Meritxell Simon-Martin - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Meritxell Simon-Martin
Life Writing, Mar 18, 2022
Womens History Review, Apr 1, 2013
Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon was a mid-nineteenth-century feminist, philanthropist and painter. T... more Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon was a mid-nineteenth-century feminist, philanthropist and painter. This article examines Bodichon the female traveller as a way of discussing the process of identity-formation in letter-writing. It proposes reading letters through the lens of Judith Butler's theory of gender (1990). Following her concept of performativity, letter-writing is conceived as a performative act of identity-formation. The article argues that, conditioned by the addressee she wrote to, Bodichon gave written expression to her subjectivity in her travel letters via her epistolary persona. This autobiographical gesture acted as one means through which she constituted her identity as a female traveller. In turn, drawing on Butler's notion of subversive repetition, the article concludes that the resulting multiple epistolary ‘I's Bodichon developed in accordance with each of her addressees permitted her to venture into her subjectivity as a female traveller—ultimately prompting her epistolary challenge of normative codes.
History of Education, May 13, 2020
tomed to working individually on grants and book projects need more collaborative efforts to meet... more tomed to working individually on grants and book projects need more collaborative efforts to meet the challenge of new historiography. Echoing a plea by Rury and Tamura in their editorial Introduction, he suggests that ‘The rare genre of collaborative books (without individual chapters)’ might offer a more valid alternative for an educational historiography to challenge ‘not only monocultural and monolanguage approaches but also the limits of the traditional making and circulating of texts and knowledge’ (p. 582).
Gender & History, Oct 24, 2012
Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon (1827–1891) was a mid-Victorian watercolour painter and one of the l... more Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon (1827–1891) was a mid-Victorian watercolour painter and one of the leaders of the women’s movement in England. This article problematises the construction of historical knowledge about Bodichon via an examination of her artistic career through her letters and paintings. Conceived as an alternative to empirical readings of primary sources, it teases out the mediated nature of epistolary and visual narratives. By focusing on two examples of first-person documentation, it addresses the epistemological question of what historical knowledge about Bodichon’s artistic career we can gain through her letters and paintings. Ultimately, this article claims their significance as insightful sources of historical knowledge despite their partial, perspectival and mediated ontology. In an attempt to make the most of the (very often scarce) primary sources available, biographers make use of a combination of records to provide the most comprehensive analysis of historical figures. Memoirs, personal correspondence, contemporary newspapers and official documents are among the most frequently used historical evidence. Bodichon’s life is documented from first-, secondand third-person perspectival texts. Her letters, paintings and publications are articulations of her subjectivity. Letters written to her reveal how Bodichon was perceived and addressed by her correspondents and display a second-person dimension of her identity. Letters exchanged among acquaintances referring to her, newspaper reviews commenting on her feminist and artistic endeavours, as well as official records provide additional layers of information about her. Each of these types of primary source is a genre, with its own regulatory codes
Paedagogica Historica, Jul 7, 2021
This chapter examines the mid-Victorian feminist claim for better education for women as articula... more This chapter examines the mid-Victorian feminist claim for better education for women as articulated by Bodichon at the intersection of her publications and letters. I first discuss Bodichon’s most relevant works on this demand. This chapter moves on to explore the epistolary unfolding of Bodichon’s stance on the question of religious education and women’s access to schooling. Hence, in line with Bildung’s notion of dialogical learning, I explore the pivotal axis epistolary networks among Bodichon and her female friends played in providing her with a forum for learning and self-discovery where she acquired knowledge and exercised her critical thinking. I suggest that Bodichon shaped her own outlook in the process of epistolary learning stimulated by the activities she undertook within the framework of her later informal education: school visiting, traveling and reading. I argue that, in the process, she began developing her feminist understanding of women needing better education opportunities as a springboard to achieving equality.
Rives méditerranéennes, Feb 29, 2012
Life Writing, Oct 8, 2021
ABSTRACT Body and emotions have traditionally been contentious sources of (self-)knowledge in epi... more ABSTRACT Body and emotions have traditionally been contentious sources of (self-)knowledge in epistemological debates—often regarded as impediments to rational thinking and autonomous moral decisions. Drawing on feminist philosophers who have sought to bring back body and emotions as central elements in the constitution of the self and the world (Catriona Mackenzie, Alison Jaggar, Kym Maclaren and Sara Ahmed), this paper unpacks how the interaction body-emotions can act as a (problematic) source of female agency. To do so, it examines the epistolary diary which mid-Victorian English feminist, artist and philanthropist Barbara Bodichon wrote during her honeymoon in North-America (1857–1858). This paper teases out the extent to which Bodichon’s lived affective encounters during her honeymoon were translated into an ambiguous narrative outcome: an agentic epistolary self-projection that concomitantly essentialised Others in her descriptions of North-American society.
International Journal of Art and Design Education, May 1, 2022
Theoretical knowledge taught in the classroom forms the bulk of lectures in Initial Teacher Train... more Theoretical knowledge taught in the classroom forms the bulk of lectures in Initial Teacher Training today. Persuaded that knowledge constructed in the community ought to permeate Teacher Training, Zeichner has developed the notion of Hybrid Spacea space for reflection, training and educational improvement where the background of academic/ professional knowledge merges to create new learning opportunities, and where the voices of all participants emerge inclusively. Drawing on but also nuancing Zeichner's Hybrid Space, this paper examines how (1) incorporating working with (in, about, through) contemporary art into our teaching, and (2) putting this pedagogical approach into play by means of situated learning contexts that work with and in the community offers the opportunity to create an innovative teaching approach. This innovation takes the form of transdisciplinary and nomadic learning inputs that operate within an in-between space and result in unique and unrepeatable learning experiences for all the participants involved.
Springer eBooks, 2020
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this p... more The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
History of education researcher, 2012
In the late eighteenth century and throughout the nineteenth, the Unitarians, despite their small... more In the late eighteenth century and throughout the nineteenth, the Unitarians, despite their small numbers, were at the forefront of religious, political and social reform in England.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), 2022
Concept clé des premières théories féministes anglo-saxonnes, le terme d’agency bénéficie depuis ... more Concept clé des premières théories féministes anglo-saxonnes, le terme d’agency bénéficie depuis deux à trois décennies d’un regain d’intérêt dans les études en sciences sociales. La polysémie du terme, qui n’a pas d’équivalent simple en français, et sa richesse conceptuelle expliquent les discussions qu’il a suscitées et qu’il continue de nourrir. Les contributions rassemblées dans ce numéro, issues d’une journée d’études Jeunes Chercheurs, visent à interroger, dans une perspective interdisciplinaire, la complexité du concept d’agency et sa portée heuristique pour les études de genre
activism have also been explored in several articles and book chapters; 2 her writings have been ... more activism have also been explored in several articles and book chapters; 2 her writings have been reprinted in anthologies; 3 and some of her letters have been edited. 4 She is mentioned systematically in general accounts of the history of the women's movement in England and in studies of specific feminist campaigns. 5 Her artistic activities have also been largely explored 6 and are discussed in general
International Journal of Art & Design Education
Life Writing, Mar 18, 2022
Womens History Review, Apr 1, 2013
Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon was a mid-nineteenth-century feminist, philanthropist and painter. T... more Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon was a mid-nineteenth-century feminist, philanthropist and painter. This article examines Bodichon the female traveller as a way of discussing the process of identity-formation in letter-writing. It proposes reading letters through the lens of Judith Butler's theory of gender (1990). Following her concept of performativity, letter-writing is conceived as a performative act of identity-formation. The article argues that, conditioned by the addressee she wrote to, Bodichon gave written expression to her subjectivity in her travel letters via her epistolary persona. This autobiographical gesture acted as one means through which she constituted her identity as a female traveller. In turn, drawing on Butler's notion of subversive repetition, the article concludes that the resulting multiple epistolary ‘I's Bodichon developed in accordance with each of her addressees permitted her to venture into her subjectivity as a female traveller—ultimately prompting her epistolary challenge of normative codes.
History of Education, May 13, 2020
tomed to working individually on grants and book projects need more collaborative efforts to meet... more tomed to working individually on grants and book projects need more collaborative efforts to meet the challenge of new historiography. Echoing a plea by Rury and Tamura in their editorial Introduction, he suggests that ‘The rare genre of collaborative books (without individual chapters)’ might offer a more valid alternative for an educational historiography to challenge ‘not only monocultural and monolanguage approaches but also the limits of the traditional making and circulating of texts and knowledge’ (p. 582).
Gender & History, Oct 24, 2012
Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon (1827–1891) was a mid-Victorian watercolour painter and one of the l... more Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon (1827–1891) was a mid-Victorian watercolour painter and one of the leaders of the women’s movement in England. This article problematises the construction of historical knowledge about Bodichon via an examination of her artistic career through her letters and paintings. Conceived as an alternative to empirical readings of primary sources, it teases out the mediated nature of epistolary and visual narratives. By focusing on two examples of first-person documentation, it addresses the epistemological question of what historical knowledge about Bodichon’s artistic career we can gain through her letters and paintings. Ultimately, this article claims their significance as insightful sources of historical knowledge despite their partial, perspectival and mediated ontology. In an attempt to make the most of the (very often scarce) primary sources available, biographers make use of a combination of records to provide the most comprehensive analysis of historical figures. Memoirs, personal correspondence, contemporary newspapers and official documents are among the most frequently used historical evidence. Bodichon’s life is documented from first-, secondand third-person perspectival texts. Her letters, paintings and publications are articulations of her subjectivity. Letters written to her reveal how Bodichon was perceived and addressed by her correspondents and display a second-person dimension of her identity. Letters exchanged among acquaintances referring to her, newspaper reviews commenting on her feminist and artistic endeavours, as well as official records provide additional layers of information about her. Each of these types of primary source is a genre, with its own regulatory codes
Paedagogica Historica, Jul 7, 2021
This chapter examines the mid-Victorian feminist claim for better education for women as articula... more This chapter examines the mid-Victorian feminist claim for better education for women as articulated by Bodichon at the intersection of her publications and letters. I first discuss Bodichon’s most relevant works on this demand. This chapter moves on to explore the epistolary unfolding of Bodichon’s stance on the question of religious education and women’s access to schooling. Hence, in line with Bildung’s notion of dialogical learning, I explore the pivotal axis epistolary networks among Bodichon and her female friends played in providing her with a forum for learning and self-discovery where she acquired knowledge and exercised her critical thinking. I suggest that Bodichon shaped her own outlook in the process of epistolary learning stimulated by the activities she undertook within the framework of her later informal education: school visiting, traveling and reading. I argue that, in the process, she began developing her feminist understanding of women needing better education opportunities as a springboard to achieving equality.
Rives méditerranéennes, Feb 29, 2012
Life Writing, Oct 8, 2021
ABSTRACT Body and emotions have traditionally been contentious sources of (self-)knowledge in epi... more ABSTRACT Body and emotions have traditionally been contentious sources of (self-)knowledge in epistemological debates—often regarded as impediments to rational thinking and autonomous moral decisions. Drawing on feminist philosophers who have sought to bring back body and emotions as central elements in the constitution of the self and the world (Catriona Mackenzie, Alison Jaggar, Kym Maclaren and Sara Ahmed), this paper unpacks how the interaction body-emotions can act as a (problematic) source of female agency. To do so, it examines the epistolary diary which mid-Victorian English feminist, artist and philanthropist Barbara Bodichon wrote during her honeymoon in North-America (1857–1858). This paper teases out the extent to which Bodichon’s lived affective encounters during her honeymoon were translated into an ambiguous narrative outcome: an agentic epistolary self-projection that concomitantly essentialised Others in her descriptions of North-American society.
International Journal of Art and Design Education, May 1, 2022
Theoretical knowledge taught in the classroom forms the bulk of lectures in Initial Teacher Train... more Theoretical knowledge taught in the classroom forms the bulk of lectures in Initial Teacher Training today. Persuaded that knowledge constructed in the community ought to permeate Teacher Training, Zeichner has developed the notion of Hybrid Spacea space for reflection, training and educational improvement where the background of academic/ professional knowledge merges to create new learning opportunities, and where the voices of all participants emerge inclusively. Drawing on but also nuancing Zeichner's Hybrid Space, this paper examines how (1) incorporating working with (in, about, through) contemporary art into our teaching, and (2) putting this pedagogical approach into play by means of situated learning contexts that work with and in the community offers the opportunity to create an innovative teaching approach. This innovation takes the form of transdisciplinary and nomadic learning inputs that operate within an in-between space and result in unique and unrepeatable learning experiences for all the participants involved.
Springer eBooks, 2020
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this p... more The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
History of education researcher, 2012
In the late eighteenth century and throughout the nineteenth, the Unitarians, despite their small... more In the late eighteenth century and throughout the nineteenth, the Unitarians, despite their small numbers, were at the forefront of religious, political and social reform in England.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), 2022
Concept clé des premières théories féministes anglo-saxonnes, le terme d’agency bénéficie depuis ... more Concept clé des premières théories féministes anglo-saxonnes, le terme d’agency bénéficie depuis deux à trois décennies d’un regain d’intérêt dans les études en sciences sociales. La polysémie du terme, qui n’a pas d’équivalent simple en français, et sa richesse conceptuelle expliquent les discussions qu’il a suscitées et qu’il continue de nourrir. Les contributions rassemblées dans ce numéro, issues d’une journée d’études Jeunes Chercheurs, visent à interroger, dans une perspective interdisciplinaire, la complexité du concept d’agency et sa portée heuristique pour les études de genre
activism have also been explored in several articles and book chapters; 2 her writings have been ... more activism have also been explored in several articles and book chapters; 2 her writings have been reprinted in anthologies; 3 and some of her letters have been edited. 4 She is mentioned systematically in general accounts of the history of the women's movement in England and in studies of specific feminist campaigns. 5 Her artistic activities have also been largely explored 6 and are discussed in general
International Journal of Art & Design Education