Feminism

So you think you know what makes the world go round? Read about the ideas that revolutionized the 20th century.

The twentieth century was a period of seismic change on a global scale, witnessing two world wars, the rise and fall of communism, the establishment of a global economy, the beginnings of global warming and a complete reversal in the status of women in large parts of the world.

Many of these changes were brought about thanks to powerful ideologies - big ideas that irrevocably altered the way humans viewed their world. Short Histories of Big Ideas are brief, easy to understand introductions to the ideologies that shaped the twentieth century. Each volume explains the key aspects of an idea and provides a concise history of its growth and influence on our world perspective.

Is Feminism one of the biggest things that has ever taken place in the history of the world?

Affecting half the worlds population, feminism has the potential of, quite simply, turning the world upside down. Feminism is a cultural as well as a political movement. It changes the way women think and feel and affects how women and men live their lives and interpret the world. For this reason it has provoked lively debate and fierce antagonisms that have continued to the present day. Contemporary feminism and its concerns are rooted in a history stretching over at least two centuries.

Feminism explores this history in a range of countries spanning the world. It asks: does feminism exist? Or are the differences among feminists today so great that we should speak of feminisms? The book looks at the challenge made by feminists to prevailing ideas about a womans place, the complex relationship between equality and difference, womens solidarity and the relationship between feminism and other social and political reform movements.

About the author

June Hannam is a professor of modern history at the University of the West of England. She has published widely on the history of women and has also written on the history of Bristol. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, she is an editor of Labour History Review and is on the editorial board of Women's History Review. She is a committee member of West of England and South Wales Womens History network.