Named in honour of W.L. Morton, the Canadian historian and former Master of Trent's Champlain College, in 2024-25, this prestigious lecture invites Dr. Amanda Ricci, York University, to give a public talk, free and open to all.
Making and Unmaking the Nation: Feminist Challenges from Montreal
Amanda Ricci
Glendon College, York University
Monday March 17, 2025
6:00 PM
Lady Eaton College Lecture Hall 201 - in person only
FREE PUBLIC EVENT -- Everyone Welcome
In the decades following the Second World War, women from all walks of life became increasingly frustrated by the world around them. Drawing on long-standing political traditions, they bound together to revolutionize social norms and contest gender inequality. In Montreal, women activists inspired by Red Power, Black Power, and Quebec liberation, among other social movements, mounted a multifront campaign against social injustice. The talk presents a unique portrait of the resurgence of feminist activism in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, demonstrating its deep roots in various communities, its transnational scope, and its wide-ranging inspirations and preoccupations. For instance, feminists from Quebec were avid participants in the United Nations’ Decade for Women (1975-1985). The talk looks to the history of women’s activism though a transnational lens and tries to find new ways of defining feminist priorities and imagining feminist futures.
Graduate Seminar:
On Tuesday March 18, Dr. Ricci will be leading a small graduate seminar on the subject of transnational feminist histories from 10 am - noon in the Traill College Senior Common Room in Scott House at Traill. Pre-registration is required, and more information can be found at the registration site. As lunch is being served to attendees we would be grateful if registrants would remain committed to attendance, or let us know if something unavoidable arises.
Amanda Ricci is an associate professor of history at York University. She is the author of Countercurrents: Women’s Movements in Postwar Montreal (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2023) and has written extensively about the history of feminism in Canada. Her most recent project addresses the history of the garment industry in Montreal (1930-1990).
The W.L. Morton Community Lecture is in honour of W.L. Morton, the Canadian historian and former Master of Trent's Champlain College. This year’s talk is presented through the collaboration of The School for the Study of Canada / École d’études canadiennes, The Colleges of Trent University, The Frost Centre for Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies and Trent’s departments of History and of Gender and Social Justice.
