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Does “Making a Difference” Still Make a Difference?: A Textbook Author’s Reflections

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Abstract

Drawing on my experiences with teaching Psychology of Women and writing three editions of a textbook across two decades starting in 1990, I reflect on the core feminist call to make the personal political. By tracing the chronology and interplay of my textbook writing with my teaching, research, and editing, I speculate about an apparent disconnection between my experiences and research with students (who embrace the feminist call to make a difference) and the textbook market to veer toward less women-centeredness and activism in the pursuit of gender studies. I make my case that the activist goal of making a difference continues to make a difference in individual women’s lives, in women’s relationships, and in a social justice agenda.

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Correspondence to Janice D. Yoder.

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Yoder, J.D. Does “Making a Difference” Still Make a Difference?: A Textbook Author’s Reflections. Sex Roles 62, 173–178 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-009-9732-3

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