Synopses & Reviews
The second wave of feminism was one of the most significant political and cultural developments of the 1960s and 1970s. Yet the role radical feminism played within the women's movement remains hotly contested. For some, radical feminism has made a lasting contribution to our understanding of male privilege, and the ways the power imbalance between men and women affects the everyday fabric of women's lives. For others, radical feminism represents a reflexive hostility toward men, sex, and heterosexuality, and thus is best ignored or forgotten.
Rather than have the movement be interpreted by others, Radical Feminism permits the original work of radical feminists to speak for itself. Comprised of pivotal documents written by U.S. radical feminists in the 1960s and 1970s, Radical Feminism combines both unpublished and previously published manifestos, position papers, minutes of meetings, and newsletters essential to an understanding of radical feminism. Consisting of documents unavailable to the general public, and others in danger of being lost altogether, this panoramic collection is organized around the key issues of sex and sexuality, race, children, lesbianism, separatism, and class. Barbara A. Crow rescues the groundbreaking original work of such groups as The Furies, Redstockings, Cell 16, and the Women's Liberation Movement. Contributors include Kate Millet, Susan Brownmiller, Shulamith Firestone, Rosalyn Baxandall, Toni Morrison, Ellen Willis, Anne Koett, and Vivan Gornick.
Gathered for the first time in one volume, these primary sources of radical feminism fill a major gap in the literature on feminism and feminist thought. Radical Feminism is an indispensable resource for future generations of feminists, scholars, and activists.
"This valuable anthology may well change the way many of us view radical feminism."
Resources for Feminist Research, Winter/Spring 2001, Vol. 28, No. 3/4
Review
"This valuable anthology may well change the way many of us view radical feminism."-Resources for Feminist Research,Winter/Spring 2001, Vol. 28, No. 3/4
Review
Stacey M. Floyd-Thomas is to be commended for bringing together such a powerful group of religious scholars who practice, define, and critique womanist theoretical discourse.-The Journal of African American History,
Review
“An important collection of the leading scholars in Womanist religion, ethics and theology. A must read!”
-James H. Cone,Union Theological Seminary
Review
“A stunningly original work that carries ‘womanist and ‘womanism to a new level of thinking. . . . It not only provides multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to the womanist idea but charts path-breaking directions for religious thought, ethics, and cultural analysis.”
-Cheryl Townsend Gilkes,author of If It Wasn't for the Women: Black Womens Experience and Womanist Culture in Church and Community
Review
“Drawing on a wealth of womanist criticism that rekindles Walkers Womanism, this valuable collection of essays brings together a wide range of womanists and womanist perspectives from different sectors, providing readers with an excellent list of references on the theme of Womanism and womanist activities.”
-Jaehwan Han,African American Review
Review
“A must-have collection for readers who want to see womanist theology in all of its rich purple hues.”
-WATERwheel,
Synopsis
A selection of essential writings to understand the radical feminism movement of the 1960s and 1970s
The second wave of feminism was one of the most significant political and cultural developments of the 1960s and 1970s. Yet the role radical feminism played within the women's movement remains hotly contested. For some, radical feminism has made a lasting contribution to our understanding of male privilege, and the ways the power imbalance between men and women affects the everyday fabric of women's lives. For others, radical feminism represents a reflexive hostility toward men, sex, and heterosexuality, and thus is best ignored or forgotten.
Rather than have the movement be interpreted by others, Radical Feminism permits the original work of radical feminists to speak for itself. Comprised of pivotal documents written by U.S. radical feminists in the 1960s and 1970s, Radical Feminism combines both unpublished and previously published manifestos, position papers, minutes of meetings, and newsletters essential to an understanding of radical feminism. Consisting of documents unavailable to the general public, and others in danger of being lost altogether, this panoramic collection is organized around the key issues of sex and sexuality, race, children, lesbianism, separatism, and class. Barbara A. Crow rescues the groundbreaking original work of such groups as The Furies, Redstockings, Cell 16, and the Women's Liberation Movement. Contributors include Kate Millet, Susan Brownmiller, Shulamith Firestone, Rosalyn Baxandall, Toni Morrison, Ellen Willis, Anne Koett, and Vivan Gornick.
Gathered for the first time in one volume, these primary sources of radical feminism fill a major gap in the literature on feminism and feminist thought. Radical Feminism is an indispensable resource for future generations of feminists, scholars, and activists.
Synopsis
Womanist approaches to the study of religion and society have contributed much to our understanding of Black religious life, activism, and women's liberation.
Deeper Shades of Purple explores the achievements of this movement over the past two decades and evaluates some of the leading voices and different perspectives within this burgeoning field.
Deeper Shades of Purple brings together a who's who of scholars in the study of Black women and religion who view their scholarship through a womanist critical lens. The contributors revisit Alice Walker's definition of womanism for its viability for the approaches to discourses in religion of Black women scholars. Whereas Walker has defined what it means to be womanist, these contributors define what it means to practice womanism, and illuminate how womanism has been used as a vantage point for the theoretical orientations and methodological approaches of Black women scholar-activists.
Contributors: Karen Baker-Fletcher, Katie G. Cannon, M. Shawn Copeland, Kelly Brown Douglas, Carol B. Duncan, Stacey M. Floyd-Thomas, Rachel Elizabeth Harding, Rosemarie Freeney Harding, Melanie L. Harris, Diana L. Hayes, Dwight N. Hopkins, Ada Mar'a Isasi-D'az, Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan, Kwok Pui-Lan, Daisy L. Machado, Debra Majeed, Anthony B. Pinn, Rosetta Ross, Letty M. Russell, Shani Settles, Dianne M. Stewart, Raedorah Stewart-Dodd, Emilie M. Townes, Traci C. West, and Nancy Lynne Westfield.
About the Author
Stacey M. Floyd-Thomas is associate professor of ethics and society at Vanderbilt University Divinity School. Her books include Mining the Motherlode: Methods in Womanist Ethics, Black Church Studies: An Introduction and Deeper Shades of Purple: Womanism in Religion and Society (NYU Press, 2007).