Overcoming Boundaries: Feminist Doctorates and Women's Careers in Germanics 1980-2002

On the basis of a bibliography of US doctoral dissertations in Germanics written by women since 1980, the authors examine developments in feminist research interests and post-dissertation experiences of women in obtaining jobs and publishing feminist research. While the increasing integration of feminist perspectives has served to open the field to intellectual horizons beyond the narrowly canonical, we perceive less progress in increasing the racial and ethnic diversity of its practitioners and improving opportunities for publication of feminist research. Given careful preparation for a difficult job market, feminist doctorates in German can be well positioned to bring needed transnational perspectives to the field of German studies. (PH and DB)