The "Woman Question" and Higher Education: Perspectives on Gender and Knowledge Production in America Book

`. . . a particularly readable and interesting set of complementary essays.'- Education Economics`These outstanding essays by eminent scholars provide sophisticated and highly readable analyses of the causes of women's exclusion from full participation in knowledge production today. From multiple disciplinary perspectives, the authors examine the roles of biology, institutional impediments, discrimination, and women's choices. A 'must read' for all concerned with the role of women in contemporary higher education.'- Myra H. Strober, Stanford University, US`These fascinating essays by scholars from a wide range of disciplines examine women's struggle since the nineteenth century for inclusion and voice in American higher education and the long, often grimly comic history of the arguments that 'men with authority to speak' have used (and continue to use) to rationalize limiting women's role. Everyone interested in the history of women in American universities should read this book.'- Robert W. Dimand, Brock University, CanadaThese essays offer fresh insights on the question of the paucity of women in higher education and together form a thoughtful and contemporary response to Lawrence Summers and the `Woman Question' in the twenty-first century.This uniquely interdisciplinary study offers a provocative, contemporary look at the `Woman Question' in relation to higher education at the dawn of the twenty-first century. Leading feminist scholars from a wide variety of perspectives and disciplines -- including history, philosophy, education, psychology, sociology, and economics -- evaluate the role of biology, discrimination, and choice in rationalizing women's exclusion from fully participating in the process of knowledge production, as well as examining institutional impediments. Contextualizing arguments against women's inclusion and including contemporary perspectives on gender, this book offers a rich, multi-layered examination and critical insights into understanding the near universal difficulties that women encounter as they seek to participate fully in the process of knowledge production.This book addresses one of the most compelling topics of our time and speaks to our need to understand the long struggle of women to gain an authoritative voice in higher education and the factors that underlie that struggle. Scholars and researchers of women's studies, higher education, and a range of humanities and social sciences will find this book a welcome addition to the literature.Read More