vivianxu1230's review against another edition
5.0
“We cannot, therefore, identify capitalist accumulation with the liberation of the worker, female or male, as many Marxists (among others) have done, or see the advent of capitalism as a moment of historical progress. On the contrary, capitalism has created more brutal and insidious forms of enslavement, as it has planted into the body of the proletariat deep divisions that have served to intensify and conceal exploitation. It is in great part because of these imposed divisions — especially those between women and men — that capitalist accumulation continues to devastate life in every corner of the planet”
the witch trials of 17th century New England occupy a small space in the minds of most. but the sanctified male supremacy/patriarchal order, bourgeois ideals of womanhood and domesticity, and even canonized image of the old witch with her broomstick and cat that were forged from this history of unjust persecution are pervasive in contemporary life.
this is a brilliant revisionist account of the 13th-17th century European shift from subsistence-based, feudalism to a money-economy. she details the history of heresy and its connection to proletarian struggles for egalitarianism. she then outlines the continuity between the persecution of heresy to the persecution of women in the form of witch trials, which were primed by the economic and social climate of the times. the locus of doctrinal deviation connects heresy & witchcraft–the ruling class was afraid of any possible subversion of the constituted order of burgeoning capitalism, as well as social norms. there is a history of class struggle that is tied to the campaign of terror that was launched upon women and heretics that accompanied the increasing cases of land expropriation/privatization and enclosure. class revolt and sexual transgression went hand in hand. furthermore, she expands on how the global expansion of capitalism through "colonization and Christianization ensured that this persecution would be planted in the body of colonized societies, and, in time, would be carried out by the subjugated communities in their own names and against their own members".
in light of the constant parallels that are drawn between 1950s McCarthyism and the Salem Witch Trials (the persecutions of heretics and women actually predate this), the comparison comes full circle!
Federici's historical analysis is well-integrated with primary sources– art, excerpts, graphs. her writing is clear and has minimal use of esoteric references. a wonderful read!
the witch trials of 17th century New England occupy a small space in the minds of most. but the sanctified male supremacy/patriarchal order, bourgeois ideals of womanhood and domesticity, and even canonized image of the old witch with her broomstick and cat that were forged from this history of unjust persecution are pervasive in contemporary life.
this is a brilliant revisionist account of the 13th-17th century European shift from subsistence-based, feudalism to a money-economy. she details the history of heresy and its connection to proletarian struggles for egalitarianism. she then outlines the continuity between the persecution of heresy to the persecution of women in the form of witch trials, which were primed by the economic and social climate of the times. the locus of doctrinal deviation connects heresy & witchcraft–the ruling class was afraid of any possible subversion of the constituted order of burgeoning capitalism, as well as social norms. there is a history of class struggle that is tied to the campaign of terror that was launched upon women and heretics that accompanied the increasing cases of land expropriation/privatization and enclosure. class revolt and sexual transgression went hand in hand. furthermore, she expands on how the global expansion of capitalism through "colonization and Christianization ensured that this persecution would be planted in the body of colonized societies, and, in time, would be carried out by the subjugated communities in their own names and against their own members".
in light of the constant parallels that are drawn between 1950s McCarthyism and the Salem Witch Trials (the persecutions of heretics and women actually predate this), the comparison comes full circle!
Federici's historical analysis is well-integrated with primary sources– art, excerpts, graphs. her writing is clear and has minimal use of esoteric references. a wonderful read!
farsiedisfarsi's review against another edition
5.0
⭐⭐⭐⭐½
Interessantissimo e ricco di spunti, lo consiglio anche a chi ha timore nell'approcciarsi al femminismo, agli studi post-coloniali perché è accessibile anche a chi non è ferrato nei temi. La prosa è estremamente chiara e anzi, se devo trovargli un difetto è la prolissità. Unica pecca, avrei gradito un maggiore approfondimento del rapporto tra caccia alle streghe e colonialismo, gli ultimi capitoli sono i più sbrigativi. Comunque un testo fondamentale nel delineare il sempre troppo poco rimarcato legame tra sistema capitalista e oppressione delle donne.
Interessantissimo e ricco di spunti, lo consiglio anche a chi ha timore nell'approcciarsi al femminismo, agli studi post-coloniali perché è accessibile anche a chi non è ferrato nei temi. La prosa è estremamente chiara e anzi, se devo trovargli un difetto è la prolissità. Unica pecca, avrei gradito un maggiore approfondimento del rapporto tra caccia alle streghe e colonialismo, gli ultimi capitoli sono i più sbrigativi. Comunque un testo fondamentale nel delineare il sempre troppo poco rimarcato legame tra sistema capitalista e oppressione delle donne.
catarina_fernandes's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Although this book is somewhat informative and addresses a very dark and revolting period in history, marked by it's misogyny, racism, ignorance and cruelty, I only give it 3 stars. It left me scratching my head and confused (there are other reviews here on Storygraph with links that explain these points deeper, if you want to check it out):
- the points made are not very clear sometimes, things are mentioned but the reasoning goes nowhere or doesn't make sense;
- historical "facts" are inaccurate or not cited, for example the number of women killed during that period is exagerated, the fact that men were also persecuted and actual important works about the witch hunt that were ignored to make a false point that "there is not enough study of this topic and I'm the one that's gonna talk about this" (this brings me to another point, more personal and emotional: I feel the author was being manipulative and arrogant);
- she lies: some drawings are manipulated or have important parts that completely change the interpretation of them cut out for the author to make her point: when you see the original complete piece, it's about something completely different from what is shown on the book;
- the connection between situations or events feels "forced" (correlation associated with causality when it's proven not to be the case, for example: associating the philosophical rationalism and misogyny and the witch hunt, when the rationalism denied the existence of magic and witches);
- the weight of cristian beliefs to the witch hunt doesn't have much importance, to the author is seen as just an excuse for something that's political and economical: in my view, both political and religious reasons contributed to the witch hunt;
- in moral terms, things that were important for the evolution of humanity are low key considered "bad" and even "sexist" (for example, anatomy studies) and things that are not acceptable are dismissed as lies or considered to not be as "bad" (for exemple, killing ou abandoning children or human sacrifices made by indigenous people), the author is not clear about her position about what is considered basic human rights and what is acceptable, she just mentions things, but again, it goes nowhere.
At least, this made me think critically of certain aspects and search for the accuracy of the information, so I learned a lot from actually questioning it.
- the points made are not very clear sometimes, things are mentioned but the reasoning goes nowhere or doesn't make sense;
- historical "facts" are inaccurate or not cited, for example the number of women killed during that period is exagerated, the fact that men were also persecuted and actual important works about the witch hunt that were ignored to make a false point that "there is not enough study of this topic and I'm the one that's gonna talk about this" (this brings me to another point, more personal and emotional: I feel the author was being manipulative and arrogant);
- she lies: some drawings are manipulated or have important parts that completely change the interpretation of them cut out for the author to make her point: when you see the original complete piece, it's about something completely different from what is shown on the book;
- the connection between situations or events feels "forced" (correlation associated with causality when it's proven not to be the case, for example: associating the philosophical rationalism and misogyny and the witch hunt, when the rationalism denied the existence of magic and witches);
- the weight of cristian beliefs to the witch hunt doesn't have much importance, to the author is seen as just an excuse for something that's political and economical: in my view, both political and religious reasons contributed to the witch hunt;
- in moral terms, things that were important for the evolution of humanity are low key considered "bad" and even "sexist" (for example, anatomy studies) and things that are not acceptable are dismissed as lies or considered to not be as "bad" (for exemple, killing ou abandoning children or human sacrifices made by indigenous people), the author is not clear about her position about what is considered basic human rights and what is acceptable, she just mentions things, but again, it goes nowhere.
At least, this made me think critically of certain aspects and search for the accuracy of the information, so I learned a lot from actually questioning it.
frankie_s's review against another edition
5.0
A dense read, a lot to digest, but worldview transforming, and excellent fodder for my mediaeval and early modern Europe obsession.
isthar23's review against another edition
5.0
Como explicar lo que este libro despierta. Terminar de leerlo es como ver un puzzle completo. Es cierto, que como en los puzzles,cuesta montar el marco y organizar las piezas. Llegado el capítulo 4 y, sobre todo, el capítulo 5 (final) todo te encaja. Federici quiere abarcar mucho, tanto en tiempo como en temas, quizás es un poco caótica y poco concreta. Pero lo perdonamos por que no es historiadora. Ella es filosófa y su tarea es hacerse preguntas y dar respuestas a planteamientos de por qué. Y Federici hila todo muy bien para concluir que mantener un sistema capitalista hace que siempre halla colectivos que tienen que soportar la peor parte. En el caso que nos ocupa, son las mujeres las que han ido perdido poder para que el sistema capitalista funcione. Da igual la ideología, da igual la religión, da igual la clase social,... se ha asumido que para que el sistema funcione medianamente las mujeres tienen que tener menos derechos, tienen que tener menos opciones para hacer colectividad.
Leer a Federici es un gusto, pero hacerlo en compañía es mucho mejor por que eso es lo que ella pretende conseguir, que tengamos comunidades donde compartir.
Leer a Federici es un gusto, pero hacerlo en compañía es mucho mejor por que eso es lo que ella pretende conseguir, que tengamos comunidades donde compartir.
sarahpizzichemi's review against another edition
5.0
This is a remarkable deep dive into the history of the intersection of sexism, capitalism, land privatization, witch hunts, the mechanization of and control over the body of the proletariat in service to the bourgeoisie, and colonialism.
It was incredibly well cited with an extensive bibliography and reads a lot like a dense academic paper, but is surprisingly emotional and upsetting to read despite that due to the subject matter. It took awhile for me to read as I had to limit the amount of pages I could sit down and consume at once as it is difficult to process both intellectually and emotionally, but also well worth the effort.
I really wish I had known of this book and the overall research it stems from a lot sooner-it would have been really helpful during my dissertation preparation and study, and I feel like it expanded my knowledge and understanding of feminist history. I will definitely be keeping it on my bookshelf as a resource for future academic papers I may try to write; the bibliography alone is a fantastic resource.
Read for Bookclub: Folkways Reading Circle
It was incredibly well cited with an extensive bibliography and reads a lot like a dense academic paper, but is surprisingly emotional and upsetting to read despite that due to the subject matter. It took awhile for me to read as I had to limit the amount of pages I could sit down and consume at once as it is difficult to process both intellectually and emotionally, but also well worth the effort.
I really wish I had known of this book and the overall research it stems from a lot sooner-it would have been really helpful during my dissertation preparation and study, and I feel like it expanded my knowledge and understanding of feminist history. I will definitely be keeping it on my bookshelf as a resource for future academic papers I may try to write; the bibliography alone is a fantastic resource.
Read for Bookclub: Folkways Reading Circle