Threshold Concepts in Women’s and Gender Studies: Ways of Seeing, Thinking, and Knowing

by Christie Launius, Holly Hassel

Threshold Concepts in Women’s and Gender Ways of Seeing, Thinking, and Knowing is a textbook designed primarily for introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies courses with the intent of providing both skills- and concept-based foundation in the field. The text is driven by a single key "What are the ways of thinking, seeing, and knowing that characterize Women’s and Gender Studies and are valued by its practitioners?" Rather than taking a topical approach, Threshold Concepts develops the key concepts and ways of thinking that students need in order to develop a deep understanding and to approach material like feminist scholars do, across disciplines. This book illustrates four of the most critical concepts in Women’s and Gender Studies―the social construction of gender, privilege and oppression, intersectionality, and feminist praxis―and grounds these concepts in multiple illustrations. The second edition includes a significant number of updates, revisions, and the case studies in all five chapters have been revised and expanded, as have the end of chapter elements, statistics have been updated, and numerous references to significant news stories and cultural developments of the past three years have been added. Finally, many more "callbacks" to previous chapters have been incorporated throughout the textbook in order to remind students to carry forward and build upon what they have learned about each threshold concept even as they move on to a new one.

Genres: Nonfiction, Feminism, School, Academic

254 pages, Paperback

First published December 17, 2014

Reviews

[aly ^-^]

for school. cool

[Neve · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read this for an intro college class, and to put it simply, this is a great introduction if you weren't a teenager with access to mainstream social media (excluding Facebook, but we don't use Facebook anymore). I read this without doing any deep research beforehand, and the entire time I was thinking "I know this already". I think it may have been different If I read this two years ago, before social justice activism became trendy and information was widespread, (although there is a valid argument to be made about misleading Instagram infographics) I do think that this information would be fresher, but a lot of these "threshold concepts" have become much more mainstream. I still think that these are important conversations to have, and I still learned a lot in the class. However, don't read this expecting to learn things you haven't seen on Twitter.
Despite this, I still think that this is a clear and understandable analysis of basic Gender studies. It is not concise though. The chapters felt very long (but I already knew everything I was reading so maybe it was just me) and at times a little boring. I think my real issues come from not being the target audience. I would recommend this to your older relatives that aren't far gone enough into Qanon but still don't understand privilege. This edition was written in 2018 so there won't be any COVID-related arguments.
The Concepts are intersectional, which I loved (well one of the chapters was on Intersectionality, but other chapters were also intersectional in their analysis and examples). The data and graphics helped visualize things as well as break up the lines and lines of text (much appreciated). I can't say I learned any new concepts, but I did learn of many real world examples that put into perspective the importance of Gender Studies. It's not as prevalent now, but it used to be a mainstream punchline that Gender Studies is a useless degree, and this textbook really showed me (like everything conservative grifters say) that is absolutely false. If anything, it is more important than ever to understand this subject.
Overall, if you're young enough to have grown up with the internet and understand what privilege and oppression are, you really don't need to read this. If you're older and want to learn more about the reviving popularity and contemporary understanding of feminism (and you have a lot of free time, these chapters are long), I strongly encourage you to read this. If you're a conservative and want to "own the libs", (why are you reading reviews for a Gender Studies textbook?) give this a chance, it might explain things that make you see this topic in a different way.

[Loretta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note: I read the second edition of this book.

The fundamental points of the book are:
- Gender is socially constructed and distinct from sex.
- Privilege and oppression are linked and profoundly affect people’s lives.
- Human identities are overlapping; thus serious feminist inquiry must be intersectional.
- Feminist analysis calls for social change.

The book posits that gendered inequality is a fact of life for people around the world. The authors see this not as evidence of widespread personal failings but rather as a sign of sexist institutional and societal structures that reinforce a gender ranking that puts masculinity over femininity.

While I appreciate the authors’ overview of these crucial concepts, my only critique of the book is that, because it is organized around broad theoretical concepts rather than concrete topics, the examples given throughout have a scattershot feel. They move from subject to subject (in one chapter from mansplaining to online representation to gender-marked language to rape culture to the bootstraps myth) without a coherent through line. The result feels like a “worst-of” list of our gendered culture rather than a consistent argument for social change.

[Robynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear and concise. There are five chapters presented as threshold concepts. Each chapter provides a comprehensive assessment of the concept and drills down for deeper analysis, addressing, for instance, misconceptions or learning roadblocks. Each chapter also includes a strong set of application exercises, skills assessments, discussion questions, and writing prompts. An excellent textbook for an introductory course in Women's and Gender Sudies.

[Augusta Dionysus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this for a summer college course and I was so intrigued by the many concepts that were introduced within it. I have always been interested in women's and gender studies, but this book provided even more new ways of thinking and viewing the world in order to make it a safer, more equitable place for all genders. Anyone interested in women's/gender studies or feminist concepts will surely get a lot out of reading this book!

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very easy to read and educational.

[Tiffeni Russo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book!

Threshold Concepts is perhaps one of my favorite books that I’ve covered in the semester on women and gender studies. I thoroughly love the feminist perspective of this book.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good intro to Women's and Gender Studies issues.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very useful for introductory Gender and Women's Studies courses, or other courses where you want to introduce a bit of feminist theory/practice. Highly recommended.