Back to the future: Feminist theory, activism, and doing feminist research in an age of globalization

SynopsisWhat good is feminist theory for feminist empirical research? Since the 1970s, feminist research has been activism-engaged, theory-building, and methodologically innovative. In second wave feminism's entry into the academy, activist questions informed the feminist empirical research agenda in the Anglophone global North. From there feminists built schools of feminist theory that framed the next phase of feminism in which many theoretical struggles can be understood as disagreements among feminists. Feminist theorists' critical engagements can help empiricists attend to the power dynamics within research, influencing the purpose, conceptualizations, and epistemologies of their research. This usefulness depends on our sustaining the activist roots and traditions of feminist praxis while being relevant to current politics. Looking back to the future, invites feminist researchers to study global feminist activism and the global connections among seemingly disconnected cultural and material struggles.