Women's studies and the women's movement in Britain: origins and evolution, 1970–2000

The article is based on research carried out in 1998-99 which involved interviewing United Kingdom based women who had been responsible for introducing degree courses in women's studies into British universities and polytechnics. The interviews are records of the memories of those women as they look back on a political moment when they were engaged in collective attempts to transform the academic curriculum. Personal memories are placed alongside accounts and debates which appeared in printed sources, such as books and newsletters from the British Women's liberation movement from 1970 onwards. The article also reflects on the process in which past events and personal memoirs move from stories to histories, enter the archive, and begin to acquire the status of history.     

Police,Prisons and Prisoners: the view from the Home Office

Those with some knowledge of the history of the British women's suffrage campaign will be well acquainted with the experiences of suffragettes at the hands of police and prison officials. It is, however, through the writings of the suffragettes that such treatment is usually articulated and in this article I shall, instead, describe how the Home Office viewed the suffrage campaign, how it attempted to keep the movement under control, and whether it was likely that it would succeed in doing so. The Home Office had two problems, that of policing the suffragettes and then of dealing with the women once they had achieved their aim of imprisonment. The article is divided into two sections. The first deals with policing and the second with the way in which the Home Office handled suffrage prisoners.     

Invited Commentary: Fostering Resilience Among Native American Youth Through Therapeutic Intervention

This article offers a comprehensive overview and understanding of the needs of Native American Youth for researchers, educators, and practitioners based on current research and practice. Strengths and protective factors are discussed in terms of Native strengths in context, the strengths and resilience of Native ways, Indigenous ways of knowing, the relationship between cultural identity and the tribal nation, the importance of family, the roles of the wisdom keepers, spiritual ways, and communication styles. Contextual influences are explored in terms of the relationship between history and healing from intergenerational grief and trauma, the influence of acculturation, as well as current social, economic, and political issues that affect Native youth. Implications for research and therapeutic intervention are explored in terms of healing from historical trauma and oppression. The authors offer an overview of common presenting issues and recommendations, practical tribally-specific interventions, and reflections on what it means to work from a social justice and client/community advocacy perspective with a focus on providing effective therapeutic, culturally-based interventions with Native children and adolescents that promote resilience and foster positive development with this population.     

Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Resident Mothers and the Moral Dilemmas they Face During Custody Disputes

Recent scholarship has critiqued the tendency for separated mothers in custody disputes to be defined as hostile and alienating. Through the presentation of three case studies, drawn from an interview-based study with 21 women, we show how such pejorative constructions only arise when the conflicting gendered moral accountabilities of contemporary motherhood are overlooked. We found that mothers tend to believe that contact with non-resident fathers is generally in a child’s best interests. However, as a result of balancing complex moral obligations for the care of their children, they may raise questions about particular kinds of arrangements for contact with particular fathers. We argue, therefore, that family law practice will lead to better outcomes for children when professionals listen to the history of, and reasons for, mothers’ positions. To enable family law professionals to undertake this task, we offer an alternative interpretive framework for making sense of women’s stories. Should family law professionals make use of this framework, it is likely that they will understand that the positions mothers adopt are often the outcome of the difficult moral dilemmas they encounter in caring for their children, and that the reductive rubric of the ‘hostile mother’ needs to be treated with scepticism.     

The role of government in maintaining rural water supplies: caveats from Malawi's gravity schemes

Malawi earned a great deal of praise for its programme to build gravity‐fed piped water schemes in rural areas, because the government limited its own role by turning over many responsibilities to the community. Unfortunately, the government has not been able to provide the supporting services and recurrent financing necessary under even this limited role. As a result, the schemes are functioning at about 50% of capacity. These problems did not arise because programme designers and implementers neglected to plan for operation and maintenance. Rather, they thought that a very good system was in place. However, both observers and those directly concerned failed to identify or act on flaws in the planned system for a number of reasons, such as the blinding success of the construction programme, and a willingness to accept rather than evaluate underlying critical assumptions. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.