Bury the Corpse of Colonialism: The Revolutionary Feminist Conference of 1949

by Elisabeth B. Armstrong

An intimate look at the 1949 Asian Women’s Conference, the movements it drew from, and its influence on feminist anticolonialism around the world.
 
In 1949, revolutionary activists from Asia hosted a conference in Beijing that gathered together their comrades from around the world. The Asian Women’s Conference developed a new political strategy, demanding that women from occupying colonial nations contest imperialism with the same dedication as women whose countries were occupied. Bury the Corpse of Colonialism shows how activists and movements create a revolutionary theory over time and through struggle—in this case, by launching a strategy for anti-imperialist feminist internationalism.
 
At the heart of this book are two stories. The first describes how the 1949 conference came to be, how it was experienced, and what it produced. The second follows the delegates home. What movements did they represent? Whose voices did they carry? How did their struggles hone their praxis? By examining the lives of more than a dozen AWC participants, Bury the Corpse of Colonialism traces the vital differences at the heart of internationalist solidarity for women’s emancipation in a world structured through militarism, capitalism, patriarchy, and the seeming impossibility of justice.

Genres: Feminism, History, China, Politics, Nonfiction, Asia, Gender and Sexuality

206 pages, Hardcover

Published March 14, 2023

Reviews

[Zach Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This does a great job introducing us to some of the influential women of the 20th century whose stories until now have been largely overlooked. It gets a little bogged down by the frequent switching between stories, that it starts to lose some of its narrative thrust as it relates to the formation of the AWC, because the return back to the movement after giving a short bio of each woman became somewhat redundant. Still, a powerful testament to the necessity of anti-colonial, anti-imperialist, and anti-racist ideologies in feminist movements, as much today as back then.

[Susanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book not only uncovers the obscured history of the Asian Women's Conference (AWC), where revolutionary leaders worldwide convened to shape a framework pivotal for combating imperialism in the 21st century, but it also presents a fresh perspective on propaganda, which I found particularly insightful.

While propaganda is often defined as any medium transmitting an ideology aiming to manipulate and stifle critical thinking, Armstrong offers an alternative definition that I find to be a more honest depiction of how ideology is formed, especially in mass movements.

Armstrong defines propaganda as a tool for understanding how revolutionary theories emerge from collective struggle. Dismissing the simplistic notion of it being merely biased or manipulative media, Armstrong portrays propaganda as a methodology that outlines the genesis of a collective voice without erasing the diverse and contentious origins from which this voice emerges.

In the case of the AWC, the propaganda circulated following the conference reflected the consensus achieved after extensive hours of debate and dialogue among the hundreds of participants, encompassing perspectives that often clashed during the conference. Armstrong argues that propaganda offers a more honest reflection of history than other sources, as it distills a collective experience that captures the broader sweep of a movement, surpassing the limits of individual subjectivity.

While there's not much more I can say about the book without just rewriting it, I greatly appreciate Armstrong's narrative approach in telling history. Through seemingly ordinary vignettes, she unveils a broader truth about the contextual backdrop in which this historical event unfolded.

[Brad · Rating 5 out of 5]

A refreshingly inspiring, and not incidentally obscured, piece of history!

[Daniel Brisbin · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 2016 I was in Hanoi for international women's day. I had never heard of international women's day before. It's not a big deal in Canada.

I was there with my partner, and local Vietnamese lady came up to her and gave her a pink rose and wished her a happy international women's day.

Before reading this book I never thought much the meaning of that moment. I thought about the moment a lot - because it was a really cool moment. But I didn't realize the story behind it.

Reading this book helps me contextualize that moment, and gain an appreciation for the anticolonial fight for peace that women have been pioneering for over 70 years.

Highly recommend this book.

[Devin · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible overview of international socialist feminism from roughly 1940-1960. This is the book your liberal feminist comrades need. Not only does it cover the movement, it succinctly reviews anticommunism, socialism, and feminist socialism in the context of the post-ww2 geopolitical order.

Not only is it meaty, it’s wonderfully written. Every sentence is economical fire, honed razor sharp to connect her points. Armstrong set out to make a piece of propaganda and, with the most generous understanding of that word, it is absolutely stunning.

[erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

#readforaclassayay! #fourthyearwomen'shealthclassyay!