Full Description
"...an extremely welcome addition to the field of feminist research."
British Journal of Educational StudiesThis is a clear and accessible exploration of feminist method, methodology and epistemology. After situating herself and her work, Gayle Letherby charts the debates concerned with the epistemological, political and practical issues involved in doing feminist research, and places the debates within a wider consideration of the status of knowledge. The main focus of the book is then the particular and practical issues for feminist researchers. It examines how the process of research affects the results of that research and explores the relation between politics and practice in terms of research and knowledge production. Throughout the book there is a practical emphasis on specific examples of feminist research in action and, as well as summarizing current theoretical debates, Gayle Letherby adds to them. Feminist Research in Theory and Practice is designed and written as a textbook for students (at advanced undergraduate and postgraduate level) but will be a valuable resource for any researcher or individual interested in women's studies, feminism and in researching in the social sciences.
Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Educating Rita revisited: knowledge and language in the 'male' academy
United we stand? The feminist reconstruction of knowledge
Doing it for ourselves: feminist research as feminist theory in action
Quoting and counting: the qualitative/quantitative divide
Whose life is it anyway? Issues of power, empowerment, ethics and responsibility
Texts of many lives: the implications for feminist research
Close encounters: presentations and audiences
Reflections
References
Index.
