In this anthology, prominent contemporary theorists assess the benefits and dangers of postmodernism for feminist theory. The contributors examine the meaning of postmodernism both as a methodological position and a diagnosis of the times. They consider such issues as the nature of personal and social identity today, the political implications of recent aesthetic trends, and the consequences of changing work and family relations on women's lives. Contributors: Seyla Benhabib, Susan Bordo, Judith Butler, Christine Di Stefano, Jane Flax, Nancy Fraser, Donna Haraway, Sandra Harding, Nancy Hartsock, Andreas Huyssen, Linda J. Nicholson, Elspeth Probyn, Anna Yeatman, Iris Young.

This collection of essays explores the significant agreements and tensions between contemporary feminist and postmodern theories and practices. Having brought enormous changes to conceptions of the body, identity, and the media, postmodernity compels the rethinking of many feminist categories, including female experience, the self, and the notion that "the personal is political." Feminist analysis has been equally important, though not always equally acknowledged, as a force within postmodernism. Feminist writings on subjectivity, master narratives, and the socioeconomic underpinnings of the master narrative of theory itself have been particularly influential. This volume traces the crossings and mutual interrogations of these two traditions into the arenas of cultural production, legal discourse, and philosophical thought. Multidisciplinary and international in their collective focus, the essays range from a study of Madonna as an Italian American woman who is revising the cultural meanings of an ethnic feminism to a unique interview with Mairead Keane, the national head of the Women's Department of the Irish political party Sinn Fein. Turning the prism of postmodern feminism onto such diverse cultural objects as literary and literary critical texts, contemporary film, and music, these essays intervene in debates regarding technology, sexuality, and politics. Challenging modern feminisms to articulate their inescapable relation to postmodern society, this expanded edition of a special issue of boundary 2 also explores ways in which feminism can work as the cutting edge of a global postmodernism. Contributors. Salwa Bakr, Claire Detels, Margaret Ferguson, Carla Freccero, Marjorie Garber, Barbara Harlow, Laura E. Lyons, Anne McClintock, Toril Moi, Linda Nicholson, Mary Poovey, Andrew Ross, David Simpson, Kathyrn Bond Stockton, Jennifer Wicke

Differences That Matter challenges existing ways of theorising the relationship between feminism and postmodernism which ask 'is or should feminism be modern or postmodern?' Sara Ahmed suggests that postmodernism has been allowed to dictate feminist debates and calls instead for feminist theorists to speak (back) to postmodernism, rather than simply speak on (their relationship to) it. Such a 'speaking back' involves a refusal to position postmodernism as a generalisable condition of the world and requires closer readings of what postmodernism is actually 'doing' in a variety of disciplinary contexts. Sara Ahmed hence examines constructions of postmodernism in relation to rights, ethics, subjectivity, authorship, meta-fiction and film.

A provocative and controversial challenge to postmodern academic feminism

This book evaluates the major debates around which the discipline of international relations has developed in the light of contemporary feminist theories.

The second edition of the Handbook of Feminist Research: Theory and Praxis, presents both a theoretical and practical approach to conducting social science research on, for, and about women. The Handbook enables readers to develop an understanding of feminist research by introducing a range of feminist epistemologies, methodologies, and methods that have had a significant impact on feminist research practice and women's studies scholarship. The Handbook continues to provide a set of clearly defined research concepts that are devoid of as much technical language as possible. It continues to engage readers with cutting edge debates in the field as well as the practical applications and issues for those whose research affects social policy and social change. It also expands on the wealth of interdisciplinary understanding of feminist research praxis that is grounded in a tight link between epistemology, methodology and method. The second edition of this Handbook will provide researchers with the tools for excavating subjugated knowledge on women's lives and the lives of other marginalized groups with the goals of empowerment and social change.

This book introduces central assumptions that govern postmodern and feminist theory, offering educators a language to create new ways of conceiving pedagogy and its relationship to social, cultural, and intellectual life. It challenges some of the major categories and practices that have dominated educational theory and practice in the United States and in other countries since the beginning of the twentieth century. Rejecting the apolitical nature of some postmodern discourses and the separatism characteristic of some versions of cultural feminism, the contributors take a political stand rooted in concern with cultural and social justice. In so doing, these essays represent a linguistic shift regarding how we think about ethics, foundationalism, difference, and culture. The selections present a concern with developing a language that is critical of master narratives, racism, sexism, and those technologies of power in schools that subjugate, infantilize, and oppress students. The authors also develop a language of possibility that focuses on analyzing how power can be linked productively to knowledge, how teachers can construct classroom social relations based on notions of equity and justice, how critical pedagogy can contribute to an identity politics that is grounded in democratic relations, and how teachers can develop analyses that enable students to become self-reflective actors as they transform themselves and the conditions of their social existence.

Contemporary theory is full of references to the modern and the postmodern. How useful are these terms? What exactly do they mean? And how is our sense of these terms changing under the pressure of feminist analysis? In Doing Time, Rita Felski argues that it makes little sense to think of the modern and postmodern as opposing or antithetical terms. Rather, we need a historical perspective that is attuned to cultural and political differences within the same time as well as the leaky boundaries between different times. Neither the modern nor the postmodern are unified, coherent, or self-evident realities. Drawing on cultural studies and critical theory, Felski examines a range of themes central to debates about postmodern culture, including changing meanings of class, the end of history, the status of art and aesthetics, postmodernism as "the end of sex," and the politics of popular culture. Placing women at the center of analysis, she suggests, has a profound impact on the way we thing about historical periods. As a result, feminist theory is helping to reshape our vision of both the modern and the postmodern.

Highly original and stimulating, this book provides a detailed overview of postmodern feminist theory and practice. Subjects covered include: *the differences between the feminism of the 1970s and contemporary feminism *liberal, radical, socialist and postmodern feminisms *feminist reactions to the growth in reproductive technologies *how feminism informs debates about the subject, epistemology and political action *feminism into the new millennium

In a world where global restructuring is leading to both integration and fragmentation, the meaning and practice of development are increasingly contested. New voices from the South are challenging Northern control over development. Feminism/Postmodernism/Development is a comprehensive study of this power struggle. It examines new issues, "voices", and dilemmas in development theory and practice. Drawing on the experiences of women from Africa, Latin America, and Asia, as well as women of colour, this collection questions established development practices and suggests the need to incorporate issues such as identity, representation, indigenous knowledge, and political action. Feminism/Postmodernism/Development acknowledges the importance of Third World and minority women's experiences. It acknowledges their importance for development and suggests that postmodernist insights can enhance their quest for empowerment.