Ph.D. Comprehensive Reading Lists

Feminist Theory Basic List (required of all Ph.D. candidates and subject to change)

Area Studies Lists (subject to change)

(subject to change) Body/Sexuality



Cultural Studies



Literary Theory (Feminist)



Political Economy (excluding Development and Third World Studies)



Politics and the State (excluding Development and Third World Studies)



Postcolonial Feminist Theory



Race, Ethnicity and Marginality



Science and Technology (Feminist)



Women and Development

Feminist Theory Basic

De Beauvoir, Simone. The Second Sex

Butler , Judith – choice of book

Chodorow, Nancy, The Reproduction of Mothering

Collins, Patricia Hill. Black Feminist Thought

Engels, Frederich. The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State

Firestone, Shulamith, The Dialectic of Sex

Friedan, Betty. The Feminine Mystique

Gilligan, Carol. In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women’s Development

Hooks, bell. – choice of book

Irigaray, Luce – choice of book

Lorde, Audre. Sister Outsider

Mill, John Stuart – The Subjection of Women

Millett, Kate. Sexual Politics

Mitchell, Juliet, Psychoanalysis and Feminism

Mohanty, Chandra, Under Western Eyes

O’Brien, Mary. The Politics of Reproduction

Rich, Adrienne – choice of book

Trinh, T. Minh Ha, Woman, Native, Other: Writing, Postcoloniality and Feminism

Wollstonecraft, Mary. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

Young, Iris Marion. Justice and the Politics of Difference

Body/Sexuality

Bartky, Sandra, Femininity and Domination: Studies in the Phenomenology of Oppression. 1990. NY: Routledge

Bordo, Susan, Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture and the Body. 1993. Berkely: University of Chicago Press.

Fausto-Sterling, Anne, Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the Construction of Sexuality. 2000 NY: Basic Books)

Garber, Marjorie, Visa Versa: Bisexuality and the Eroticism of Everyday Life. 1995. NY: Simon and Shuster

Grosz, Elizabeth, Volatile Bodies: Toward a Corporeal Feminism. 1994. Bloomington: Illinois University Press

Hemmings, Claire, Bisexual Space: A Geography of Sexuality and Gender. 2002. Routledge.

Martin, Emily, The Woman in the body: A Cultural Analysis of Reproduction. 1992. Boston: Beacon Press.

Sawicki, Jana, Disciplining Foucault: Feminism, Power and the Body. 1991. NY: Routledge.

Shildrick, Margrit, Leaky Bodies and Boundaries: Feminism, Postmodernism and (Bio)ethics. 1997. London: Routledge.

Wittig, Monique, The Lesbian Body. 1975. NY: Avon Books.

Cultural Studies

This list represents the central trajectories of the Birmingham Centre of Cultural Studies. Throughout its development in North America, “Cultural Studies” was closely aligned with forms of post-Marxism feminism, post-colonial feminism, feminist media studies, and feminist literary criticism. In recognition of the intermingling of these areas, which are represented in other departmental lists, this list focuses narrowly on the issues that are more closely or uniquely associated with the BCCC, including encoding/decoding theory, moral panic theory, and youth studies.

This list is recommended for students who are interested in girl culture, media studies, and forms of audience studies (as developed from the Screen debates).

Sara Ahmed -- The Cultural Politics of Emotion

Sarah Franklin, Jackie Stacey, and Celia Lury, Off-Centre: Feminism and Cultural Studies

Paul Guilery, Ain’t No Black in the Union Jack

Critical Dialogs in Cultural Studies

Dick Hebdige, On Style

Angela McRobbie, Feminism and Youth Culture & Postmodernism and Popular Culture

Uma Narayan -- Dislocating Cultures

Elspeth Probyn -- Outside Belongings

Beverley Skeggs, Formations of Gender and Class

Essays:

Ian Ang, “Reading Dallas”

Pierre Bourdieu, “The Social Space and the Genesis of Groups,” Theory and Society Vol 14, # 6, 1985 p 723

Carol Clover, “Her Body/Himself”

Donna Haraway, Cyborg essay, in Simians, Cyborgs and Women

Steven Heath (three essays on film analysis from Screen)

Fredric Jameson, “On ‘Cultural Studies’,” Social Text Vol 34 1993 p 17-54

Jean Lave, Paul Duguid, Nadine Fernandez, and Erik Axel, “Coming of Age in Birmingham: Cultural Studies and Conceptions of Subjectivity,” Annual Review of Anthropology Vol 21 1992, p 257-282

Angela McRobbie, “Rethinking ‘moral panic’ for multi-mediated social worlds” British Journal of Sociology, Dec 1995 Vol 46, Issue 4 p 559

Paula Treichler, "An Epidemic of Significations" in The Burdens of History

Gayle Rubin "Thinking Sex" in The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader

Literary Theory (Feminist)

Sedgwick, Eve, Between Men: English Literature and Male Homosocial Desire. 1985

de Lauetis, Teresa, Technologies of Gender; Essays on Theory, Film and Fiction. 1987

Spivak, Gayatri, In Other Worlds: Essays in Cultural Criticism. 1989

Chow, Rey, Woman & Chinese Modernity: The Politics of Reading Between West & East. 1990

Dubois, Rene, Sowing the Body: Psychoanalysis and Ancient Representation of Women. 1991

Woodhull, Winifred, Transfigurations of the Maghreb: Feminism, Decolonization & Literatures. 1993

Gilmore, Leigh, Autobiographies: A Feminist Theory of Women’s Self-Representation. 1994

Lydon, Mary, Skirting the Issue: Essays in Literary Theory. 1995

Caplan, Carla, The Erotics of Talk: Women’s Writing and Feminist Paradigm. 1996

Halberstam, Judith, Female Masculinity. 1998

Prosser, Jay, Second Skins: The Body Narratives of Transsexuality. 1998.

Political Economy (excluding Development and Third World Studies)

Amsden, Alice (ed.), The Economics of Women and Work. Penguin. 1980

Bakker, Isabella (ed), Rethinking Restructuring: Gender and the Change in Canada. University of Toronto. 1996

Barker, Drucilla K. and Edith Kuiper (eds), Toward a Feminist Philosophy of Economics. Routledge, 2003

Bashevkin, Silvia (ed.), Women’s Work is Never Done: Comparative Studies in Caregiving, Employment, and Social policy Reform. Routledge. 2002

Benston, Margaret. “The Political Economy of Women’s Liberation,” in Voices from Women’s Liberation, ed. Leslie Tanner. New American Library. 1971

Cockburn, Cynthia, Brothers: Male Dominance and Technical Change. Pluto. 1985

Ferber, Marianne and Julie Nelson, Beyond Economic Man: Feminist Theory and Economics. University of Chicago Press. 1993

Folbre, Nancy, Who Pays for the Kids? Gender and the Structure of Constraint. Routledge. 1994

Gilman, Charlotte Perkins, Women and Economics.

Hartman, Heidi, “The Unhappy Marriage of Marxism and Feminism: Toward a More Pregressive Union,” in Women and Revolution, ed. Lydia Sargent. Black Rose Books. 1981

Humphries, Jane, (ed.), Gender and Economics. Edward Elgar. 1995

Sanday, Peggy Reeves, Female Power: Male Dominance.

Standing, Guy, “Global Feminization through Flexible Labour,” World Development 17. 1989

Politics and the State (excluding Development and Third World Studies)

Arscott, Jane and Linda Trimble. In the Presence of Women: Representation in Canadian Governments. 1997 Harcourt Brace.

Bashevkin, Sylvia, Women on the Defensive: Living Through Conservative Times. 1998. University of Chicago Press

Brodie, Janine, Women and Canadian Public Policy. 1996. Harcourt Brace.

Chappell, Louise A., Gendering Government: Feminist Engagement with the State in Australia and Canada. 2002. UBC Press.

Evans, Patricia M. and Gerda R. Wekerle, (eds.) Women and the Canadian Welfare State. 1996. University of Toronto Press.

Jenson, Jane, “Gender in Reproduction or Babies and the State,” Studies in Political Economy. 20. 1986

O’Connor, Julia S. States, Markets, Families. 1999. Cambridge University Press.

Pateman, Carol, The Disorder of Women: Democracy, Feminism and Political Theory. 1989. Stanford University Press.

Peterson, Spike, Gendered States. 1992. Lynn Reinner Publishers.

Phillips, Ann, Engendering Democracy. 1991, Polity. Or Democracy and Difference. 1993, Pennsylvania University Press.

Rowbotham, Sheila. Women, Resistance and Revolution. 1974. Vintage

Sainsbury, Diane. (ed.) Gender and Welfare State Regimes. 1999. Oxford University Press.

Tickner, J.A., Gender in International Relations: Feminist Perspectives on Achieving Global Security. 1992. Columbia University Press.

Young, Iris Marian, Justice and the Politics of Difference. 1990. Princeton University Press.

Postcolonial Feminist Theory

Ahmed, Sara. Strange Encounters: Embodied Others in Postcoloniality.

Bannerji, Himani. Dark Side of the Nation: Essays on Multiculturalism, Nationalism, and Gender.

Grewal, Inderpal and Caren Kaplan. Scattered Hegemonies: Postmodernity and Transnation Feminist Practices.

Lewis, Reina and Sara Mills, eds. Feminist Postcolonial Theory: A Reader.

McClintock, Anne. Imperial Leather: Race, Gender and Sexuality in the Colonial Context.

Mohanty, Chandra Talpede. Feminism Without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity.

Narayan, Uma and Sandra Harding, eds. Decentering the Centre: Philosophy for a Multicultural, Postcolonial and Feminist World.

Spivak, Gayatari. In Other Worlds: Essays In Cultural Politics.

Spivak, Gayatari. The Postcolonial Critic: Interviews, Strategies, Dialogue.

Race, Ethnicity and Marginality

Bannerji, Himani. 2000. The Dark Side of the Nation: Essays on Multiculturalism, Nationalism and Gender. Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press.

Calliste, Agnes & Dei, George J. Sefa. 2000. Anti-Racist Feminism: Critical Race and Gender Studies. Halifax: Fernwood Publishing.

Davis, Angela Y. Women, Race and Class. 1983. New York: Vintage Books.

Dei, George J. Sefa. 1996. Anti-Racism Education: Theory and Practice. Halifax: Fernwood Publishing.

Dua, Enakshi & Robertson, Angela. 1999. Scratching the Surface: Canadian Anti-Racist Feminist Thought. Toronto: Women’s Press.

Hooks, bell. 2000. Feminism is for Everybody. Cambridge, MA: South End Press.

Jakubowski, Lisa Marie. 1997. Immigration and the Legalization of Racism. Halifax: Fernwood Publishing.

Mohanty, Chandra Talpade. 2003. Feminism without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity. Durham & London: Duke University Press.

Razack, Sherene H. 1998. Looking White People in the Eye: Gender, Race, and Culture in Courtrooms and Classrooms. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Vorst et al, Jesse. 1991. Race, Class, Gender: Bonds and Barriers. Toronto: Garamond Press.

Science and Technology (Feminist)

A. Contextualization, re Science, Technology, and Society (aka Studies of Science and Technology (STS)

Cheek, Dennis 1992 Thinking constructively about Science, Technology, and Society education New York, State University of New York Press

Hess, David 1997 Science studies: an advanced introduction New York, New York University Press

Jasanoff, Sheila, Markle, Gerald, Petersen, James, Pinch, Trevor (eds.) 1995 Handbook of Science and Technology Studies Thousand Oaks, Sage

B. Some of the foundational texts for FSTS

Bleier, Ruth (ed.) 1986 Feminist approaches to science New York, Athene Series, Pergamon Press

Boston Women's Health Collective 1971 Our bodies, ourselves: a book by and for women Boston, New England Free Press

Diamond, Irene, Orenstein, Gloria (eds.) 1990 Reweaving the world: the emergence of ecofeminism San Francisco, Sierra Club Books

Duran, Jane 1998 Philosophies of science/feminist theories Boulder, Westview

Harding, Sandra 1986 The science question in feminism Ithaca, Cornell University Press

Longino, Helen 1990 Science as social knowledge: values and objectivity in scientific inquiry Princeton, Princeton University Press

Mies, Maria, Shiva, Vandana 1993 Ecofeminism Halifax, Fernwood Press

Rosser, Sue (ed.) 1988 Feminism within the science and health care professions: overcoming resistance New York, Athene Series, Pergamon Press

Rossiter, Margaret 1982 Women scientists in America: struggles and strategies to 1940 Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press

Rothschild, Joan (ed.) 1983 Machina ex dea: feminist perspectives on technology New York, Athene Series, Pergamon Press

Schiebinger, Londa 1999 Has feminism changed science? Cambridge, Harvard University Press

Walkerdine, Valerie, Girls and Mathematics Unit 1989 Counting girls out London, Virago Press

Warren, Karen 1987 "Feminism and ecology: making connections" Environmental Ethics 9 (Spring): 3-20

C. Debate on the two cultures of arts (including social sciences) and sciences (natural/applied/health sciences), in relation to the limited development of FSTS in Women's Studies

Fausto-Sterling, Anne 1992 "Building two-way streets: the case of feminism and science" NWSA Journal 4(3): 336-349

Hubbard, Ruth, Harding, Sandra, Tuana, Nancy, Rosser, Sue 1993 "Comments on Anne Fausto-Sterling's 'Building two-way streets'" NWSA Journal 5(1): 45-76

Fausto-Sterling, Anne 1993 "Response" NWSA Journal 5(1): 76-81

Swedberg, L. 1993 "Fallible or lovable: response to Anne Fausto-Sterling's 'Building two-way streets' (NWSAJ 4:3)" NWSA Journal 5(3): 389-391

Women and Development