Reviews for Cuba y su cultura

The average rating for Cuba y su cultura based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-11-21 00:00:00 Steve Macdonald I loved this book. The origin of the Women's Rights movement in the United States is often depicted in a purely secular way, divorced from the religious and spiritual contexts that participated in its origins and development. Braude's book enlarges the standard academic view to include religion, and she does so by focusing on women in Spiritualism (a movement that started in the mid-1800s, which, among other things, highlighted the ability to communicate with the spirits of deceased loved ones, or any other kind of spirit being, through seances, mediums, and trance speakers). At a time when women were prohibited from speaking in church or public, female trance speakers and mediums were addressing large public gatherings (the rationale being that the women were simply instruments through which the spirits were actually speaking). This accustomed audiences to female speakers and helped pave the way for leaders in the Women's Rights movement to break down barriers and redefine gender roles. Braude's style is very accessible and her commentary on historical events is particularly insightful. I got a little bogged down in the very last chapter, which focused primarily on the political intrigues within the Spiritualist organizations, but otherwise I enjoyed the book very much. Two thumbs up!

Review # 2 was written on 2007-12-21 00:00:00 Bruce Lodge Braude argues that Spiritualists constituted the radical wing of the women's rights movement during the latter half of the nineteenth century. Spiritualism was a radically individualistic philosophy, which affirmed every individual's access to spiritual truth and in fact considered women somewhat more spiritually sensitive than men. This special sensitivity of women meant that they had the potential to be a very positive influence on America's male-dominated society. This meant that for spiritualists-- who also supported other radical reform movements such as abolition and temperance-- women's rights became the mother of all reforms. The liberation of women from oppressive traditional roles would be the liberation of women's power to cure other social ills. Although spiritualists did not ultimately set the agenda of the women's rights movement, they did contribute substantial energy, talent, and personnel. Overall, a very interesting and persuasive book, and an excellent example of a religious movement that had a substantive positive impact on American politics and society.