Handbook of Feminist Family Studies

The Handbook of Feminist Family Studies demonstrates how feminist contributions to family science advance our understanding of relationships among individuals, families, and communities. Bringing together some of the most well-respected scholars in the field, the editors showcase feminist family scholarship, creating a scholarly forum for interpretation and dissemination of feminist work. The Handbook’s contributors eloquently share their passion for scholarship and practice and offer new insights about the places we call home and family. The contributions as a whole provide overviews of the most important theories, methodologies, and practices, along with concrete examples of how scholars and practitioners actually engage in “doing” feminist family studies.

Key Features:

• Examines the influence of feminism on the family studies field, including the many ways feminism brings about a “re-visioning” of families that incorporates multiple voices and perspectives
• Centers the intersections of race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, age, nation, ability, and religion as a pivotal framework for examining interlocking structures of inequality and privilege, both inside families and in the relationship between families and institutions, communities, and ideologies
• Provides concrete examples of how scholars and practitioners explore such facets of feminist family studies as intimate partnerships, kinship, aging, sexualities, intimate violence, community structures, and experiences of immigration
• Explores how the infusion of feminism into family studies has created a crisis over deeply held assumptions about “family life” and calls for even greater fusion between feminist theory and family studies toward the creation of solutions to pressing social issues

The Handbook of Feminist Family Studies is an excellent resource for scholars, practitioners, and students across the fields of family studies, sociology, human development, psychology, social work, women’s studies, close relationships, communication, family nursing, and health, as a welcome addition to any academic library. It is also appropriate for use in graduate courses on theory and methodology.

A portion of the royalties from this book have been contributed to the Jessie Bernard Endowment (sponsored by the Feminism and Family Studies Section of the National Council on Family Relations) in support of feminist scholarship.