Academic attainment and feminism?

[suwoo]

I have wanted to start this thread all day but have been scared that it is stupid or I will be flamed. I want to ask if people feel there is a correlation between academic attainment and feminist principles. Is that a valid question?
I had no idea that I was a feminist. I knew I had these thoughts and principles but didn't know what they were or the significance of them until we did feminist literary theory this semester- it was like an epiphany and my whole world made sense

Had I not gone to uni at the grand old age of 35, maybe I would never had these revelations.

What do you think? Those of you that identify as a feminist, what level of education do you have?

I don't think it is restricted to postgrad level.

I don't think it's restricted as in it doesn't exist - I think that capable undergrads will always be drawn to examining power structures in literary texts (as in, literally between the covers), and drawn to reading texts that clarify and identify those structures. I quite like that analogy: that a paradigm of thinking can come inside or outside the literary covers. Or both!

But when it comes to a sustained examination of power structures in literature as whole textual body, well, undergrads just don't have the space or time, do they? Something like 'Between Women' (Sharon Marcus's vv good examination of Victorian women's 'lifewriting' ie diaries, letters, etc is really quite massive and took a v long time). Nothing to stop them considering it as a private project, or making notes, or simply even noticing patterns of silencing, etc. But when it comes to 'output', I think only postgrads and academics have the 'room' to do it.

Oh, I see what you mean. That's probably true in terms of what people go away and write down, but I think lots of people who do English degrees go off and think through these things on their own, which is nice.

saf: 'victor, yep that makes sense. to me it's the, "examination of literature as a massive textual body that informs, creates AND REFLECTS socio-cultural attitudes" that is more interesting (personally) and has far more impact for feminism'.

I agree. What is moving, enriching, and illuminating for an individual may not bring about the greatest benefit for a political movement. While for me, personally, it is immensely powerful to read (or even produce) feminist analysis of literary texts, and it is something that has shaped my life and view of the world to a huge degree, there are much more powerful tools that can be deployed by feminism as a whole. It is much more powerful and politically astute to consider women's actions (and the production of a literary/theoretical/polemic/whatever text could be just one 'action' among many).