The Intersectional Approach: Transforming the Academy through Race, Class, and Gender

Summary

This book features the social literacy of scholarship. Intersectionality, or the consideration of race, class, and gender, is one of the prominent contemporary theoretical contributions made by scholars in the field of women's studies that now broadly extends across the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Taking stock of this transformative paradigm, The Intersectional Approach guides new and established researchers to engage in a critical reflection about the broad adoption of intersectionality that constitutes what the editors call a new 'social literacy' for scholars. In eighteen essays, contributors examine various topics of interest to students and researchers from a feminist perspective as well as through their respective disciplines, looking specifically at gender inequalities related to globalization, health, motherhood, sexuality, body image, and aging. Together, these essays provide a critical overview of the paradigm, highlight new theoretical and methodological advances, and make a strong case for the continued use of the intersectional approach both within the borders of women's and gender studies and beyond.