ERIC Number: EJ691185
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005-Aug
Pages: 14
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0954-0253
EISSN: N/A
The "Individualized" (Woman) in the Academy: Ulrich Beck, Gender and Power
Skelton, Christine
Gender and Education, v17 n3 p319-332 Aug 2005
This article considers the tensions and struggles that exist between men and women and between women and women in the academic workplace. The research reported here is a small-scale case study of 22 academic women from two generations who were interviewed about their career experiences. The theoretical framework is materialist feminism and draws on Ulrich Beck's model of the "individualized individual" to evaluate its usefulness to researchers for understanding the attitudes and actions of social actors in contemporary society. The article, firstly, examines the ways in which power differentials emerged for the younger female academics through a combination of their age and gender. It then discusses intra-gender tensions between women in the academy. It is argued that for Beck's model of an "individualized individual" to be useful in understanding the position of women in the second modernity then a much more complex and nuanced interpretation of power and power struggles is needed than the one he provides. A further key point raised by the article is that feminists need to be more prepared to recognize and engage with power struggles and tensions that exist between women (and feminists) in the academy.
Descriptors: Females, Women Faculty, Higher Education, Gender Issues, Gender Differences, Age Differences, Gender Bias, Power Structure, Sex Role, Equal Opportunities (Jobs)
Customer Services for Taylor & Francis Group Journals, 325 Chestnut Street, Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420 (Toll Free); Fax: 215-625-8914.
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A