Episode 18: Interview with Martha Ackelsberg: 'Free Women of Spain'

ABC With Danny and Jim

In this episode we're delighted to be joined by Martha Ackelsberg (Smith College, Massachusetts) to discuss her classic study of Mujeres Libres, 'Free Women of Spain,' on the 30th anniversary of its original publication.

Martha's work has been hugely influential in the study of anarchism, gender and the Spanish Civil War, and has shaped the work of both Danny and Jim. We were thrilled that she could join us for this discussion, which covers the history of anarchist feminism in Spain, sexism within the movement, the problems of equating gender emancipation with fighting, and the lessons of the Mujeres Libres for today's radicals.

You can find more about Martha's extensive work on these subjects here: smith.edu/academics/faculty/martha-ackelsberg

In 2016 Danny and Jim were delighted to guest edit a special issue of International Journal of Iberian Studies on transnationalism and Spanish anarchism, featuring a brilliant article by Martha on the links between radical feminists in Spain and Argentina. The journal is available here, or you can get in touch with the show for access.

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The podcast music is Stealing Orchestra & Rafael Dionísio, 'Gente da minha terra (que me mete um nojo do caralho).' Reproduced from the Free Music Archive under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License, available here: https://bit.ly/35ToW4W

The podcast logo is an adapted version of the Left Book Club logo (1936-48), reproduced, edited and shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International licence. Original available here: https://bit.ly/35Nd6cv

The image in this episode isa photograph of a Mujeres Libres section during the Spanish Civil War, which is available in the public domain