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Mexican womens periodicals at the turn of the 20th century
Tuesday 28. April 2009 - The 2009 drupa Prize goes to Yasmin Temelli
Feminism and freedom of the press are the two central themes recognised by this years drupa Prize. To be more precise, the award-winning Ph.D. dissertation by Yasmin Temelli which is ready for publication focuses on womens literature and its social relevance on the eve of the Mexican Revolution. The title of her doctoral thesis, which earned her the prize conferred at an award ceremony held at the Industrie-Club in Düsseldorf on 27 April, is “Zwischen Anpassung und Widerstand – Manifestationen weiblicher Stimmen im Porfiriat. Eine Analyse von sechs Frauenpublikationen” (Between conformity and resistance – manifestations of feminine voices under General Porfirio Díaz. An analysis of six womens publications). The graduate of the Department of Romance Languages at Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf was handed the award by the President of drupa 2012, Martin Weickenmeier, and the President and CEO of Messe Düsseldorf, Werner M. Dornscheidt. Speeches by Prof. Hans T. Siepe, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, and Prof. Frank Leinen (Temellis doctoral supervisor) offered words of high praise for the award winners exceptional research project.
Through her dissertation, Yasmin Temelli has tackled a particularly multifaceted and fascinating topic covering the advent of womens emancipation and feminism during Mexicos industrialisation, press freedom under a dictatorship and publishing challenges at the dawn of the 20th century. She was the first researcher to systematically investigate the literary journals published especially with female readers in mind at the archives and libraries in Mexico City, the south of the USA and the Ibero-American Institute (IAI) in Berlin. She narrowed the focus by concentrating on the over 30-year-long (1876-1910) dictatorship of General Porfirio Díaz, known in Mexico as the “Porfiriato”, which ushered in the Mexican revolution. Although the economy was developed under the generals regime, there was a chipping away at liberal and democratic principles. The six womens journals, each of which could not be more different, are examined against this social backdrop. The spectrum ranges from traditional womens interest topics (fashion and beauty tips, society news) to approaches to emancipation and revolutionary ideas. In her eloquently formulated work, Yasmin Temelli has succeeded in cleanly applying the analytical knife to such polarising subjects as emancipation and feminism, thus bridging research gaps in Mexican studies. It is therefore no surprise that the dissertation will soon appear in the MEDIAmericana series produced by the prestigious Frankfurt publishing house Vervuert.
Born in Mettmann just outside Düsseldorf in 1979, Yasmin Temelli studied Spanish, Italian, political science and media studies at Heinrich Heine University and will receive her Ph.D. summa cum laude. Over the course of her academic career, the dedicated researcher has been awarded financial support from the Hans- und Elisabeth-Scheunemann-Stiftung foundation, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Ibero-American Institute (IAI) which is part of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation in Berlin and a doctoral fellowship from the German National Academic Foundation, among others. The 29-year-old will be staying true to her alma mater and academic pursuits: As Erasmus coordinator, she is involved in organising study abroad while also supporting students in planning and carrying out their studies through the mentor programme.