Black Feminist Thought

Patricia Hill Collins (1948-) is Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland, College Park. Black Feminist Thought is the best known of the many published works that have made her one of the leading American thinkers of our day.

"With the publication of Black Feminist Thought, black feminism has moved to a new level. Her work sets a standard for the discussion of black women's lives, experiences, and thought that demands rigorous attention to the complexity of these experiences and an exploration of a multiplicity of responses." -- Women's Review ofBooks"A superbly crafted book that provides the first synthetic review of black feminst thought." -- Feminist BookstoreNews"The book argues convincingly that black feminists be given, in the words immortalized by Aretha Franklin, a little more R-E-S-P-E-C-T...Those with an appetite for scholarese will find Hill's book delicious." -- BlackEnterprise"The author discusses how knowledge can foster African-American women's empowerment. In line with her own deepened understanding of the issues since the first edition, she emphasizes Black feminist thought's purpose in fostering both empowerment and conditions of social justice, provides a more complex analysis of oppression, and places greater stress on the connections between knowledge and power relations. New themes include the nation as a form of oppression, as well as a transnational, global dimension. Topics are organized under the headings of the social construction of Black feminist thought, core themes, and Black Feminism, knowledge, and power." -- Book News, Inc.

• Preface to the First Edition. Preface to the Second Edition. Acknowledgements Part 1: The Social Construction of Black Feminist Thought 1. The Politics of Black Feminist Thought 2. Distinguishing Features of Black Feminist Thought Part 2: Core Themes in Black Feminist Thought 3. Work, Family and Black Women's Oppression 4. Mammies, Matriarchs and other Controlling Images 5. The Power of Self-Definition 6. The Sexual Politics of Black Womanhood 7. Black Women's Love Relationships 8. Black Women and Motherhood 9. Rethinking Black Women's Activism Part 3: Black Feminism, Knowledge and Power 10. US Black Feminism in Transnational Context 11. Black Feminist Epistemology 12. Toward a Politics of Empowerment