Feminist Perspectives on Social Research

Description

As feminist scholarship has developed, it has become increasingly evident that the practice of feminist research is interdisciplinary. Yet there are very few books that address the methodological and theoretical issues raised in doing feminist research from an interdisciplinary standpoint. Feminist Perspectives on Social Research addresses this need by focusing on the theory and research methods that feminist scholars use to study women and gender from the humanities and social and behavioral science perspectives.
Paying attention to the important link between epistemology, methodology, and methods, the editors have chosen readings from a range of fields--including history, sociology, literature, and philosophy--that have proven to be most useful and accessible to their students. The book is divided into three sections. Each section begins with an original chapter, written by the editors, that discusses the overall theme and integrates the range of articles presented. Part One: Method, Methodology, Epistemology presents the theoretical ideas and arguments surrounding feminist research; it covers the contributions made by feminist research, the debates surrounding objectivity and positivism, and the question of whether or not there is 'a' feminist method. Part Two: Issues of Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality explains why researchers must pay attention to the variety and plurality of women and women's experiences, both theoretically and practically. Part Three: Applications and Methods outlines a practical approach to feminist research. Each theoretical reading about a particular method (interviewing, focus groups, survey research, experimental research, field research, and oral history) is paired with research examples using that method. Feminist Perspectives on Social Research is ideal for courses in research methods, feminist methods, qualitative research methods, feminist theory, and women's studies. It is also an excellent companion volume to Sharlene Nagy Hesse-Biber and Patricia Leavy's Approaches to Qualitative Research (OUP, 2004).

Table of Contents

I. EPISTEMOLOGY, METHODOLOGY, METHODS
1. Feminist Approaches to Research as a Process: Reconceptualizing Epistemology, Methodology, and Method, Sharlene Nagy Hesse-Biber, Patricia Leavy, and Michelle L. Yaiser
2. Women's Perspectives as Radical Critique of Sociology, Dorothy E. Smith
3. Rethinking Standpoint Epistemology: What Is "Strong Objectivity"?, Sandra Harding
4. Tracing the Contours: Feminist Research and Feminist Objectivity, Kum-Kum Bhavnani
5. A Feminist Epistemology, Joey Sprague and Diane Kobrynowicz
II. STRATEGIES ON ISSUES OF RACE, CLASS, GENDER, AND SEXUALITY
6. Difference Matters: Studying Across Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality, Sharlene Nagy Hesse-Biber and Michelle L. Yaiser
7. A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality, Lynn Weber
8. Rethinking Social Class: Qualitative Perspectives on Class and Gender, Diane Reay
9. Parenting in Black and White Families: The Interaction of Gender with Race and Class, Shirley A. Hill and Joey Sprague
10. Can Men Be Subjects of Feminist Thought?, Sandra Harding
11. Fieldwork in Lesbian and Gay Communities, Kath Weston
III. APPLICATIONS AND METHODS
12. How Feminists Practice Social Research, Sharlene Nagy Hesse-Biber and Denise Leckenby
13. Talking and Listening from Women's Standpoint: Feminist Strategies for Interviewing and Analysis, Marjorie L. DeVault
14. Gendering Violence: Masculinity and Power in Men's Accounts of Domestic Violence, Kristin L. Anderson and Debra Umberson
15. Focus Groups: A Feminist Method, Sue Wilkinson
16. Vulnerability and Dangerousness: The Construction of Gender through Conversation about Violence, Jocelyn A. Hollander
17. Some Thoughts by an Unrepentant "Positivist" Who Considers Herself a Feminist Nonetheless, Janet Saltzman Chafetz
18. The Blacker the Berry: Gender, Skin Tone, Self-Esteem, and Self-Efficacy, Maxine S. Thompson and Verna M. Keith
19. Inferences Regarding the Personality Traits and Sexual Orientaton of Physically Androgynous People, Laura Madson
20. The Outsider Phenomenon, Nancy A. Naples
21. The Social Organization of Sexuality and Gender in Alternative Hard Rock: An Analysis of Intersectionality, Mimi Schippers
22. What's So Feminist about Women's Oral History?, Susan Geiger
23. But Sometimes You're Not Part of the Story: Oral Histories and Ways of Remembering and Telling, Antoinette Errante