Yale Needs Women by Anne Gardiner Perkins

YALE NEEDS WOMEN by Anne Gardiner Perkins was just released this week and I am actually reading this book in tandem with Paul Tough’s new work about college, The Years That Matter Most. It is truly fascinating to reflect on changes and the differing experiences across generations. Perkins is writing about “How the First Group of Girls Rewrote the Rules of an Ivy League Giant,” chronicling the experiences of several women who were among the first of their gender to attend Yale. For some of our students, it may be hard to believe that Yale and many other schools were only integrated gender-wise in the late 1960s and early 1970s, a generation or so ago.  Perkins does an excellent job of describing the feelings of those pioneering co-eds and her work could readily apply to events at other schools, like Union College.  In fact, Booklist says that YALE NEEDS WOMEN is “recommended for teens [because] teens approaching college age, especially those involved in social justice, will enjoy this window into a not-actually-that-distant past.”   

Perkins' book, though, is not just about the decision to admit women, but about what happened next and how subtle (or not so subtle) traditions and rituals impacted their experiences: “‘The worst part was being constantly conspicuous, which is something you don’t think about until it happens to you,’ said one freshman girl.”  Extremely well-researched, YALE NEEDS WOMEN contains a chart about the sources for oral histories and interviews, plus extensive notes (50+ pages), an index, and some black and white photos from the time.  Please look for a copy on our shelves soon – I am looking forward to having many conversations with interested readers. We still have much to do, as Perkins emphasizes through a number of statistics in her epilogue: “Women students today graduate at a higher rate than their male classmates, but their bachelor’s degrees earn them just 74 cents on the dollar compared to what men with the same credentials are paid. En route to that degree, one in five women is sexually assaulted. Nationally, women represent just 32 percent of full professors, and 26 percent of college and university presidents. … The battle … is not yet done.” 

A Door in the Earth by Amy Waldman

A DOOR IN THE EARTH by Amy Waldman (The Submission) is a complex text. In this novel, a recent Berkeley college grad and Afghan-American named Parveen is inspired by the earlier efforts of Dr. Gideon Crane to bring medical care to women in Afghanistan.  She decides to take a risk and retrace his steps, to live in a remote village for a few months in order to better document changes in attitudes and experiences for these women. Of course, the changes and observations which Parveen makes about the contrasts between her earlier life and current circumstances are fascinating, too, such as when she reflects on the items in her suitcase or on returning to a pre-digital life. Thinking about the absence of the written word, Parveen muses, “reading was perhaps the only learned behavior that became as involuntary as breathing. It couldn’t be unlearned, couldn’t be switched off, … Only now did she feel … how much work, how much filtering, her brain had been doing to withstand it.” And flashbacks allow for incorporating provocative comments by her professor: “Might opens the door for mission, which in turn justifies might.  Controlling land and bodies paves the way for saving souls, and saving souls solidifies control over land.” 

If there is any criticism of this novel it is that Parveen seems unwilling or unable to trust the evidence of her own eyes and, as a result, parts of the novel move slowly. However, Waldman is masterful at helping readers to appreciate the Afghan culture, particularly the role of women. While reading, many will recall the popularity and subsequent controversy associated with Greg Mortenson’s Three Cups of Tea – I was surprised to learn that Jon Krakauer had written Three Cups of Deceit, one of the many texts that Waldman consulted when writing this. Her references to media portrayal by “usual prominent white men (Charlie Rose, Tom Friedman, Tom Brokaw, David Brooks)”, the military, and America’s use of “kind power” are certainly thought-provoking and Waldman’s latest novel is a title worth considering as an addition to our Global Voices class’ syllabus.  A DOOR IN THE EARTH received starred reviews from both Booklist and Kirkus.

See Jane Win by Caitlin Moscatello

SEE JANE WIN by Caitlin Moscatello deals with candidates, their campaigns, and the victories for women in American politics between the Spring of 2017 and now. Moscatello, a journalist who writes frequently about gender and reproductive rights and politics, chose to profile four women: Abigail Spanberger (running for Congress in Virginia); Catalina Cruz (a Columbian-born Dreamer running for state assembly in New York); Anna Eskamani (running for state office in Florida); and London Lamar (seeking a seat in Tennessee’s state house).  In general, this is not a “how-to” book, but rather a (sometimes surprisingly dry) chronicle of events with some limited analysis that is based primarily on a string of interviews. Roughly ten percent of this text is devoted to notes and index, although it would have been helpful if Moscatello had also added contact information for the many organizations (IGNITE, Running Start, Onward Together, Emerge America, Run for Something, Latino Victory, etc.) that she mentions. I honestly thought that the presentation at our school by one of the organizers of the Woman’s March in Chicago was more impactful for students. However, SEE JANE WIN received a starred review from Kirkus and Booklist recommended it for teens, saying, “Politically engaged teens of all genders will be drawn to these inspirational women's stories and the ups and downs of running for office.”