protagonists, there are differences in the themes they portray. Florinda places focus on the oppression of women by her male counterparts, who abuse their powerful roles in society, and blame her for the crimes taken against her. El Eterno Femenino focuses more on internalized oppression, with stereotypical female roles, and pressures to be a perfect woman and perfect wife, oppress generations of women in society. These works were written more than 150 years apart, with the theme of the oppression of women still very prevalent. We even see this theme carried into the works of today, as women’s rights continue to be a problem in today’s society.
There is universal recognition that the foreign policy making talent in the United States is woefully unrepresentative of America’s vibrant minority populations, and more is required to attract minorities to pursue public service careers representing the United States abroad and accurately reflect its diversity. However, little attention is paid towards the international response to America’s diversity as it relates to when people of color represent the United States as diplomats, foreign service officers and White House foreign policy officials, as well as in less official capacities as scholars and humanitarian workers. These concerns assume new relevance against the backdrop of the United States’ outsized cultural reach and the international popularity of American films that show “true American culture” and a global introspection about race in America. This presentation will examine the English Language foreign press coverage in 6 countries of the appointment of General Colin Powell, Dr. Condoleezza Rice and Dr. Susan Rice to senior WH and cabinet-level Foreign Policy positions of Secretary of State and National Security Advisor respectively from 2000 to 2013 during the Bush and Obama Administrations. Ultimately, the presentation will analyze and demonstrate the influence of gender and race in the coverage of these individuals to demonstrate the importance of diversity to offering a full understanding of the American experience.
