Personal and Political : Feminisms, Sociology and Family Lives

Miriam David reviews education policy and academic developments over the last thirty years in light of her own experience in family and higher education. She explores the relationships between social and family change, political movements and public policy developments and shows how they have influenced theories, research and methodologies in the academy. She examines three phases of political change: 1.Social democracy/liberalism and the rise of social movements especially feminism 2. Economic liberalism 3. The recent neo-liberalism She considers how each has influenced theories and practices around family, gender and higher education. Feminist theories in the academy have become embedded in the social sciences and new educational practices and pedagogy have developed around personal perspectives. The book shows how feminist research and ethnographic perspectives based on personal experiences, narratives, voices and stories are used to account for social and policy changes. Intended for departments of Women's Studies, Gender Studies and Sociology, this book will also be of interest to all women in the academy.

Miriam E. David is Director of the Graduate School of Social Sciences and Professor of Policy Studies in the Department of Education, Keele University.