Last night, GC Professor Emerita and alumna Patricia Mainardi was honored as a Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques. 

During a ceremony held at the French Embassy in New York, Deputy Cultural Counselor Thomas Michelon commended Dr. Mainardi’s influential scholarship on 19th century French art as well as her longstanding political engagement. “Before you were a committed scholar, you were a committed feminist,” he said, “As a member of the radical feminist group Redstockings in the 1970s, you were vocal in your criticism of what you viewed as a stubbornly patriarchal society…Your activism led you to examine social phenomena such as gender inequality, and to uncover its diverse and complicated manifestations. In 1970, you wrote an iconic article entitled ‘The Politics of Housework,’ in which you gave a biting explanation of how household chores were an essential frontier for women’s empowerment.”

Established in 1808 by Napoleon Bonaparte, the Order of Academic Palms honors accomplishments in teaching, scholarship, and research. Last night’s other honorees were Patricia Conlon Moran, Françoise Noble, Sandra VanAusdal and Andrew Curran. “Each honoree,”Michelon said, “in his or her own unique way, has helped to enrich the French language, culture and intellectual discourse here and abroad.”A transcript of the ceremony is available here.

photo credit Katherine Manthorne