Contemporary Western European Feminism (RLE Feminist Theory) - Softcover

Kaplan, Gisela

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0415752213 ISBN 13: 9780415752213

Publisher: Routledge, 2014

Synopsis

Contemporary Western European Feminism is a ground-breaking history of feminism. Gisela Kaplan invites a critical analysis of current ideas, terms and assumptions about our modern world.

Written confidently and with compassion, this is the story of a long revolution that has set out to change predominant attitudes and transform value hierarchies and human lifestyles. By outlining the postwar histories of individual countries Kaplan contextualises women’s movements and documents a significant chapter of European social history. She poses questions about the interrelationship between the new movements and the parliamentary democracies in which they occurred, while analysing the contradictions of living in modern capitalist countries.

Contemporary Western European Feminism also tackles important contradictions, such as those between the welfare state and the free market economy; industrialisation and religious value systems; social engineering and the production of wealth; and dissent and patrimonial systems of democracy.

For those wanting to know more about Europe without the intimidating barriers of language and for those already experts in its social history, Contemporary Western European Feminism is essential reading.

About this title

About the Author:

Gisela Kaplan is Foundation Professor and Head of the School of Social Sciences at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane. She grew up in West Berlin but gained her Ph.D. at Monash University, Melborne. She has lectured widely in Australia, Europe and the USA where she recently held a Visiting Professorship of Sociology at Memphis State University. She is the co-editor of Hannah Arendt: Thinking, Judging, Freedom.

Review:

"From interviews with seventy-six teenage girls in five locations and from observations of their political strategies, Taft builds an in-depth picture of girl activism in different socio-cultural and political environments, comparing the more politicized and radical activism in Latin America to that practiced in North America." -Hilary Crew, "VOYA Library Magazine"

"In this riveting book, Taft takes us on a journey from San Francisco to Mexico City, Caracas, Vancouver, and Buenos Aires to learn about girls' struggles for social justice in a variety of social movements."
-Verta Taylor, co-author of "Drag Queens at the 801 Cabaret"

"Jessica K. Taft describes how teenage girls are active participants and leaders in a variety of social movements, from anti-war walkouts to anarchist youth newspapers, rallies against educational privitization, and workshops on fair trade."-, "Z Magazine"

"This is not only a powerful sociological account of the making of a counter-culture girl identity - that of the socially active, community-minded girl; it is also a treasure trove of data . . ." -Maya Bernstein, "Lilith Magazine"

"Taft adds a valuable contribution to youth, girlhood, and activist studies" -R.C. Raby, Choice

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0415752213
• ISBN 13: 9780415752213
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 376