ABSTRACT

Rethinking Women’s and Gender Studies re-examines the field’s foundational assumptions by identifying and critically analyzing eighteen of its key terms. Each essay investigates a single term (e.g., feminism, interdisciplinarity, intersectionality) by asking how it has come to be understood and mobilized in Women’s and Gender Studies and then explicates the roles it plays in both producing and shutting down possible versions of the field. The goal of the book is to trace and expose critical paradoxes, ironies, and contradictions embedded in the language of Women’s and Gender Studies—from its high theory to its casual conversations—that relies on these key terms. Rethinking Women’s and Gender Studies offers a fresh approach to structuring Feminist Theory, Senior Capstone, and introductory graduate-level courses in Women’s and Gender Studies.

chapter |13 pages

Introduction

Why Rethink Women's and Gender Studies

part |68 pages

Foundational Assumptions

chapter |17 pages

Feminism

chapter |14 pages

Methods

chapter |18 pages

Pedagogy

part |70 pages

Ubiquitous Descriptions

chapter |17 pages

Activism

chapter |17 pages

Waves

chapter |16 pages

Besiegement

chapter |18 pages

Community 1

part |54 pages

Epistemologies Rethought

chapter |18 pages

Intersectionality

chapter |18 pages

Queer

part |68 pages

Silences and Disavowals

chapter |16 pages

Discipline

chapter |15 pages

History

chapter |18 pages

Secularity

chapter |17 pages

Sexuality

part |54 pages

Establishment Challenges

chapter |16 pages

Trans-

chapter |19 pages

Transnational

chapter |4 pages

Conclusion

Continuing the Conversation