In 1939 women represented nearly one quarter of the student population in British universities. Though tantamount to a "social revolution" in the eyes of many contemporaries, the process has recieved scant attention from historians. Whilst prejudice and hostility towards women lingered on in Oxford and Cambridge, it has often been assumed that the female presence was welcomed elsewhere. The younger, civic universities commonly advertised themselves as making "no distinction of sex" in admissions, appointments, or in educational policy.; This work of social history, based on extensive archival research, examines the truth of these claims and explores the experiences of women teachers and students in this period.

Law and Gender in Modern Ireland: Critique and Reform is the first generalist text to tackle the intersection of law and gender in this jurisdiction for over two decades. As such, it could hardly have come at a more opportune moment. The topic of law and gender, perhaps more so than at any other time in Irish history, has assumed a dominant place in political and academic debate. Among scholars and policy-makers alike, the regulation of gendered bodies, and the legal status of sexual and gendered identities, is now a highly visible fault line in public discourse. Debates over reproductive justice (exemplified by the recent referendum to remove the '8th Amendment'), increased rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons (including the public-sanctioned introduction of same-sex marriage) and the historic mistreatment of women and young girls have re-shaped Irish public and political life, and encouraged Irish society to re-examine long-unchallenged gender norms. While many traditional flashpoints remain such as abortion and prostitution/sex work, there are also new questions, including surrogacy and the gendered experience of asylum frameworks, which have emerged. As policy-makers seek to enact reforms, they face a population with increasingly polarised perceptions of gender and a legal structure ill-equipped for modern realities. This edited volume directly addresses modern Irish debates on law and gender. Providing an overview of the existing rules and standards, as well as exploring possible options for reform, the collection stands as an important statement on the law in this jurisdiction, and as an invaluable resource for pursuing gendered social change. While the edited collection applies a doctrinal methodology to explain current statutes, case law and administrative practices, the contributors also invoke critical gender, queer and race perspectives to identify and problematise existing (and potential) challenges. This edited collection is essential reading for all who are interested in law, gender and processes of social change in modern Ireland.

Figures of the Unconscious 7In Origins and Ends of the Mind, a collection of theoretical essays by philosophers and psychoanalysts, encounters are arranged between Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis on the one hand and attachment theory, evolutionary psychology, and philosophy of mind on the other. Psychoanalysts claim that states of mind are inexorably structured by children's relationships with their parents. But the theory of attachment, evolutionary psychology, and contemporary philosophy of mind have all recently reintroduced the claim that mental development and pathology are to a large degree determined by innate factors. Today, Lacanian psychoanalysis most vigorously defends psychoanalytic theory and practice from the encroachment of the biomedical and cognitive sciences. However, classical psychoanalytic theories--the Oedipus complex, primary and secondary repression, sexual difference, and the role of symbols--are being dismantled and reintegrated into a new synthesis of biological and psychological theories.

Edith Ayrton Zangwill's 1924 novel The Call is widely regarded as one of the most important suffrage novels of the early 20th century. Including authoritative notes and commentary throughout, this is the first comprehensive scholarly edition of the novel. The Call tells the story of a young chemist, Ursula Winfield, who comes of age in the years before the start of the First World War. Confronted by the gross injustices faced by women and the working class in early 20th-century Britain, she is drawn inexorably and with increasing militancy into the suffragette movement. The story charts the conflict between her political commitments and her personal life as the Great War approaches. Alongside the definitive text of the novel, this edition also includes contextual historical documents – from contemporary reviews of the novel to newspaper coverage of the suffragette movement – and critical chapters by leading scholars exploring the world of the novel.

The Life of Margaret Alice Murray: A Woman’s Work in Archaeology is the first book-length biography of Margaret Alice Murray (1863–1963), one of the first women to practice archeology. Despite Murray’s numerous professional successes, her career has received little attention because she has been overshadowed by her mentor, Sir Flinders Petrie. This oversight has obscured the significance of her career including her fieldwork, the students she trained, her administration of the pioneering Egyptology Department at University College London (UCL), and her published works. Rather than focusing on Murray’s involvement in Petrie’s archaeological program, Kathleen L. Sheppard treats Murray as a practicing scientist with theories, ideas, and accomplishments of her own. This book analyzes the life and career of Margaret Alice Murray as a teacher, excavator, scholar, and popularizer of Egyptology, archaeology, anthropology, linguistics, and more. Sheppard also analyzes areas outside of Murray’s archaeology career, including her involvement in the suffrage movement, her work in folklore and witchcraft studies, and her life after her official retirement from UCL.