The public intellectual I've picked to look at is Gloria Watkins, better known by her pen name bell hooks (intentionally uncapitalized). She is an author as well as a social activist, and as a postmodern feminist she focuses on the intersectionaly of race, class and gender and how certain groups are systematically oppressed by these categories.
I really like her because even though she is a public intellectual (something that is often grounded in elitism), she is able to reach a wider range of audiences by using different media: books (with easy to understand language and not overly intellectual), magazines (both scholarly as well as popular) as well as appearing in various documentaries. Feminists often use her definition of feminism, a term often difficult to define because it encompasses so many aspects that are often controversial: "Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation and oppression."
Here is an excerpt from her book Yearning: Race, Gender and Cultural Politics:
http://www.mariabuszek.com/kcai/PoMoSeminar/Readings/hooksPoMoBlckness.pdf
And here is her entire book which is what helped me get into feminism, Feminism is for Everybody
http://excoradfeminisms.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/bell_hooks-feminism_is_for_everybody.pdf
I like the choice. FYI that the links above didn't work for me.
ReplyDeleteThis women really intrigues me. I love her definition of feminism. She is able to capture the true purpose without seeming too "preachy." Also, it is important that she is able to use different portals to get her message out in the public and does not try to be overly intellectual. For highly educated people, I think this is something that is hard to accomplish.
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