New Frontiers In Women's Studies: Knowledge, Identity And Nationalism

Most of the chapters in this book were originally presented as papers at the Women’s Studies Network (UK) Association conference, which we organized at the University of Portsmouth in July 1994. One edited conference volume, (Hetero) sexual Politics, was published in 1995, its content reflecting the keen interest that currently exists in issues relating to sexuality (Maynard and Purvis, 1995). The focus of the book to which this is an introduction, however, is more closely related to the central conference theme, ‘Women’s Studies in an International Context’. The title was chosen in an endeavour to broaden both the scope of the material covered, together with the backgrounds of those participating in what is the major annual and national Women’s Studies conference in Britain. The intention behind this was to offer a challenge to the white, Western and ethnocentric bias which often characterizes Women’s Studies’ work. The conference presented an opportunity for women from a wide range of ethnic and cultural groups to discuss their research and extend the boundaries of what is normally accepted on a Women’s Studies’ agenda. The latter is what is being alluded to in the term ‘new frontiers’, which forms part of the title of this volume.

The ‘new frontiers’ with which this book is concerned are of two kinds, which are reflected in its structure. The first, addressed in the section ‘On the Move: New Agendas for Women’s Studies’, relates to what counts as knowledge in Women’s Studies, how that knowledge is portrayed and the parameters within which scholars and researchers operate. It focuses, in particular, on how the boundaries of a hegemonic white and Western Women’s Studies might be challenged and on the struggles faced by women who are attempting this in different parts of the world.