Feminism in Action is Jean O'Barr's firsthand account of two decades spent working to promote the cause of higher education for women through the establishment of women's studies programs. The book brings together revised versions of O'Barr's most significant presentations on the subject, from a 1976 talk to incoming Duke University students, through original essays that document the process of institutional change, to a 1993 lecture on the impact of race on discussions of gender. Striking the perfect balance between a theoretical sense of what feminism proposes and a practical sense...