Citizenship: Feminist Perspectives

by Ruth Lister

The second edition of this classic text substantially revises and extends the original, takes account of theoretical and policy developments, and enhances its international scope. Drawing on a range of disciplines and literatures, the book provides an unusually broad account of citizenship. It recasts traditional thinking about the concept and pinpoints important theoretical issues and their political and policy implications for women. Themes of inclusion and exclusion (at national and international levels), rights and participation, inequality and difference, are thus all brought to the fore in the development of a woman-friendly, gender-inclusive, theory and praxis of citizenship. Wide-ranging, stimulating and accessible, this is a ground-breaking book that provides new insights for both theory and policy.

Genres: Feminism

300 pages, Paperback

First published August 13, 1957

Reviews

[Sam Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I have just about had it with prescriptivist definitions of citizenship, and this is NOT one of the most sophisticated I have read. What this DOES have that I found useful is a 64 page bibliography that is cited throughout. Also, to be fair, I did appreciate the review of a lot of the common discourses of citizenship in the '90s with particular attention to how feminists were (and weren't) using it.

[Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an American historian, Lister's work is a bit frustrating as she definitely writes from a British viewpoint. Her examples are drawn from all over the world, which is a benefit, but not 100% useful if one is looking for specific history or studies about the United States. Her work draws from a wide variety of fields, which is very helpful/illuminating for those trained in just one discipline.