Lay, Mary M., Janice Monk, and Deborah S. Rosenfelt, eds. Encompassing Gender: Integrating International Studies and Women's Studies. New York: Feminist Press, 2002. 562 pp.

by Jocelyn Fenton Stitt

Teachers of Women's Studies and International Studies share the daunting task of creating courses that draw on a variety of materials, including interdisciplinary sources outside our own training. Many of the essays in Encompassing Gender discuss this sense of boundary-pushing with its attendant pedagogical discomfort and excitement in the attempt to internationalize Women's Studies and to add gendered perspectives to international courses. Indeed, one of the most pleasing aspects of Encompassing Gender is the text's mix of theoretical essays with institutional histories of internationalizing Women's Studies, along with accounts of course construction that contain syllabi, assignments, and classroom activities.