Feminist futures: Re-imagining women, culture and development

Feminist futures challenges established approaches to development, which continue to privilege the politico-economic aspects. The collection argues for a new paradigm that places women and gender at the centre, puts culture on a par with political economy and pays attention to critical practices, pedagogies and movements for social justice. This path breaking book should be required reading for those who are determined to create a more just world, and to transform development into more than an empty practice designed to placate the poor in an increasingly unequal world. This is not a volume for the faint hearted by for those scholars who will be energized to contribute further to the radical rethinking demanded by the failure of technocratic, twentieth century approaches to development.... it requires a concerted intellectual engagement across three paradigmatically distinct fields - cultural studies, feminist studies and development studies each of them already defiant towards classical academic disciplines. A powerful critique combined with a framework for a new paradigm linking women, culture and development that draws from richly textured analysis of the environment, sexuality, science and technology, and cultures of representation. The authors of this volume raise key questions for the urgent task of rethinking development for the twenty-first century. These writers challenge us to think new thoughts about the dynamic interactions between culture and gender. A truly exciting collection which successfully integrates some critical concerns of feminist studies and cultural studies to present a fresh perspective on Third World development.