The Womanist Reader

by Layli Phillips Maparyan

Comprehensive in its coverage, The Womanist Reader is the first volume to anthologize the major works of womanist scholarship. Charting the course of womanist theory from its genesis as Alice Walker’s African-American feminism, through Chikwenye Okonjo Ogunyemi’s African womanism and Clenora Hudson-Weems’ Africana womanism, to its present-day expression as a global, anti-oppressionist perspective rooted in the praxis of everyday women of color, this interdisciplinary reader traces the rich and diverse history of a quarter century of womanist thought. Featuring selections from over a dozen disciplines by top womanist scholars from around the world, plus several critiques of womanism, an extensive bibliography of womanist sources, and the first ever systematic treatment of womanist thought on its own terms, Layli Phillips has assembled a unique and groundbreaking compilation.

Genres: Feminism, Nonfiction, Race, Gender, Social Justice, Gender Studies, Sexuality

494 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Sumayyah · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book with a wealth of information. My only quibble is how academic the writing is. The average lay person may have a difficult time wading through the reports and essays contained in this book.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gobbled up this reader on womanism, a term I was only tangentially familiar with (a telling sign of why it would be good to read), despite years of engagement in intersectional feminist and anti capitalist political praxis.

[Yakut Akbay · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect compilation of female writers offering a broad range of approaches and ideas on vernacular African concept of womanism.

[Tavia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Source: I own
Format: Kindle Version

I read this book for my feminist class. It was pretty good. I like the stories that were told in the book. It took me a while to read this book because I was writing papers on each section for the class.