THE BIRTH OF PLEASURE CONFERENCE FOCUSES ON RENOWNED PSYCHOLOGIST CAROL GILLIGAN’S NEW BOOK

joan.dim@nyu.edu

MEDIA INVITED – Interviews with Conference Participants May Be Arranged

NYU School of Law, Friday, Nov. 8 & Saturday, Nov. 9 -- Free and Open to Public

A conference addressing the themes of NYU Professor and renowned psychologist Carol Gilligan’s latest book, The Birth of Pleasure (Knopf, May, 2002), will feature a range of scholars and writers, including Gilligan, Anthony Amsterdam, Anthony Appiah, Ulrich Baer, Ruby Blondell, Eva Cantarella, Simon Goldhill, Jorie Graham, Moshe Halbertal, Tova Hartman-Halbertal, Robin Kelley, Jonathan Lear, Jamaica Kincaid, Kristin Linklater, Normi Noel, Tina Packer, Terence Real, Richard Revesz, David Richards, Richard Sennett, Wendy Steiner, Kendall Thomas, Ed Tronick, Niobe Way, and Froma Zeitlin. The conference will take place at the New York University School of Law, 40 Washington Square South, Greenberg Lounge, on Friday, Nov. 8, and Saturday, Nov. 9, 2002.

The event is free and open to the public.

In The Birth of Pleasure, Gilligan writes about love and the forces that stand in the way of pleasure. The book--rich, personal and adventurous--incorporates mythology, the plays of Shakespeare, contemporary novels, the liberation movements of the 19th and 20th century as well as Gilligan’s work at NYU Law School and her 20 years of research on the psychological development of adolescent girls, young boys and their parents, and couples in crisis. Gilligan questions why we relive tragic stories of loss and betrayal and shows how a path leading toward tragedy can be turned into a path to pleasure. The result is a new and radical map of love.

Two decades ago, Gilligan’s book, In a Different Voice, begat an intellectual revolution by showing how the inclusion of women’s voices changes the conversation about human psychology. Gilligan joined the faculty of NYU as a full-time professor in June, 2002.

Birth of Pleasure Conference Schedule

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 8

9:00 – 10:15 A Call to Take Up the Challenge of “Pleasure” NYU Law Dean Richard Revesz, NYU Law Professors David Richards and Peggy Davis, and Carol Gilligan (Gilligan will discuss the book’s premise and themes, and how it developed into a book.)

10:15 – 10:30 Dramatic reading from The Birth of Pleasure

11:00 – 1:00 Themes of Love and Liberation in Psychological Development

Hebrew University Professor Tova Hartman-Halbertal, University of Chicago Professor Jonathan Lear, Harvard Professor Ed Tronick, and Terence Real of the Cambridge Family Institute

2:00-4:00 Themes of Love and Liberation in the History and Politics of Resistance Movements

Hebrew University Professor Moshe Halbertal, NYU Professor Robin Kelley, David Richards, NYU Professor Richard Sennett, and University of Pennsylvania Professor Wendy Steiner

4:30-6:00 Conversation on Love and Liberation in Post-Colonial Fiction

Princeton University Professor Anthony Appiah, NYU Professor Ulrich Baer, and author Jamaica Kincaid

6:00-6:30 Scenes from The Scarlet Letter

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 9

9:00-11:00 Themes of Love and Liberation in Classical and Shakespearian Texts

University of Washington Ruby Blondell, NYU Global Law School Professor Eva Cantarella, University of Cambridge Simon Goldhill, Princeton University Professor Froma Zeitlin, Shakespeare and Company Theatre Director Normi Noel, and Shakespeare and Company Artistic Director Tina Packer

11:15-1:00 Innovative Methods in Law, Psychology and Theatre

NYU Law Professors Anthony Amsterdam and Peggy Davis, Columbia University Professors Kristin Linklater and Kendall Thomas, NYU School of Education Professor Niobe Way

N-76, 2002-03

10/24/02