Against the backdrop of the emergence of intersectionality as a dominant paradigm in feminist scholarship and activism, this book explores the genre of metacommentaries as critical responses to the development of intersectionality as a paradigm. With attention to the dispersal of intersectionality into ever-newer contexts – and the missteps and breakdowns that occur during this process – it addresses the concern that intersectionality is transforming into something unrecognisable, drifting too far away from its foundational sources and visions and becoming diluted by its expansion. Examining the process by which metacommentaries engage in a form of corrective storytelling – seeking to rescue intersectionality from misuse by pinning it down and returning it to where it belongs – Interpreting Intersectionality presents a critique of these gestures of correction, arguing that, far from reconnecting intersectionality with its roots and enabling it to realise its potential, such metacommentaries actually bind the scholarly discourse on intersectionality to an either/or argumentative dynamic. It will therefore appeal to scholars and students with an interest in feminist theory, gender studies and/or intersectional analysis.

Global Intersectionality and Contemporary Human Rights argues for an expansive definition of human rights, one that encompasses the harm caused by multiple, intersecting forms of subordination. Intersectionality theory posits that aspects of identity, such as race and gender, are mutually constitutive and intersect to create unique experiences of discrimination and subordination. Perpetrators of sexual violence in armed conflict, of example, often target women based on both gender and ethnicity. Human rights remedies that fail to capture the intersectional nature of human rights violations do not offer comprehensive redress to victims. This title explores the influence of intersectionality theory on human rights in the modern era and traces the evolution of intersectionality as a theoretical framework in the United States and around the world. It draws upon feminist theory and human rights jurisprudence to argue that scholars and activists have under-utilized intersectionality theory in the global discourse of human rights. As the central intergovernmental organization charged with the protection of human rights, the United Nations has been slow to embrace the insights gained from intersectionality theory. This work argues that the United Nations and other human rights organizations must more actively embrace intersectionality as an analytical framework in order to fully address the complexity of human rights violations around the world.

Critical intersectional scholarship enhances researchers’ and scholar-activists’ ability to open novel research frontiers. This forward-thinking Research Handbook demonstrates how to pursue fluid and innovative research approaches, identify differences from traditional methodologies, and overcome the common challenges faced when carrying out intersectional research.

Intersectional scholarship represents a significant cornerstone to the study of the social inequality. This book makes visible the contribution of social scientists to intersectional research, analysis, and praxis in a diverse sampling of scholarship from across the sociological spectrum highlighting various quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The contributions to this volume show how multiple dimensions of identity intersect with dimensions of power and privilege to shape the opportunities and obstacles that people encounter in their day to day lives. Utilizing a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods, scholars included in this book center: Methods of intersectional research Marginalized faculty’s experiences in the neoliberal university Victim characteristics of transgender Americans The effect of immigration and gender status on PhD engineers’ earnings How social capital access is shaped by race and gender status Latinas’ experiences in sports Trans men’s pathways to incarceration Intersectional scholarship holds significant importance in providing a nuanced understanding of oppression and power dynamics as well as functioning as critical praxis for doing social justice work. This insightful volume will be useful for scholarly readers and researchers in the subject areas of sociology, gender and sexualities studies, race and ethnicity, feminist pedagogy, and criminology. The chapters in this book were originally published in the journal Sociological Spectrum.

In the context of sustained economic and environmental crises, marked by extreme inequalities of wealth, rising xenophobia, racism and precarity, never has the need for a radical change of system been so pressing. This book is an invitation to think the world otherwise. The author breathes new life into socialist thought through the deployment of an intersectional lens, bringing diverse struggles for emancipation both within and outside the Global North into dialogue with one another. In doing so, he offers the kind of bold and holistic thinking the present situation calls for.

A 2017 Choice Outstanding Academic Title Intersectionality intervenes in the field of intersectionality studies: the integrative examination of the effects of racial, gendered, and class power on people’s lives. While “intersectionality” circulates as a buzzword, Anna Carastathis joins other critical voices to urge a more careful reading. Challenging the narratives of arrival that surround it, Carastathis argues that intersectionality is a horizon, illuminating ways of thinking that have yet to be realized; consequently, calls to “go beyond” intersectionality are premature. A provisional interpretation of intersectionality can disorient habits of essentialism, categorial purity, and prototypicality and overcome dynamics of segregation and subordination in political movements. Through a close reading of critical race theorist Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw’s germinal texts, published more than twenty-five years ago, Carastathis urges analytic clarity, contextual rigor, and a politicized, historicized understanding of this widely traveling concept. Intersectionality’s roots in social justice movements and critical intellectual projects—specifically Black feminism—must be retraced and synthesized with a decolonial analysis so its radical potential to actualize coalitions can be enacted.

Intersectional Media: Representations of Marginalized Identities analyzes media depictions of a variety of intersecting identities. Through a study examining how components of identity such as race, class, ethnicity, age, ability, class, and sexuality mesh and form a unique worldview, contributors to this collection frame their understanding of media intersectionality as complex and multi-layered studies of identity. Rather than focusing on any one component of marginalized identity, this book broadens the scope of inquiry and encourages audiences to recognize the complexity of media analysis when a combination of marginalized identities is depicted. Contributors demonstrate their understanding of how different components of identity combine and create new, original components of identity, paving the way for new studies of both media and identity. Scholars of media studies, identity studies, cultural studies, minority studies, gender studies, race studies, and sociology will find this book particularly useful.

Intersectional Pedagogy explores best practices for effective teaching and learning about intersections of identity as informed by intersectional theory. Formatted in three easy-to-follow sections, this collection explores the pedagogy of intersectionality to address lived experiences that result from privileged and oppressed identities. After an initial overview of intersectional foundations and theory, the collection offers classroom strategies and approaches for teaching and learning about intersectionality and social justice. With contributions from scholars in education, psychology, sociology and women’s studies, Intersectional Pedagogy include a range of disciplinary perspectives and evidence-based pedagogy.

This book presents a guide to researching intersectionality. Clear and jargon-free, this book introduces a narrative-driven, scalar, and polyvocal approach to the antiracist–feminist framework. Thimm shows students how intersectionality can be used as a methodology, especially in the analysis of multiple ‘identities’. This text considers complex social inequalities as parallel to one another – not only gender, race, class, and age, but also ethnicity, sibling seniority, religion, or educational attainment. Readers will learn how to investigate, in a methodologically structured way, the interwoven realities of life for different people and population groups simultaneously permeated by marginalization and dominance. With multiple-social-scale analysis and deep discussion of how to conduct data collection, evaluation, and write-up, this book will be of interest to students, early-career scholars, and faculties teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in women’s, gender, queer, and ethnic studies. Courses in anthropology, sociology, political science and, beyond that, engaged research on how people are marginalized or privileged given their axes of identification, will also find the book an invaluable resource.

These volumes provide an authoritative reference resource on leadership issues specific to women and gender, with a focus on positive aspects and opportunities for leadership in various domains.