Binding: Paperback
Description: Barbara Caine's fascinating analysis of feminism in England examines the relationship between feminist thought and actions and wider social and cultural change over tow centuries. Professor Caine investigates the complex question surrounding the concept of a feminist 'tradition' and shows how much the feminism of any particular period related to the years preceding or following it. Though feminism may have lacked the kind of legitimating tradition evident in other forms of political thought the ghost of Mary Wollstonecraft was something which all nineteenth - and twentieth - century feminists had to come to terms with. Her story was a constant reminder of the connection between the demand for political and legal rights and its conflation with the issues of personal and sexual rebellion. Like Wollstonecraft every woman pioneer into the public arena faced assaults on her honour as well as on her intellectual position. The author also addresses the language of feminism: the introduction and changing meanings of the term 'feminist';the importance of literary representations of women; and the question of how one defines feminism and establishes boundaries between feminism and the 'woman question'. She ends with a discussion of the new emphasis post - 1980s on the need to think about 'feminisms in the plural rather than any single kind of feminism. analysis of feminist organizations debates and campaigns shows a keen sense of the relationship between feminist thought and actions and wider social and cultural change. The result is a fascinating study with a new perspective on feminists and feminist traditions which can be used both as an introductory text and as an interpretative work. Professor Caine examines the complex questions surrounding the concept of a feminist 'tradition' and shows how much the feminism of any particular period related to the years preceding or following it. Though feminism may have lacked the kind of legitimating tradition evident in other forms of political thought the ghost of Mary Wollstonecraft is seen here as something which all nineteenth - and twentieth - century feminists had to come to terms with. Her story was a constant reminder of the connection between the demand for political and legal rights and its conflation with the issues of personal and sexual rebellion. Like Mary Wollstonecraft every woman pioneer into the public arena was faced with assaults on her honour as well as on her intellectual position. Professor Caine also addresses the language of feminism: the introduction and changing meanings of the term `feminist'; the importance of literary representations of women; and the question of how one defines feminism and establishes boundaries between feminism and the `woman question'. She ends with a discussion of the new emphasis post - 1980s on the need to think about `feminisms in the plural rather than any single kind of feminism.
Title: English Feminism 1780 - 1980
Author(s): Caine Barbara (Professor Of Modern History Professor Of Modern History Monash University Australia)
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Barcode: 9780198204343
Pages: 354 Pages
Publication Date: 9/18/1997
Category: Feminism & Feminist Theory