Nancy Riley is a professor of sociology at Bowdoin College whose work focuses on family, gender and population, and China. She has completed years of research in Dalian on the family lives of women factory workers, and taken groups of students (and one group of faculty) to Asia with the support of the Freeman Foundation. Publications include (with James McCarthy) Demography in the Age of the Postmodern (Cambridge University Press, 2003) and “Challenging Demography: Contributions from Feminist Theory” (Sociological Forum, 1999). In de-mystifying cultural practices such as foot binding and arranged marriage, Riley explains how she encourages students to get beyond the assumptions they’ve made about women in China.
“A Dialogue of Flower and Song” is a one-act play written by Stonecoast student Cindy Williams Gutiérrez and performed here by Bridget Madden, Elsa Colón, Julie Manon, Luis Luque, and Kathleen Clancy. Gerardo Calderón of Grupo Condor provides live pre-Columbian music. The play re-imagines a 15th century Aztec literary event, drawing together three women poets from different periods in Mexico’s history—pre-Conquest Tenochtitlan, colonial New Spain, and the current Mexican Diaspora. This recording begins with an introduction and acknowledgements from the playwright.
The play is a work-in-progress. If you would like to provide feedback as part of the development process, please email Cindy Williams Gutiérrez. All rights are reserved by the playwright. For permission to reproduce, perform or publish this work, please contact her via email or at (503) 631-4113.
This reading took place in Freeport, Maine, during the winter residency of the Stonecoast MFA program in January, 2008. Stonecoast is the low-residency MFA program in creative writing at the University of Southern Maine. We welcome your feedback on this Flower and Song podcast.
Please be aware that the content in these audio files does not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or policies of the Maine Humanities Council or any organization with which the Maine Humanities Council is affiliated. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the podcast do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Nancy Riley is a professor of sociology at Bowdoin College whose work focuses on family, gender and population, and China. She has completed years of research in Dalian on the family lives of women factory workers, and taken groups of students (and one group of faculty) to Asia with the support of the Freeman Foundation. Publications include (with James McCarthy) Demography in the Age of the Postmodern (Cambridge University Press, 2003) and “Challenging Demography: Contributions from Feminist Theory” (Sociological Forum, 1999). In de-mystifying cultural practices such as foot binding and arranged marriage, Riley explains how she encourages students to get beyond the assumptions they’ve made about women in China.
