Footnotes to a Conversation, April 18, 2022
The Politics of Women
Head coverings feature in Christian, Hindu, and Jewish practices, but they’ve become intensely political in connection with Islam. Countries such as Ataturk’s Turkey banned them to demonstrate how modern they were, whereas the Islamic Republic of Iran insists women wear the hijab as a symbol of the government’s fundamentalist approach. “It has become impossible to talk about Islam without reference to women … and impossible to talk of Muslim women without reference to the veil.” [JSTOR Daily]
“Under Mussolini, Italian motherhood, childbirth, and breastfeeding were supposed be streamlined, rationalized, and run along the lines of a factory … Industrial motherhood, the mass-rationalization of fertility, was supposed to accelerate the ‘production of more and better Italian children’.” [JSTOR Daily]
Smell the Art
Researchers have identified over 80 different plant and flower species in The Sense of Smell by Jan Breughel the Elder. Visitors to the Prado in Madrid will be able to smell some of them while viewing the painting. It’s an attempt to focus viewers’ attention on some of the many, many small details in the painting. [The Guardian]
Let Them Eat Bread
Washington State University’s BreadLab is exploring the future of grain – from perennial varieties that don’t require replanting to blends of different genetic varieties that can handle the weather, be it flood or drought. [Modern Farmer]
Spring Flowers
I am so enjoying the spring flowers in Victoria. It feels like a never-ending progression of glorious blooms. I explored Esquimalt’s Highrock Park on Friday and was delighted to discover that the summit was a carpet of Sea Blush blooms. Fabulous!
Footnotes to a Conversation is a weekly Monday feature covering an assortment of topics that I’ve come across in the preceding week – books, art, travel, food, and whatever else strikes my fancy. I also post occasional articles on other dates, including frequent book reviews and travel tales.
If you share my love of nature, check out EcoFriendly West, an online publication encouraging environmental initiatives in Western Canada, and Nature Companion, a free nature app for Canada’s four western provinces.