This first major study of feminist theory, which is revised and completely reset, now takes the reader into the twentieth century. It chronicles a renaissance of feminist theory through the so-called third wave of the present day, which follows significant "waves" of earlier periods: the fifteenth through early eighteenth centuries as well as the more widely recognized nineteenth century; and the 1960s through the 80s.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Donovan's work is a masterful survey. Intelligent, balanced, accurate, and well-informed, it is a major addition to the canon of feminist literature."--Choice
"A superbly intelligent, lucid guide to one of the great movements of the modern world."--Catharine Stimpson
"An important safeguard against the disappearance of our feminist heritage."--Booklist
"Not only an impressive piece of research, but an invaluable research guide."--Women's Review of Books
"....very appropriate for introductory women's studies courses."--Herizon, June 2002
"A superbly intelligent, lucid guide to one of the great movements of the modern world."--Catharine Stimpson
"An important safeguard against the disappearance of our feminist heritage."--Booklist
"Not only an impressive piece of research, but an invaluable research guide."--Women's Review of Books
"....very appropriate for introductory women's studies courses."--Herizon, June 2002
About the Author
Josephine Donovan is Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Maine, USA. She is the author or editor of twelve books, including the groundbreaking Feminist Theory (Continuum, 3rd ed, 2000), Women and the Rise of the Novel, 1405-1726 (St. Martin's Press, 1999), and After the Fall (Pennsylvania State University Press, 1989).
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
an ambitiously encyclopedic introduction,
By "owlgofree111" (Long Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Feminist Theory: The Intellectual Traditions (3rd edition) (Paperback)
I read the book over a decade ago, the 1985 edition. I still regard it as a great introduction to feminist theory. The book was very condensed and so not easy to read at times, as Donovan tried to compress a review of like 200 books plus historical details into some 200 pages, necessarily making the review highly abstract. But it was very worth it precisely for the breadth. It was also very good for reference because she seems to have read every piece of feminist writing ever produced. The greatest strength of the book, I think, is in her classification: liberal, cultural, marxist, psychoanalytic, existential, radical and contemporary cultural feminism. It clarifies a lot of non-sense in the media, since the attack on feminists by conservatives frequently devolves around a confusion between liberal and cultural feminism. I think the best way to classify feminist theories, however, is to make two fundamental orientations, liberal feminism and cultural feminism, and then subsume all theoretical sub-orientations (marxist, psychoanalytic, existentialist, radical, semantico-structural, and the care-ethic type) under cultural feminism as its diversification. That is a suggestion. Another thing about feminist theory is that it is very peculiarly Modern and Western, and more specifically American. The subtitle "The Intellectual Traditions of American Feminism" is very signficant, and this cultural and epochal relativity is an essential aspect of feminist theory that should be explored. Also the relationship -- or rather the disjuncture -- between feminist theory and women's movement is not explored. While many women are breaking glass ceilings in American society, very little of them have any knowledge of "feminist theories", and the theorists themselves, mostly working at universities, are getting loftier in their theoretical world. The most impact they made seems to be in the restructuration of universities, but not beyond. This is a very interesting phenomenon that, along with the first, should receive some attention in such a comprehensive introduction as Donovan's.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good book for an experienced feminist,
By
This review is from: Feminist Theory: The Intellectual Traditions (3rd edition) (Paperback)
Donovan knows what she's talking about in this book. Generally understudied academic research is organized into one volume.
But because of the depth which she delves into her area, it's not a good choice for an "Intro to Women's Studies" course. You're going to have to set aside some time to get through a chapter. Easily dispelling the notion that women's studies is light reading material, the material is substantive.
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Inside This Book
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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
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cultural feminist theory, radical feminist theory, natural rights doctrine, unalienated labor, radical feminist position, cultural feminism, material feminists Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Margaret Fuller, Jane Addams, Mary Daly, Simone de Beauvoir, The Hague, Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Adrienne Rich, Social Darwinism, Nancy Chodorow, Dalla Costa, The Woman's Bible, Shulamith Firestone, Declaration of Sentiments, Seneca Falls, New York, Crystal Eastman, Supreme Court, Carol Gilligan, Equal Rights Amendment, Mary Wollstonecraft, Nancy Hartsock, Third World Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
cultural feminist theory, radical feminist theory, natural rights doctrine, unalienated labor, radical feminist position, cultural feminism, material feminists Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Margaret Fuller, Jane Addams, Mary Daly, Simone de Beauvoir, The Hague, Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Adrienne Rich, Social Darwinism, Nancy Chodorow, Dalla Costa, The Woman's Bible, Shulamith Firestone, Declaration of Sentiments, Seneca Falls, New York, Crystal Eastman, Supreme Court, Carol Gilligan, Equal Rights Amendment, Mary Wollstonecraft, Nancy Hartsock, Third World Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
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69
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- Becoming and Bonding: Contemporary Feminism and Popular Fiction by American Women Writers (Contributions in Women's Studies) by Katherine B. Payant on 4 pages
- Envisioning the New Adam: Empathic Portraits of Men by American Women Writers (Contributions in Women's Studies) by Patricia E Daly on page 5, page 19, and Back Matter
- Folk Roots and Mythic Wings in Sarah Orne Jewett and Toni Morrison: The Cultural Function of Narrative by Marilyn Sanders Mobley in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- The Postmodern Prince: Critical Theory, Left Strategy, And The Making Of A New Political Subject by John Sanbonmatsu in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Feminist Alliances (Value Inquiry Book Series 175) by Lynda Burns on page 58, and Back Matter
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