Thinking Differently: A Reader in European Women's Studies

This book is the first to ask whether there is a specifically European dimension to certain major issues in Women's Studies. It strives to create a synergetic debate among different disciplines and cultural traditions in Europe, and, in doing so, fills some gaps in our knowledge about women and enriches debates hitherto dominated by Anglo-American influences. Reading feminism from a European perspective will enable readers to reflect upon the ways in which changes in political, social and cultural positions and practices over the past century in Europe have impacted on feminist thinking and theorizing. The volume raises important issues about the transfer of feminist concepts across cultures and languages. And to English-speaking audiences the volume also offers fresh viewpoints on some of the key debates in Women's Studies.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: Configuring European Women's Studies - Gabriele Griffin, with Rosi Braidotti Part I: Women as Social and Political Entities 1. Feminist Perspectives on the European Welfare State - Harriet Silius 2. Single Women - Tuula Gordon 3. Women's Human Rights, Equal Opportunities and Biopolitics in Europe - Marina Calloni Part II: Culture and Signification 4. Space and Women's Culture - Liana Borghi 5. European Feminine Identity and the Idea of Passion in Politics - Elena Pulcini and Luisa Passerini 6. Psychoanalysis and Feminism: A European Phenomenon - Maria Serena Sapegno Part III: Identity, Subjectivity and Difference 7. Europe after 1989: The Ethnic Wars, Fascistization of Civil Society and Body Politics in Serbia- Zarana Papic 8. Identities under Threat on the Eastern Borders - Svetlana Slapsak 9. Identity, Subjectivity and Difference: A Critical Genealogy - Rosi Braidotti Part IV: Race and Ethnicity 10. Feminism and Anti-semitism - Liliane Kandel 11. Diasporic Subjects and Migration in Europe- Sandra Ponzanesi 12. Whiteness and European Situatedness - Gabriele Griffin with Rosi Braidotti Part V: Violence Against Women: European Perspectives 13. Violence against Women in the European Context: Histories, Prevalences, Theories - Carol Hagemann-White 14. Sexual Violence and Ethnic Cleansing - Attacking the Family - Lisa Price 15. Violence, Militarism and War - Jalna Hanmer Part VI: Sex/Gender Terminology and Its Implications 16. The Uses and Abuses of the Sex/Gender Distinction in European Feminist Practices - Rosi Braidotti Part VII: The Rise and Fall of Women's Movements in Europe 17. Introduction: Women's Movements and Feminist Research - Ute Gerhard 18. The History of the Feminist Movement in France - Fran‡oise Picq 19. The Women's Movement in Germany - Ute Gerhard 20. The Feminist Movement in Italy - Andreina de Clementi 21. Three Waves of Feminism in Denmark - Drude Dahlerup 22. Histories of the Women's Movements in Norway - Beatrice Halsaa 23. The History of the Hungarian Women's Movement - Andrea Pet" 24. Lacking integration: The Relationship between the Women's Movement and Gender/Women's Studies in the Transitional Slovenia - Renata Scribar 25. Women's Associations and Education in Spain - Maria Suarez Lafuente

About the Author :
Rosi Braidotti is professor of women's studies and director of the Netherlands Research School of Women's Studies at Utrecht University. Her books include Nomadic Subjects (1994) and Patterns of Dissonance (1991). She has also edited many books, including, with Nina Lykke, Between Monsters, Goddesses and Cyborgs (Zed, 1996) and, with others, Women, the Environment and Sustainable Development (Zed, 1993). Gabriele Griffin is professor of gender studies at the University of Hull. She is the co-founding editor of the journal, Feminist Theory. Her publications include HIV/AIDS and Representation: Visibility Blue/s (2000) and, coauthored with L. Aitken, Gender Issues in Elder Abuse (1996). Rosi Braidotti is professor of women's studies and director of the Netherlands Research School of Women's Studies at Utrecht University. Her books include Nomadic Subjects (1994) and Patterns of Dissonance (1991). She has also edited many books, including, with Nina Lykke, Between Monsters, Goddesses and Cyborgs (Zed, 1996) and, with others, Women, the Environment and Sustainable Development (Zed, 1993). Gabriele Griffin is professor of gender studies at the University of Hull. She is the co-founding editor of the journal, Feminist Theory. Her publications include HIV/AIDS and Representation: Visibility Blue/s (2000) and, coauthored with L. Aitken, Gender Issues in Elder Abuse (1996).

Review :
A crucial step towards a truly transnational perspective in European Women's Studies. This book is a must for researchers, teachers, students, politicians and others interested in European women's studies and gender issues in Europe. This landmark collection shows the important role of feminist scholarship in rethinking post-nationalist identity in Europe - a problematic from which U.S. feminists have much to learn. The introductory essay alone is worth the purchase of the volume for its brilliant analysis of the strengths and limitations of different focuses and styles of thinking in the U.S., northern, and southern Europe. This is a fine teaching text.