Joan Scott's work has influenced several generations of historians and helped make the topic of gender central to the way in which the discipline is taught and studied today. At root a new way of conceptualizing capitalist societies, Scott's theories suggest that gender is better understood as a social construct than as a biological fact. Scott’s original contribution to the debate, however, stems in her use of the critical thinking skill of analysis to understand how the arguments of earlier generations of historians were built in order to fully grasp both their structure and the assumptions that underpinned them. From there, Scott was able to use problem-solving to resolve the issues that emerged from her analysis, asking productive questions focused on better ways to build a model capable of explaining the historical phenomenon of gender difference. Scott answered these questions by introducing models created by deconstructionist scholars – notably Jacques Derrida, who challenged the idea that any term or concept has a stable or dependable meaning rooted in material reality. She was able, in consequence, to refute that idea that gender inequality is the natural (hence justifiable) consequence of biological sexual differences, and issue a fundamental challenge to the capitalist system itself.

This landmark work from a renowned feminist historian is a foundational demonstration of the uses of gender as a conceptual tool for cultural and historical analysis. In this anniversary edition, Scott reflects on the book's legacy and implications for contemporary politics as well as her engagement with psychoanalytic theory.

Through a collection of essays by leading scholars on women's history and gender history, Gender and Change: Agency, Chronology and Periodisation questions conventional chronologies while reassessing the relationship between gender, agency, continuity and change. Celebrates 20 years of the publication of the journal Gender & History Reflects the extent to which gender analysis suggests alternatives to conventional periodisation. For example, whether the European Renaissance can be classified as the same period of great cultural advance when viewed from the perspective of women Offers innovative historiographical and theoretical reflection on approaches to gender, agency, and change

Gender History Across Epistemologies offers broad range of innovative approaches to gender history. The essays reveal how historians of gender are crossing boundaries - disciplinary, methodological, and national - to explore new opportunities for viewing gender as a category of historical analysis. Essays present epistemological and theoretical debates central in gender history over the past two decades Contributions within this volume to the work on gender history are approached from a wide range of disciplinary locations and approaches The volume demonstrates that recent approaches to gender history suggest surprising crossovers and even the discovery of common grounds

This collection brings together twelve essays published between 1988 and 2014, two of which are here translated into English from (respectively) their original French or German. All the essays use gender as the main category of analysis, whether of late ancient or early medieval texts or of modern medievalist films. The historical studies of medieval Europe emphasize the use of manuscript-level evidence, that is, actual sources from the period in question; arguably, this approach provides a more accurate understanding of the period than does work done on the basis of printed and edited sources. Furthermore, many of the manuscript-based essays specifically exploit liturgical or liturgy-adjacent materials; this is an area of research and a type of manuscript that has rarely been approached through a gendered lens. Meanwhile, the cinematic medievalism essays focus on the processes of remediation and adaptation, searching specifically for points at which filmmaking teams diverged from their sources as evidence for the main goals of the films (while also attending to production contexts and to reception). The juxtaposition in a single collection of scholarship on medieval manuscripts and modern movies illustrates how period specialists can contribute to conversations in the field of (historical) film studies. The book will be of interest to historians of women, gender, Christian liturgy, medieval Europe, medievalism, and historical film. (CS 1110).

Political institutions profoundly shape political life and are also gendered. This groundbreaking collection synthesises new institutionalism and gendered analysis using a new approach - feminist institutionalism - in order to answer crucial questions about power inequalities, mechanisms of continuity, and the gendered limits of change.

Fifty Key Thinkers on History is an essential guide to the most influential historians, theorists and philosophers of history. The entries offer comprehensive coverage of the long history of historiography ranging from ancient China, Greece and Rome, through the Middle Ages to the contemporary world. This third edition has been updated throughout and features new entries on Machiavelli, Ranajit Guha, William McNeil and Niall Ferguson. Other thinkers who are introduced include: Herodotus Bede Ibn Khaldun E. H. Carr Fernand Braudel Eric Hobsbawm Michel Foucault Edward Gibbon Each clear and concise essay offers a brief biographical introduction; a summary and discussion of each thinker’s approach to history and how others have engaged with it; a list of their major works and a list of resources for further study.

This volume presents substantially revised and new essays on methodology and approaches in foreign and international relations history.

Homeworkers in Global Perspective documents the lives of homeworkers, exploring state policies towards them, and describing the innovative ways in which homeworkers organize. Moving away from well-known, already explored cases, the essays focus on less-known but equally compelling examples organize, and covers the major geographic regions of the world and illustrates the diversity of home-based work and homeworker organizing.

Established as an academic field in the 1970s, women's studies is a relatively young but rapidly growing area of study. Not only has the number of scholars working in this subject expanded exponentially, but women's studies has become institutionalized, offering graduate degrees and taking on departmental status in many colleges and universities. At the same time, this field--formed in the wake of the feminist movement--is finding itself in a precarious position in what is now often called a "post-feminist" society. This raises challenging issues for faculty, students, and administrators. How must the field adjust its goals and methods to continue to affect change in the future? Bringing together essays by newcomers as well as veterans to the field, this essential volume addresses timely questions including: Without a unitary understanding of the subject, woman, what is the focus of women's studies? How can women's studies fulfill the promise of interdisciplinarity? What is the continuing place of activism in women's studies? What are the best ways to think about, teach, and act upon the intersections of race, class, gender, disability, nation, and sexuality? Offering innovative models for research and teaching and compelling new directions for action, Women's Studies for the Future ensures the continued relevance and influence of this developing field.