i am still learning

Authorship: Barthes, Death of the Author; Foucault, What is an Author?

Formalism: Eichenbaum, The Theory of the “Formal Method”;  Brooks, from The Well Wrought Urn: Studies in the Structure of Poetry

Structuralism: Saussure, Course in General Linguistics ; Barthes, from Mythologies

Psychoanalysis: Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams; Lacan, The Mirror Stage & The Significance of the Phallus

Ideology: Althusser, Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses; Foucault, Truth and Power

Feminism & Queer: Sedgwick, from Between Men; Cixous, The Laugh of the Medusa; Wittig, One Is Not Born a Woman; Butler, Gender Trouble

Deconstruction: Derrida, from Of Grammatology;

Postcolonial: Fanon, from The Wretched of the Earth; Spivak, Can the Subaltern Speak?

Cultural Materialism: Adorno & Horkheimer, The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception; Williams, Base and Superstructure in Marxist Cultural Theory  

A messy desk with fresh flowers. Five days to submit this dissertation. Then a week until the essay portfolio.

save this for your next academic year and finals, and it’ll save your grades and time.

1. whenever you read a paragraph with new content, close the book/look away and ask yourself: “what have i just learned?” explaining the concept to yourself right away and asking follow-up questions will change the way you retain new material forever.

2. at first, it’ll be daunting, and it’ll be pretty hard to actually bring yourself to do this. trust me, it’ll be worth it - as this is scientifically proven one of the most effective study techniques.

3. to try this out, set yourself a timer for how long you estimate learning a concept might take. now take away 20% from that estimate. you won’t be able to reach this goal with basic highlighting and re-reading techniques - but with active recall, you will.

4. once you’ve understood the concept, use spaced repetition systems like anki flashcards to force yourself to retrieve this information in a set period of time. this way, your brain will always be reminded of this concept before it could possibly forget it.

5. teach it to others as much as you can. as with the old wisdom “see one, do one, teach one”, one of the only guarantees you’ve really gotten something is when you can effectively teach it.

hope these are helpful for you!!

Disclaimer: I have not read all of these books and essays. This is not an endorsement of the content of any particular books. I just hoard pdfs and wanted to share. Books I read or am reading are italicized, books that I recommend are bolded.

Full Books 

Outlaw Woman - A Memoir of the War Years 1960-1975  Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz - PDF Link

A Deafening Silence - Hidden Violence Against Women and Children Patrizia Romito - PDF Link

Letters From a War Zone  Andrea Dworkin - PDF Link

Our Blood - Prophecies and Discourses on Sexual Politics Andrea Dworkin - PDF Link

Angela Davis - An Autobiography Angela Davis - PDF Link

Assata (Shakur), An Autobiography Assata Shakur - PDF Link

Beyond the Frame - Women of Color and Visual Representation Angela Davis and Neferti Tadiar - PDF Link

Caliban and the Witch - Women, the Body, and Primitive Accumulation Sylvia Federici - PDF Link

Feminism Unmodified - Discourses on Life and Law Catharine A. MacKinnon - PDF Link

Only Words Catharine A. MacKinnon - PDF Link

For Her Own Good - Two Centuries of the Experts’ Advice to Women Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English - PDF Link

Going Out of Our Minds - The Metaphysics of Liberation Sonia Johnson - PDF Link 

The Great Cosmic Mother - Rediscovering the Religion of the Earth Monica Sjöö and Barbara Mor - PDF Link

Beauty and Mysogyny - Harmful Cultural Practices in the West Sheila Jeffreys - PDF Link

How to Suppress Women’s Writing Joanna Russ - PDF Link

Loving to Survive - Sexual Terror, Men’s Violence, and Women’s Lives Dee L. R. Graham - PDF Link

Beyond God the Father - Toward a Philosophy of Women’s Liberation Mary Daly - PDF Link

Gyn/Ecology - The Metaethics of Radical Feminism Mary Daly - PDF Link

Sexual Politics Kate Millett - PDF Link

Natural Liberty Sage-Femme Collective - PDF Link

Pornland - How Porn Has Hijacked Our Sexuality Gail Dines - PDF Link

Radical Feminist Therapy - Working in the Context of Violence Bonnie Burstow - PDF Link

Right Wing Women  Andrea Dworkin - PDF Link

The Dialectic of Sex - A Case for Feminist Revolution Shulamith Firestone - PDF Link

The Spinster and Her Enemies - Feminism and Sexuality 1880-1930 Sheila Jeffreys - PDF Link

The Sexual Liberals and the Attack on Feminism edited by Dorchen Leidhodt and Janice G. Raymond - PDF Link

This Bridge Called My Back - Writings by Radical Women of Color editors: Cherrie Moraga and Gloria Anzaldua - PDF Link

Toward a Feminist Theory of the State Catharine A. MacKinnon - PDF Link 

Trauma and Recovery - The Aftermath of Violence - From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror Judith Herman, M.D. - PDF Link 

Unpacking Queer Politics Sheila Jeffreys - PDF Link

Who Cooked the Last Supper? - A Woman’s History of the World Rosalind Miles - PDF Link

Why Does He Do That? - Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men Lundy Bancroft - PDF Link

Wildfire - Igniting the She/Volution Sonia Johnson - PDF Link

Woman Hating Andrea Dworkin - PDF Link

Women, Race, and Class Angela Davis - PDF Link

Essays, Pamphlets, Articles, Manifestos, Letters, Shorter Books

Post-Mortems - Representations of Female Suicide by Drowning in Victorian Culture Valerie Messen - PDF Link

Consciousness-Raising: A Radical Weapon Kathie Sarachild - PDF Link

A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology and Socialist-Feminism in the Late 20th Century - PDF Link

Ancient Hatred and Its Contemporary Manifestation: The Torture of Lesbians Susan Hawthorne, Ph.D. - PDF Link

Racism, Birth Control, and Reproductive Rights Angela Davis - PDF Link

Witches, Midwives, and Nurses - A history of Women Healers Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English - PDF Link

Bringing Together Feminist Theory and Practice: A Collective Interview PDF Link

The Combahee River Collective Statement PDF Link

Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence Adrienne Rich - PDF Link

A Collection of Essays on Feminism and Sexism in the Anarchist Movement PDF Link

Everyday Male Chauvinism - Intimate Partner Violence Which is Not Called Violence - PDF Link

Free Space - A Perspective on the Small Group in Women’s Liberation Pamela Allen - PDF Link

Is Art Creating Patriarchy or is Patriarchy Creating Art? Mary B. - PDF Link

Learning from the Outsider Within: The Sociological Significance of Black Feminist Thought Patricia Hill Collins - PDF Link

Liberalism and the Death of Feminism Catherine A. MacKinnon - PDF Link

Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw - PDF Link

Marx and Gandhi Were Liberals - Feminism and the “Radical” Left Andrea Dworkin - PDF Link

The Subsistence Perspective - Beyond the Globalized Economy Maria Mies and Veronika Bennholdt-Thomsen - PDF Link

Off Our Backs - The Feminist Newsjournal - Issue on Mary Daly PDF Link

Disappearing Ink: Early Modern Women Philosphers and Their Fate in History Eileen O’Neill - PDF Link

Hands, Tools, Weapons Paola Tabet - PDF Link

S.C.U.M. Manifesto Valerie Solanas - PDF Link

Sexology and Antifeminism Sheila Jeffreys - PDF Link

Sinister Wisdom - A Gathering of Spirit - North American Indian Women’s Issue PDF Link

Taking Our Eyes off the Guys Sonia Johnson - PDF Link

We Should All Be Feminists Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - PDF Link

Why a Materialist Feminism is (Still) Possible - And Necessary Stevi Jackson - PDF Link

The Sexual Politics of Meat by Carol J Adams

Feminism and the Mastery of Nature by Val Plumwood

"One of the most prevalent obstacles in our ability to heal and self-actualise is when our productivity is tied to our worthiness."

I think the studyblr community especially needs to hear this. You don't have to be productive all the time, you need rest. Recovering from internalised capitalism means unpicking all the messages from family, friends, school and workplace that have reinforced the idea that you are a commodity, and that your worth is based on what you do. Your worth is inherent.

Give yourself an extra big hug today!

Trying to squeeze in an italian study session before work. I started watching the show “my brilliant friend” so I can emerse myself more with the italian language through more forms of media. Another show I might watch after is Luna terra, if you guys have any recommendations feel free to tell me about it.

sat sept 7 — more desk pics!

finished the first week of management school!! i’ve been uncharacteristically social and talked to so many people from so many nationalities! it was a super busy but very fun week. the campus is amazing, with plants everywhere, and a rooftop terrace with flowers and apple trees. you can pick the apples if they’re ripe!! expect pictures soon, once i get settled in a bit more.