"The essays are provocative and enhance knowledge of Third World women's issues. Highly recommended . . . " ―Choice " . . . the book challenges assumptions and pushes historic and geographical boundaries that must be altered if women of all colors are to win the struggles thrust upon us by the 'new world order' of the 1990s." ―New Directions for Women "This surely is a book for anyone trying to comprehend the ways sexism fuels racism in a post-colonial, post-Cold War world that remains dangerous for most women." ―Cynthia H. Enloe " . . . provocative analyses of the simultaneous oppressions of race, class, gender and sexuality . . . a powerful collection." ―Gloria Anzaldúa " . . . propels third world feminist perspectives from the periphery to the cutting edge of feminist theory in the 1990s." ―Aihwa Ong " . . . a carefully presented wealth of much-needed information." ―Audre Lorde " . . . it is a significant book." ―The Bloomsbury Review " . . . excellent . . . The nondoctrinaire approach to the Third World and to feminism in general is refreshing and compelling." ―World Literature Today ". . . an excellent collection of essays examining 'Third World' feminism." ―The Year's Work in Critical and Cultural Theory These essays document the debates, conflicts, and contradictions among those engaged in developing third world feminist theory and politics. Evelyne Accad, M. Jacqui Alexander, Carmen Barroso, Cristina Bruschini, Rey Chow, Juanita Diaz-Cotto, Angela Gilliam, Faye V. Harrison, Cheryl Johnson-Odim, Chandra Talpade Mohanty, Ann Russo, Barbara Smith, Nayereh Tohidi, Lourdes Torres, Cheryl L. West, & Nellie Wong.
Author
Chandra Talpade Mohanty (born 1955) is a prominent postcolonial and transnational feminist theorist. She became well-known after the publication of her influential essay, "Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses" in 1986. In this essay, Mohanty critiques the political project of Western feminism in its discursive construction of the category of the "Third World woman" as a hegemonic entity. Mohanty states that Western feminisms have tended to gloss over the differences between Southern women, but that the experience of oppression is incredibly diverse, and contingent on geography, history, and culture. In 2003, Chandra Mohanty released her book, "Feminism Without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity". In this work, she argues for a bridging of theory and praxis, and the personal and the political. Major themes addressed include the politics of difference, transnational solidarity building, and anticapitalist struggle against globalization. Mohanty is originally from Mumbai, India. She holds a Ph.D. and Master’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as well as a Master's degree and a bachelor's degree from the University of Delhi in India. Originally a professor of women's studies at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, she is currently the women's studies department chair at Syracuse University.
