In her first semester at Auburn University, Laura Pratt had an opening for one more class when she saw that Introduction to Women’s Studies was being offered.
“Although in high school I was just becoming interested in feminist theory, when I saw it offered, I decided, ‘Well this is something I don’t know anything about, really,’ and I like to try to know a lot about the things I like,” Pratt said.
After finishing the course and wanting more, she wasted no time in registering for Auburn’s Feminist Theory course her next semester despite the class not being recommended for freshman.
Pratt has since taken every women’s studies course she could, and before she graduated this spring as a history major with a minor in women’s studies, she decided to organize the Auburn Feminist Book Club.
“I think the women’s studies courses here have been the most transformative and the most impactful as far as developing my critical consciousness and towards my development as a scholar,” Pratt said. “So that’s a big reason why I wanted to make sure that there was an organization that would still have these opportunities for people who maybe weren’t in the minor or if feminist theory wasn’t being offered that semester.”
The idea for the book club came about over the course of her taking Women in Leadership, an Auburn class in community and civic engagement.
“We had to do a semester-long project that would be involved with civic engagement, so something that we were personally invested in and passionate about something that we thought was lacking on campus and something that could amend it, so that was my idea,” Pratt said.
The Auburn Feminist Book Club had its first meeting on April 24, where they read and discussed Kimberle Crenshaw's 1993 article, “Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color.”
“I picked it just because I think that there’s a lot of discussion about intersectional theory but perhaps there’s not as much known about where it comes from and how it was developed,” Pratt said. “It has a lot of relevance for everybody and I thought it’d be something that people would like to read and it’s pretty easy to read as well. It’s theoretically rigorous but also accessible.”
Pratt has taken a job at two archives in Birmingham, Alabama: The Negro Southern League Museum and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Despite leaving Auburn, she hopes to stay involved in the new book club she’s created, mostly by discussing readings on the group’s Facebook page.
Pratt hopes the book club will expand to include more Auburn students, faculty and community members alike.
“All the women’s studies classes and events were some of the best times I’ve had here in Auburn,” Pratt said. “I think it’d be great if we can get more people in the community involved and if teachers want to come I think that’s great. They have a lot of valuable contributions as well, not only as educators but also as people who are impacted by these theories just as much as students are.”
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