English Abstracts

Heike Guthoff: Kritik des Habitus. Zur Intersektion von Kollektivität und Geschlecht in der akademischen Philosophie. Bielefeld: transcript Verlag 2013.

Review by Barbara Scholand

This is an ambitious dissertation indeed. A good measure of chutzpah is needed in order to play this kind of double game, namely questioning one’s own discipline through the lens of Doing Gender while sticking with the rules of the trade. Heike Guthoff’s critique is thus also an appreciation of her field of study. Her clever approach uses central conceptual tools from other disciplines, in this case Bourdieu’s concept of habitus, to critically apply gender theory to her own field while simultaneously and, with philosophical intent, critically revise the same concepts she uses. With this transdisciplinary device, Guthoff succeeds in criticizing and affirming the discipline of Philosophy in one breath.

Ingrid Kurz-Scherf, Alexandra Scheele (Hg.): Macht oder ökonomisches Gesetz? Zum Zusammenhang von Krise und Geschlecht. Münster: Verlag Westfälisches Dampfboot 2012.

Review by Heike Kahlert

Central to Ingrid Kurz-Scherf‘s and Alexandra Scheele’s edited collection are observations of the relationship between economy and politics in the context of the 2008 financial crisis from a feminist perspective. The collection reflects on feminist discourse on the crisis, explores the possibility of expanding economic and fiscal policy discourse to include feminist perspectives, highlights crisis policies and the effects of the crisis on gender equality in several European countries, and comments on alternative avenues of thought. In spite of the heterogeneous approaches, methods and quality of the contributions, the collection offers food for thought and diverse impulses for research.

Claire M. Renzetti: Feminist Criminology. New York u.a.: Routledge 2013.

Review by Jenny Künkel

The slim volume gives a brief but nuanced overview over feminist criminologies. However, Claire M. Renzetti mainly limits herself to analyzing the U.S.-American context. More importantly, she understands societal restructuring as a change in the share of women among criminologists, perpetrators, law enforcement and prison officers, while neglecting processes such as neoliberalization. Also missing are relevant emerging perspectives, such as foucauldian or new materialistic approaches. Altogether, the volume predominantly provides helpful placements for the early stages of feminist criminology in the United States.

Erika Nussberger: Zwischen Tabu und Skandal. Hermaphroditen von der Antike bis heute. Köln u.a.: Böhlau Verlag 2014.

Review by Heinz-Jürgen Voß

The doctoral thesis of Erika Nussberger at the University of Zurich offers an overview of the numerous published primary sources on “hermaphroditism” through the ages. Even if the book misses a placement of the texts into their respective contemporary social contexts and rarely goes beyond portraying text passages, it nonetheless qualifies as an overview and approach to some literature of that field.

Regina Frey, Marc Gärtner, Manfred Köhnen, Sebastian Scheele: Gender, Wissenschaftlichkeit und Ideologie. Argumente im Streit um Geschlechterverhältnisse. Berlin: Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung 2013.

Review by Sarah Dellmann

Polemics against the term “gender” fill the headlines. Many who deal with gender democracy, equality policy and gender studies are often criticized as being “un-scientific” and “ideological”. In each of the four chapters an example of these accusations are subjected to critical and scientific theory. It becomes clear that accusations from detractors of gender not only do not hold up to scientific criteria, but are politically motivated. The brochure gives a well-structured overview over patterns of argumentation and journalistic methods of detractors of gender as well as offering a practical argumentation aid for anyone who works in the field of gender studies.

Saskia-Fee Bender, Marianne Schmidbaur, Anja Wolde (Hg.): Diversity ent-decken. Reichweiten und Grenzen von Diversity Policies an Hochschulen. Weinheim: Beltz Juventa Verlag 2013.

Review by Inga Nüthen, Heike Pantelmann

Diversity is an increasingly popular catchphrase and has meanwhile reached higher education policy. Associated measures and policies, however, are still relatively new endeavors for german-speaking universities. Potentials and impacts of diversity measures and policies are controversial, especially regarding the reduction of social inequality and the setup of gender equal universities. Critical reflection on concepts and practices of diversity are crucial prerequisites for a serious inclusion policy for the entrepreneurial university. The collection at hand is a welcome guide for all who are involved in diversity policies in higher education and provides a good foundation for an informed, critical-reflective practice.

Annette Keilhauer, Lieselotte Steinbrügge (Éds.): Pour une histoire genrée des littératures romanes. Tübingen: Narr Francke Attempto Verlag 2013.

Review by Ingrid Galster

The volume at hand, comprised of documents from a colloquium from 2012, considers the gender aspect in French literature histories. The volume begins with a survey that asks why this aspect has been neglected until today, followed by case studies on mechanisms of reception and canonization. Thoughts on the outlines of a new historiography with alternative suggestions towards a more feminocentric approach within an integrated model finalize this volume.

Margreth Lünenborg, Tanja Maier: Gender Media Studies. Eine Einführung. Konstanz: UVK Verlagsgesellschaft 2013.

Review by Sigrid Kannengießer

Margreth Lünenborg and Tanja Maier present a well-made German-language introduction into the field of Gender Media Studies. They define core terms, introduce theories and analyses from cultural and social sciences, and provide insights into research practice through case studies. The book is very helpful in preparing introductory courses in Gender Media Studies and is recommended for those who want to work in this field in an introductory manner. It is thus not only accessible for researchers in communication studies, but also for those in other cultural, social and linguistic sciences.

Andrea Büchler, Michelle Cottier: Legal Gender Studies. Rechtliche Geschlechterstudien. Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlag 2012.

Review by Ulrike Lembke

The compilation at hand is pioneering work. Although there are several introductions to Legal Gender Studies in the German-speaking region, some of which relate to the same authors and concepts, they still lack a common collection of source material – until now. Andrea Büchler and Michelle Cottier have now produced a qualitatively and quantitatively impressive piece of work documenting the current state of Legal Gender Studies in the German-speaking region, with indispensable legal contributions to, and an inspired approach to Gender Studies, all geared towards a reflected and communicative work in field of Legal studies.

Sigrid Metz-Göckel, Kirsten Heusgen, Christina Möller, Ramona Schürmann, Petra Selent: Karrierefaktor Kind. Zur generativen Diskriminierung im Hochschulsystem. Opladen u.a.: Verlag Barbara Budrich 2014.

Review by Heike Kahlert

Based on quantitative data analysis covering 65 percent of scientific staff at German universities, Sigrid Metz-Göckel, Kirsten Heusgen, Christina Möller, Ramona Schürmann and Petra Selent follow the thesis that precarization forces young researchers to either withdraw from higher education and research or forego starting a family. Unfortunately, the authors accept unquestionably the double-career-family model as the lifestyle norm for women and men and their powerful statements are only partially proven. Nonetheless, the study remains a refreshing plea for political intervention in lieu of increasing fixed-term employment and part-time work in higher education and research.