One of a small group of feminist pioneers in the historical
profession, Estelle B. Freedman teaches and writes about women's
history with a passion informed by her feminist values. Over the
past thirty years, she has produced a body of work in which
scholarship and politics have never been mutually exclusive. This
collection brings together eleven essays--eight previously
published and three new--that document the evolving relationship
between academic feminism and political feminism as Freedman has
studied and lived it.
Following an introduction that presents a map of the personal and
intellectual trajectory of Freedman's work, the first section of
essays, on the origins and strategies of women's activism in U.S.
history, reiterates the importance of valuing women in a society
that has long devalued their contributions. The second section, on
the maintenance of sexual boundaries, explores the malleability of
both sexual identities and sexual politics. Underlying the
collection is an inquiry into the changing meanings of gender,
sexuality, and politics during the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries along with a concern for applying the insights of women's
history broadly, from the classroom to the courthouse.