Professing Feminism by Daphne Patai

Professing Feminism by Daphne Patai

Feminists have often called Women's Studies the 'academic arm of the women's movement.' But Daphne Patai and Noretta Koertge charge that the attempt to make Women's Studies serve a political agenda has led to deeply problematic results: dubious scholarship, pedagogical practices that resemble indoctrination more than education, and the alienation of countless potential supporters. In this new and expanded edition of their controversial 1994 book, the authors update their analysis of what's gone wrong with Women's Studies programs. Original chapters feature interviews with professors, students, and staffers who invested much time and effort in Women's Studies, and new chapters look primarily at documents recently generated from within Women's Studies itself. Through critiques of actual program mission statements, course descriptions, newsletters, and e-mail lists devoted to feminist pedagogy and Women's Studies, and, not least, the writings of well-known feminist scholars, Patai and Koertge provide a detailed and devastating examination of the routine practices found in feminist teaching and research.

This unsparing account of the troubles that beset Women's Studies programs should incite vigorous debate* Publishers Weekly *
Feminists should read this book seriously and debate it vigorously. In this way they would be engaging in the self-reflection and self-criticism that are necessary to strengthen feminism. -- Joan Mandle, Former Director of the Women's Studies Program, Colgate University, and author of Can We Wear Our Pearls and Still Be Feminists?
The answer that emerges from Professing Feminism is clear: Whatever Women's Studies in its present form may be, a scholarly or intellectual enterprise it is not. . . . This witty and informative book also is an excellent read. * The Washington Times *
Essential reading for anyone involved in Women's Studies. * Library Journal *
This book is certain to start a firestorm within the North American academic feminist movement. * Asahi Evening News, (Tokyo) *
In this illuminating book, Patai and Koertge show that . . . in many universities Women's Studies programs have been transformed into political pressure groups or religious cults. The authors' analysis of the situation, based on expert examination of eyewitnesses, leads to the inevitable conclusion that Women's Studies, as presently professed, represents a giant step backward into educational fundamentalism. -- Mary Lefkowitz, Wellesley College
This book seeks not to kill Women's Studies, but to save it. Feminists should listen closely. * National Review *
It is impossible not to admire the courage and integrity that inform Professing Feminism, although, as the authors know full well, it will provoke many feminists to condemn them as traitors and deny their claim to write as feminists at all. -- Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, author of Feminism is not the Story of My Life