Incorporating Feminist Thought: Institutional Mechanisms and Epistemic Challenges in Sociology

Despite the implementation of inclusive policies, and the associations and organizations that emerged in response to the women’s liberation and Civil Rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s in sociology (e.g., Women’s Caucus, SWS), preeminent feminist sociologists have asserted that the feminist revolution is far from complete (Stacey 2006), if not in danger of being reversed by a neoliberal agenda inside academia (Fraser 2013; Pereira 2017). This dissertation examines the historical intersections of feminist thought within the discipline of sociology throughout the 20th century and explores the mechanisms of inclusion and boundary-work that have shaped its institutionalization today. It examines the extent to which feminist perspectives have been adopted through various institutional mechanisms and the impact of these mechanisms on the production and circulation of feminist ideas in sociology. Additionally, the study investigates how leading feminist sociologists negotiate the epistemic status of feminist thought within the discipline. To better understand the nature of feminist thought within sociology, this dissertation takes a multi-dimensional approach, engaging with both epistemological and institutional practices. It reviews relevant literature, provides a historical context of sociology's development from economics, and explores the evolving relationship between these disciplines and their inclusion of women and feminist thought. Additionally, this research employs a mixed-methods approach, combining trend analysis of top sociology programs in the United States over the past 25 years and in-depth interviews with feminist sociologists. These interviews shed light on the nature of women, gender, and feminist (WGF) scholarship adopted within sociology, the boundary work conducted by feminist sociologists, and the negotiation of notions of "scientificity" in the social sciences.

Author

• Kalb, Amber Christine

• feminist sociology
• higher education
• history of sociology
• Sociology of Knowledge
• Women Gender and Feminist studies

Identifier

hdl:1920/13780

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:MARS:1920/13780