Companion to feminist studies

Abstract

"Feminist studies is an expression of the theoretical and interdisciplinary underpinnings of women's and gender studies. It is a diverse and ever-changing field that is contoured by the goal of understanding and theorizing the ways that social life is organized by complex "relations of ruling" that shape "everyday life" (Smith 1990). These are manifest within social, political, cultural, and economic institutions, social media, and everyday interactions. While feminist studies has a long history, it became institutionalized in academia beginning in the 1970s, through courses offered in different disciplines like English, History, Sociology, or Anthropology before Women's Studies programs were established and interdisciplinary courses developed. The presence and expression of Feminist Studies varies within disciplines and interdisciplines, and across regions, as demonstrated by the authors of the twenty-four chapters in this Companion. This chapter provides an overview of the Companion to Feminist Studies that is organized around three different dimensions that are key components of the field: Feminist Epistemologies and Its Discontents, Methodological Diversity, and Feminist Praxis"--