Reclaiming Feminism ─ Challenging Everyday Misogyny

Since the second-wave feminism of the 1970s, women’s rights and opportunities in education and employment have increased across the globe. But has equality—whether social, political, or legal—really been achieved? In this fascinating book, Miriam E. David, a well-known and influential feminist in higher education, celebrates the achievements of international feminists of the past fifty years and provides a critique of how the expansion of global higher education has masked their pioneering zeal and zest for knowledge.

Looking at the changing zeitgeist, David contends that feminism has yet to have an enduring influence, despite the generations of women who have felt empowered. Instead, she illustrates the lasting power of patriarchal social relations and shows how everyday sexism and misogyny are still keenly felt. Exploring the crucial importance of education, and higher education especially, to social transformation for not only women and girls, but also men and boys,Reclaiming Feminism is a tour-de-force study of feminism and education that untangles the opportunities for and obstacles to changing diverse women’s lives. This impassioned book would have us ask whether a feminist-friendly future is possible, or indeed, desirable.

Miriam E. David is professor in the Department of Education, Practice and Society at the University College London Institute of Education. She is the author, most recently, ofFeminism, Gender and Universities: Politics, Passion and Pedagogies.