23. 10. 2024 seminar of accidental wisdom: Michaela Fikejzová
seminar of accidental wisdom: Michaela Fikejzová
23.10.2024
Fully Electrified Kitchen: Czechoslovak Interwar Feminist Techno-Imaginary
What if the key to women’s liberation was hidden in the sleek design of an electric cooker or the gleam of a shiny new automobile? In the interwar period of Czechoslovakia, the women’s magazine Eva presented a bold vision of the future, where technology promised both convenience and emancipation. This talk delves into Eva's feminist techno-imaginary, where the “new woman” was constructed as the master of household appliances, a Taylorised household manager, and, potentially, a driver of social change. Using a feminist media archaeology approach, we’ll uncover the “emancipatory scale” that linked women’s progress to their control over technology, from kitchen tools to cars. This vision may seem empowering and elusive, but it reveals more profound constraints within society’s gender dynamics.
Mgr. Michaela Fikejzová, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Media Studies at the Metropolitan University Prague. Her research focuses on the media representation of women and marginalised groups, particularly in relation to social, cultural, and technological imaginares. She examines this issue from the domains of media theory, gender studies, and philosophy of language.