Women Without Borders

Across half a century, from the division of Germany through the end of the Cold War, a cohort of thirty women from the small German town of Schönebeck in what used to be the GDR circulated among themselves a remarkable collective archive of their lives: a Rundbrief, or bulletin, containing hundreds of letters and photographs. This book draws on that unprecedented resource, complemented by a set of interviews, to paint a rich portrait of “ordinary” life in postwar Germany. It shows how these women—whether reflecting on their experiences as Nazi-era schoolchildren or witnessing reunification—were united by their complex interactions with official power and their commitment to sustaining a shared German identity as they made the most of their everyday lives in both the GDR and the Federal Republic.

DIVEssays by a pioneering theorist of feminism, multiculturalism, and antiracism./div

What if the traditional narrative about immigrant women--that those who come to the United States will succeed as long as they work hard, stay focused, and have supportive families--is a lie? Of the 73 million women in the US workforce, 11.5 million are foreign-born. The truth is--even in the midst of headlines and political debates about immigration reform and in the wake of MeToo and other female-centric movements--millions of immigrants, especially women, aren’t living their fullest potential. Based on her personal experience and the stories of trailblazing women from around the world and in diverse industries, author Chinwe Esimai shares five indispensable traits that make an ocean of difference between immigrants who live as mere shadows of their truest potential and those who find purpose and fulfillment--what Chinwe refers to as their immigrace: Saying yes to your immigrace, an immigrant woman’s expression of her highest purpose and potential Daring to play in the big leagues Transforming failure Embracing change and blending differences Finding joy and healing These five traits are the foundation of the Brilliance Blueprint, a step-by-step guide to help readers achieve to their own extraordinary results and build their own remarkable legacies.

Globalization is often thought of as an abstract process that happens "out there" in the world. But people are ultimately the driving force of global change, and people have bodies that are absent from current conversations about globalization. The original scholarly research and first-person accounts of embodiment in this volume explore the role of bodies in the flows of people, money, commodities, and ideas across borders. From Zumba fitness classes to martial arts to fashion blogs and the meanings of tattooing, the contributors examine migrating body practices and ideals that stretch across national boundaries.

Florida without Borders: Women at the Intersections of the Local and Global highlights the problems facing women around the world by featuring papers that explore women’s activism across borders regarding gender and human rights, issues regarding women and poverty, globalization, economic value of immigrant labor, militarism and human trafficking. Also discussed are the opportunities and obstacles women face when they act to counter the negative impact of these forces. This anthology is a collection of essays by feminist scholars and students who examine discourses on border crossings, political and cultural censorship, gendered codes of conduct, prescribed behavior for women and the activism that emerges to address identity formation, to advance contested meanings and to build coalitions. Throughout the essays, the authors investigate the concepts of the gendered body in the context of global activism, the uses of women’s bodies in domestic, military, and sexual service, and the breaching of the body’s borders and boundaries in the project of feminist social change.

Scholars of social movements tend to overlook the achievements and political significance of women's movements. Through theoretical discussions and empirical examples, Solidarities Beyond Borders demonstrates the creativity and dynamism of transnational feminist and women's groups around the world. These timely case studies from North America, Latin America, and Southeast Asia explore the benefits and challenges of extending ties beyond national borders and disciplinary boundaries. The contributors not only bring to light the opportunities and challenges that globalization poses for transnationalizing women's movements, they offer important strategic, conceptual, and methodological lessons for all social movements.