Tag Archives: smith college

Winter-Spring Speaking Schedule for Feminist Teacher, Ileana Jiménez

19 March 2015

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I had the honor of being a part of the opening plenary at this year's Scholar & Feminist Conference hosted by the Barnard Center for Research on Women (photo credit: Sarah Rodriguez).

I had the honor of being a part of the opening plenary at this year’s Scholar & Feminist Conference hosted by the Barnard Center for Research on Women (photo credit: Sarah Rodriguez).

I’m excited to announce my speaking schedule for the remainder of the winter, spring, and early summer of 2015 (jump to the end for a full list). Last year’s line-up was particularly invigorating, with talks and panels everywhere from schools in India to universities in the UK. I was especially honored to be the keynote at various conferences last year, including Bowling Green State University’s Generation Justice Conference in Ohio and the National Sex Education Conference in New Jersey.

This year started out just as promising and just as national and global in reach. January included a Skype session with teachers in Iceland that was organized byAuður Magndís Auðardóttir, who works on initiatives on education and youth in Reykjavik. Auðardóttir said that my session on teaching feminism and intersectionality in K-12 classrooms “was inventful in finding ways to [make] the subject both personal and professional – which is so very important. Even [though] we were working over Skype, she managed to get everyone involved in sharing their thoughts and reflecting on their own situation in regards to feminism and equality. Her take on intersectionality was also very helpful for educators.” Continue reading →

On her 80th Birthday: Reflections on Meeting Gloria Steinem in India

25 March 2014

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Gloria Steinem spoke at the India International Center in January to launch her book tour (photo credit: Ileana Jiménez, Feminist Teacher).

Gloria Steinem spoke in January at the India International Centre in Delhi to launch her book tour for “As if Women Matter.” (photo credit: Ileana Jiménez, Feminist Teacher).

At the start of 2014, I led a seven-week tour of schools in India speaking to high school students about feminism and education.

Little did I know that one of my favorite feminists and fellow Smith alums, Gloria Steinem, would also be conducting an Indian tour of her own.

One morning in Delhi, I opened an email from Smith trustee, Mona Sinha. She urged me to go hear Steinem at the nearby India International Centre, where she was going to speak about her new book, As if Women Matter, alongside her longtime friend and fellow activist, Ruchira Gupta, founder of Apne Aap, which supports survivors of sex trafficking, and who had also edited Steinem’s new book.

I immediately made my reservation. I wanted a chance to speak to her in the very country that had changed her life forever.

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Guest Post: Learning Feminism in High School Led to My College Choice

27 August 2010

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Alexandra Garza

My name is Alexandra Garza and I was a student of Ileana Jiménez’s at Elisabeth Irwin High School (LREI). Before I was a student and now friend of Ileana’s, I had only known her contagious laugh heard frequently throughout the hallways. As time passed, I saw her at school assemblies encouraging students to get involved in various panels, lectures, and discussions on race, class, and gender. For some time, I’d been interested in joining these discussions Ileana so passionately advocated. I took my curiosity into consideration when selecting courses for my junior year. I was definitely lured in by Ileana’s passion. I decided to jump into the conversation head first by signing up for Ileana’s literature course, Fierce and Fabulous: Feminist Women Writers, Artists, and Activists. Aside from the fantastic title, I had a feeling this class could change my entire life. Continue reading →

More on Maddow’s Smith Commencement Speech: What I Didn’t Get to Include

22 May 2010

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I’m still pretty ecstatic about having interviewed Rachel Maddow just minutes before she delivered

Rachel Maddow at Smith Commencement 2010 (photo: Jim Gipe/pivotmedia.com).

this year’s Commencement speech at Smith College to the class of 2010 on May 16.  As a Smith alum from 1997, I was thrilled to cover the event for the Women’s Media Center in New York, which was co-founded by fellow Smith alum Gloria Steinem ’56.  Here’s the piece I wrote for them last week, which includes an exclusive quote from Maddow on feminism.

But there were some moments that I didn’t get to talk about in my WMC post, namely the covert lesbian joke that Maddow made to a knowing crowd, the lively live tweets from swooning alumnae; and photos of Maddow that will knock you out.

Continue reading →