Gendered Voices

"These studies . . . not only illuminate the past with a fierce and probing light but also raise, with nuance and power, fundamental issues of interpretation and method."—from the Foreword, by Caroline Walker Bynum Female saints, mystics, and visionaries have been much studied in recent years. Relatively little attention has been paid, however, to the ways in which their experiences and voices were mediated by the men who often composed their vitae, served as their editors and scribes, or otherwise encouraged, protected, and collaborated with the women in their writing projects. What strategies can be employed to discern and distinguish the voices of these high and late medieval women from those of their scribes and confessors? In those rare cases where we have both the women's own writings and writings about them by their male contemporaries, how do the women's self-portrayals diverge from the male portrayals of them? Finally, to what extent are these portrayals of sanctity by the saints and their contemporaries influenced not so much by gender as by genre? Catherine Mooney brings together a distinguished group of contributors who explore these and other issues as they relate to seven holy women and their male interpreters and one male saint who claims to incorporate the words of a female follower in an account of his own life.

Gendered Voices, Feminist Visions: Classic and Contemporary Readings, Seventh Edition, is a balanced collection of classic, conceptual, and experiential selections. Accessible and student-friendly, the readings reflect the great diversity of women's experiences. Framework essays provide context and connections for students, while features like learning activities, ideas for activism, and questions for discussion provide a strong pedagogical structure for the readings.

Does the language we speak create and sustain a sexist culture? This controversial and exciting proposal has fascinated feminists, psychologists and linguists alike for well over a decade. The authors of Gender Voices explore in a clear and comprehensive manner the idea that language shapes individual lives-that through our speech we all help recreate gender divisions in society. Their introductory chapter establishes the relationship between language and social structure. Chapter 2 explores the human voice and traditional notions of 'femininity', 'masculinity' and sexuality. Subsequent chapters analyze differences between women and men in pronunciation and choice of words; discourse patterns and power relationships; the sexist structure of language; and language consciousness. The possibilities for social and linguistic change are examined in the final chapters.

This book investigates male writers' use of female voices and female writers' use of male voices in literature and theatre from the 1850s to the present, examining where, how and why such gendered crossings occur and what connections may be found between these crossings and specific psychological, social, historical and political contexts.

Internationally, there is growing awareness that the target of Education for All by 2015 will not be met unless more strident efforts are made to improve access for marginalized, hard-to-reach children (most often girls). For almost four decades gender equality in education has been one of the key global concerns and as a result various organizations at national and international levels along with governments have initiated programs focusing on achieving gender equality, women’s empowerment and improving girls’ access to education. By focusing on access alone (i.e. gender parity) we may not understand how education can be used to achieve empowerment and influence cultural practices that are gender insensitive. In this volume we attempt to call into question the content of gender equality as simple parity and in doing so we reflect upon the following questions: • Do the global (macro) discourses on gender equality in education lead to a focus on numbers only or to more profound sustainable changes at the national (meso) level and the school (micro) level? • To what extent have national policies been adjusted to reflect the global discourses on gender equality? • Are schools/classrooms (micro) expected to adjust to these global discourses and if so in what ways has this happened? • What are the challenges of providing access to good quality education for girls in both countries? • Is there a dichotomy between the schools/classrooms on the one hand and the community on the other in terms of gender equality/equity? • To what extent is gender equality/equity imposed upon schools and communities and does it take into account the cultural practices in traditional communities? Key words: Gender equality, education, Global vs. local concerns 3 selling points: • The volume highlights that although research has shown how global educational policies homogenize national educational policies and are therefore playing what can be termed a neo-colonial role in identifying pivotal themes and topics in education across the world such as gender equality, literacy and quality education in local contexts, they are often steeped in a Western logic which is not always culturally relevant or conducive. Making global recommendations for education across cultures and places is thus not always unproblematic. • The volume highlights that a push for girls’ schooling must navigate wisely in sensitive terrain where complex contextual aspects must be understood and taken into account. Girls’ attendance and retention in school are important first steps in the struggle for epistemic access, but must be followed by serious deliberations about what kind of school and what kind of knowledge in the schools is appropriate, and about equality and equity. • The volume attempts to understand how the global gender goals in education affect both local policies and local practice and in doing so it attempts to question the simple focus on access only.

"These studies . . . not only illuminate the past with a fierce and probing light but also raise, with nuance and power, fundamental issues of interpretation and method."--from the Foreword, by Caroline Walker Bynum Female saints, mystics, and visionaries have been much studied in recent years. Relatively little attention has been paid, however, to the ways in which their experiences and voices were mediated by the men who often composed their vitae, served as their editors and scribes, or otherwise encouraged, protected, and collaborated with the women in their writing projects. What strategies can be employed to discern and distinguish the voices of these high and late medieval women from those of their scribes and confessors? In those rare cases where we have both the women's own writings and writings about them by their male contemporaries, how do the women's self-portrayals diverge from the male portrayals of them? Finally, to what extent are these portrayals of sanctity by the saints and their contemporaries influenced not so much by gender as by genre? Catherine Mooney brings together a distinguished group of contributors who explore these and other issues as they relate to seven holy women and their male interpreters and one male saint who claims to incorporate the words of a female follower in an account of his own life.

Global and local contestations are not only gendered, they also raise important questions about agency and its practice and location in the twenty-first century. Silence and voice are being increasingly debated as sites of agency within feminist research on conflict and insecurity. Drawing on a wide range of feminist approaches, this volume examines the various ways that silence and voice have been contested in feminist research, and their impact on how agency is understood and performed, particularly in situations of conflict and insecurity. The collection makes an important and timely contribution to interdisciplinary feminist theorizing of silence, voice and agency in global politics. Interrogating the intellectual landscape of existing debates about agency, silence and voice in an increasingly unequal and conflict-ridden world, the contributors to this volume challenge the dominant narratives of agency based on voice or speech alone as a necessary precondition for understanding or negotiating agency or empowerment. Many of the authors have engaged in field research in both the Global South and North and bring in-depth and diverse gendered case studies to their analysis, focusing on the increasing importance of examining silence as well as voice for understanding gender and agency in an increasingly embattled and complicated world. This book will contribute to and deepen existing discussions of agency, silence and voice in development, culture and gender studies, political economy, postcolonial and de-colonial scholarship as well as in the field of International Relations.

"Centers the lived experiences of trans and gender diverse people in LIS work and education. All authors and editors will be self-identified trans and gender diverse people"--