Feminist Practice and Poststructuralist Theoryd offers a clear and accessible introduction to poststructuralist theory, focusing on questions of language, subjectivity and power.

Study of the intersection of history and philosophy as it relates to recent French political change, evidenced in essays concerning popular justice, power struggles, and the history of sexuality.

Breaking Out is one of the classics of feminist sociology. In this new edition Liz Stanley and Sue Wise review the main developments in feminist thinking on research issues since the book first appeared.

Women's studies is a rapidly expanding field with a tremendous growth in the number of London courses available. As a result of this there has been increasing debate about the nature of feminist research. Can a specifically feminist methodology be identified? Which research methods are most appropriate in feminist work? What is the difference between a feminist approach and other forms of scholarship.; "Researching Women's Lives" explores these issues by focusing on the dynamics of doing research, rather than engaging in (...) a theoretical discussion about research techniques. Feminists are now involved in exploring a whole range of wider issues concerned with practical, political and ethical matters in undertaking research. In addition to issues such as violence, sexuality, political activity and popular culture, contributors also examine the impact of race, class, sexual orientation and age. (shrink)

"Altered States looks back at the election of 1992 in the light of postmodern political theory and highlights some of the lessons to be learnt from that defeat. The contributors consider where the left is situated now, how the theoretical structures of postmodernism can be used to reassess that position, and suggest ways of forecasting the future." "Wide-ranging and polemical, Altered States rethinks the tenets of socialism, taking into account the globalisation of the media, diversity and identity and the new (...) 'city-states', in a collection which both centres current debate and takes the discussion forward, laying a ground plan for a new and radical democracy."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (shrink)

Sandra Harding here develops further the themes first addressed in her widely influential book, The Science Question in Feminism, and conducts a compelling analysis of feminist theories on the philosophical problem of how we know what we ...

Contemporary feminist debates over the meanings of gender lead time and again to a certain sense of trouble, as if the indeterminacy of gender might eventually culminate in the failure of feminism. Perhaps trouble need not carry such a..

The deconstruction of all 'principled positions' creates a value vacuum which, in turn, leads to a state of ethical and political paralysis. The contributors to Principled Positions ponder these dilemmas and try to build bridges between the modernist absolutes of truth, value and justice and the anti-totalising spirit of postmodernism.

Up Against Foucault offers both a feminist critique of Foucauldian theories as well as an attempt to reconcile these seemingly irreconcilable perspectives. Feminists are often "up against Foucault" because he questions key conclusions in feminism regarding the nature of gender relations, and men's possession of power. This book, however, fills the gap in literature about Foucault by showing how his theories of sexuality and power relations are often applicable to the everyday realities of women's lives. Drawing upon their diverse backgrounds (...) in social theory and philosophy, the contributors discuss the ways in which Foucault provokes feminists into questioning their grasp of power relations, and examines the implications of his decision to overlook categories of gender in his discussion of sexuality and power relations. They also show that in spite of his lack of interest in gender, Foucault's ways of understanding the control of women and female sexuality ultimately have much to offer feminism. (shrink)

He sets out not just to expose the illusions of postmodernism but to show the students he has in mind that they never believed what they thought they believed ...

In the 1960s a radical concept emerged from the great French thinker Jacques Derrida. Read the book that changed the way we think; read "Writing and Difference," the classic introduction.

A major contribution to the social scientific understanding of how people make sense of their lives, Ideological Dilemmas presents an illuminating new approach to the study of everyday thinking. Contradictory strands abound within both ideology and common sense. In contrast to many modern theorists, the authors see these dilemmas of ideology as enabling, rather than inhibiting: thinking about them helps people to think meaningfully about themselves and the world. The dilemmas within ideology and their effects on thinking are explored through (...) the analysis of what people say in specific key situations: education, medical care, race and gender. The authors identify common ideological themes running through the common-sense discourses they analyse. They highlight the tensions between themes of equality and authority, freedom and necessity, individuality and collectivity. Time and again, the contradictions between these ideological themes crop up as respondents argue and puzzle over their social worlds. Written with refreshing clarity, the discussion cuts across the boundary which often separates sociology from social psychology. Sociologists are reminded that the reproduction of ideology involves individual processes of thinking; social psychologists are urged to recognize the ideological nature of thought. (shrink)

This is a bold and controversial feminist, philosophical critique of postmodernism. While providing a brief and accessible introduction to postmodernist feminist thought, Enlightened Women is also a unique defence of realism and enlightenment philosophy. The first half of the book covers an analysis of some of the most influential postmodernist theorists, such as Luce Irigaray and Judith Butler. In the second half Alison Assiter advocates a return to modernism in feminism. She argues, against the current orthodoxy, that there can be (...) a distinction between "sex" and "gender". For students trying to pick their way through the maze of literature in the area of postmodernist feminism, Enlightened Women is a concise guide to contemporary thought - as well as a radical contribution to the debate. (shrink)