Boundaries of the Self

This book addresses the intersections between gender and identity by critically examining female spaces. It has famously been argued that men and women are made in culture. As such, this volume explores how spaces—social, political, cultural, historical, and even cyber—affect the creative, personal, urban and global identities of women. The scholarly approaches of the contributors here probe into these spaces and analyze the problematic of gender identities as they are constructed, reconstructed or deconstructed through processes of appropriation, subversion and signification. The functional politics of patriarchy influences a range of networks that include social, cultural, political, and religious archetypes. This book will open new vistas in women’s studies through dialogues and discussions on the various facets of “Space”, and how in turn they generate the rhetoric of agency and power or again how they annihilate attempts at emancipation and empowerment. Furthermore, the book explores the diversity of women’s experiences and their contributions across cultures, and examines knowledge and practices in the light of gender differences, suggesting new ways to “conceptualize the relations between the self and the ever changing global communities”. Its interdisciplinary nature, drawing on the humanities, arts, social sciences will give it a wide readership among students, teachers and researchers. In addition, since women’s studies is one of the most sought-after academic disciplines of the contemporary academic world, this book will generate interest and contribute to the dynamic nature of women’s studies research.