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Women's Studies

This guide provides a variety of helpful resources for conducting research in Women's Studies.

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Welcome to the Women's Studies research guide. Here you will find information about finding databases, books and reference materials, and course guides related to the study of women and gender inequality. You may also want to reference the Sociology research guide for additional information.

Commonly used resources:

Use Discover! to search across multiple databases with a single search.

Suggested Books in Women's Studies

Feminist Thinkers and the Demands of Femininity: The Lives and World of Intellectual Women

Examining the lives and work of historical and contemporary feminist intellectuals, Feminist Thinkers and the Demands of Femininity explores the feminist struggle to "have it all."  This fascinating interdisciplinary study focuses on how feminist thinkers throughout history have long striven to balance politics, intellectual work, and the material conditions of femininity.

The Politics of Being a Woman: Feminism, Media and the 21st Century Popular Culture

What does it mean to be a woman in the 21st century? The feminist movement has a long and rich history, but is its time now passed? This edited collection is driven by the question, why is feminism viewed by some (we would add a majority) as outdated, no longer necessary and having achieved its goals, and what role have the media played in this?

Hamlet's Mother and Other Women

This collection explores feminism in literary studies during the last three decades. By questioning the gender arrangements of society, Heilbrun has helped to transform them.

Decolonizing Feminism: Transnational Feminism and Globalization

International and interdisciplinary in scope, this book introduces the key issues in, and addresses the most significant challenges for, contemporary transnational feminist politics. In the context of rapid globalization, it explores the theoretical frameworks for thinking through significant concepts in feminist theory and activism: rights, citizenship and immigration, feminist solidarity, decolonizing methodologies and practices, and freedom. From diverse socio-political locations and multiple and interdisciplinary perspectives authors propose new ways of thinking about feminist knowledges, methodologies, and practices

Feminism and Global Justice

The book argues that in order for feminist criminology to enhance its conceptual and political relevance in the twenty-first century, bold new directions in scholarship on gender, crime and global justice are required that also take into account global divisions and inequalities. 

Fifty Key Concepts in Gender Studies

Key Concepts in Gender Studies offers 1,500 word expositions of 50 topics central to the field.

Jane Pilcher and Imelda Whelehan's introduction gives an account of gender studies - what it is and how it originated. Their selection of topics is authoritative and the 50 entries reflect the complex, multi-faceted nature of the field in an accessible dictionary format.

A Force Such as the World Has Never Known: Women Creating Change

A Force Such as the World Has Never Known: Women Creating Change is a unique collection of narratives from women from all around the globe. These are stories of compassion and bravery, empowered by the vision of a better world for all life. It emphasizes the need to empower the feminine and assure gender balance and human rights for all.