Welcome to thirdspace’s Summer 2008 issue! We feel honored to have gathered this richly diverse, intellectually complex, and ideologically provocative collection of articles, essays, and discussions together for this, the first issue of thirdspace’s eighth edition. Although decidedly varied both in content and approach, the works assembled here all consider essential (but often difficult) questions about what it means to be a feminist scholar, activist, writer, and educator both within the academy and outside it. While this issue’s authors offer no easy answers to the significant questions which they raise, their works nonetheless raise important topics for debate and discussion about the nature (and the future) of feminist scholarship.

Our issue begins with Beth Ann Pentney’s article, “Feminism, Activism, and Knitting: Are the fibre arts a viable mode for feminist political action?” which examines the recent surge in popularity of knitting among women in the United States and the United Kingdom, considering how third wave feminists in these countries have sought to claim knitting as a mode of political activism. Analyzing numerous different art exhibits, activist projects, and online knitting communities, Pentney inquires about how effective women’s reclamation and celebration of the fibre arts is in furthering feminist goals.

In her essay, “Hunger Politics: Towards Seeing Voluntary Self-Starvation as an Act of Resistance,” Jane Nicholas provides a fresh and thought-provoking consideration of an issue central to both feminist thought and women’s lived experiences: women’s perceptions of, and deliberate modifications of, their bodies. Nicholas’ piece endeavors to begin a dialogue regarding whether or not women’s voluntary self-starvation can constitute an act of political resistance. Maintaining that what is commonly called “anorexia nervosa” can be perceived as a political act, “Hunger Politics” explores the cultural connections between hunger, politics, art, and resistance, raising important questions regarding the political significance of women’s practices of bodily control and modification.

This issue’s “Teaching and Learning” section features two pieces about feminist pedagogy, writing, and scholarship, Jill Fraley’s “There is a Dream: On writing, fear, and coming to women’s studies” and Miriam L. Wallace and Chemba Raghavan’s “Collaborative Teaching Across the Disciplines: Psychology Meets Feminist Theory and Literary Studies.” Fraley’s narrative considers her personal journey from the world of law to that of Women’s Studies, reflecting on the overwhelming need for female teachers, scholars, and writers to create their own spaces for the production of original intellectual and creative work. Wallace and Raghavan’s piece reflects back on their experiences team-teaching a course on feminist theory and the psychology of gender, detailing both the rewards and the challenges of teaching cross-disciplinary feminist courses within the academy.

This issue also features the third appearance of the “Dialogues” section within the pages of thirdspace. A non peer-reviewed section selected by invitation only, the “Dialogues” section brings together discussions from a variety of scholars and activists on feminist theory and feminist culture. This issue’s “Dialogues” emerged from a series of roundtable discussions conducted at the 2008 Conference on College Composition and Communication. At this conference, scholars including Elizabeth J. Allen, Kirsti Cole, Lisa Costello, Layne Parish Craig, Regina Clemens Fox, Morgan Gresham, Allison Gross, Emily Hoeflinger, Erin Hurt, Lorie Jacobs, Hildy Miller, Cara A Minardi, Stephanie Shawn Morgan, Jessica Restaino, Cambria Stamper, and Jessica Ketcham Weber discussed questions about the meanings of feminist solidarity in a diverse assortment of contexts, the significance of using the term “feminism” and the wave paradigm within both scholarship and the classroom, and the complexities of being a feminist educator and scholar in the contemporary academy.

We hope that you enjoy reading and reflecting upon this truly remarkable collection of written work as much as we have enjoyed preparing this issue for publication. And please don’t forget to join in the fascinating discussions begun by our authors by visiting our new Comments function for the journal. If you’re not already a registered user of our site, signing up is easy– for more information, see our readers page (http://www.thirdspace.ca/journal/information/readers) or hit “Register” above.

	Living/Teaching/Writing Feminism
	Holly M. Kent
	Welcome to thirdspace’s Summer 2008 issue! We feel honored to have gathered this richly diverse, intellectually complex, and ideologically provocative collection of articles, essays, and discussions together for this, the first issue of thirdspace’s eighth edition. Although decidedly varied both in content and approach, the works assembled here all consider essential (but often difficult) questions about what it means to be a feminist scholar, activist, writer, and educator both within the academy and outside it. While this issue’s authors offer no easy answers to the significant questions which they raise, their works nonetheless raise important topics for debate and discussion about the nature (and the future) of feminist scholarship. Our issue begins with Beth Ann Pentney’s article, “Feminism, Activism, and Knitting: Are the fibre arts a viable mode for feminist political action?” which examines the recent surge in popularity of knitting among women in the United States and the United Kingdom, considering how third wave feminists in these countries have sought to claim knitting as a mode of political activism. Analyzing numerous different art exhibits, activist projects, and online knitting communities, Pentney inquires about how effective women’s reclamation and celebration of the fibre arts is in furthering feminist goals. In her essay, “Hunger Politics: Towards Seeing Voluntary Self-Starvation as an Act of Resistance,” Jane Nicholas provides a fresh and thought-provoking consideration of an issue central to both feminist thought and women’s lived experiences: women’s perceptions of, and deliberate modifications of, their bodies. Nicholas’ piece endeavors to begin a dialogue regarding whether or not women’s voluntary self-starvation can constitute an act of political resistance. Maintaining that what is commonly called “anorexia nervosa” can be perceived as a political act, “Hunger Politics” explores the cultural connections between hunger, politics, art, and resistance, raising important questions regarding the political significance of women’s practices of bodily control and modification. This issue’s “Teaching and Learning” section features two pieces about feminist pedagogy, writing, and scholarship, Jill Fraley’s “There is a Dream: On writing, fear, and coming to women’s studies” and Miriam L. Wallace and Chemba Raghavan’s “Collaborative Teaching Across the Disciplines: Psychology Meets Feminist Theory and Literary Studies.” Fraley’s narrative considers her personal journey from the world of law to that of Women’s Studies, reflecting on the overwhelming need for female teachers, scholars, and writers to create their own spaces for the production of original intellectual and creative work. Wallace and Raghavan’s piece reflects back on their experiences team-teaching a course on feminist theory and the psychology of gender, detailing both the rewards and the challenges of teaching cross-disciplinary feminist courses within the academy. This issue also features the third appearance of the “Dialogues” section within the pages of thirdspace. A non peer-reviewed section selected by invitation only, the “Dialogues” section brings together discussions from a variety of scholars and activists on feminist theory and feminist culture. This issue’s “Dialogues” emerged from a series of roundtable discussions conducted at the 2008 Conference on College Composition and Communication. At this conference, scholars including Elizabeth J. Allen, Kirsti Cole, Lisa Costello, Layne Parish Craig, Regina Clemens Fox, Morgan Gresham, Allison Gross, Emily Hoeflinger, Erin Hurt, Lorie Jacobs, Hildy Miller, Cara A Minardi, Stephanie Shawn Morgan, Jessica Restaino, Cambria Stamper, and Jessica Ketcham Weber discussed questions about the meanings of feminist solidarity in a diverse assortment of contexts, the significance of using the term “feminism” and the wave paradigm within both scholarship and the classroom, and the complexities of being a feminist educator and scholar in the contemporary academy. We hope that you enjoy reading and reflecting upon this truly remarkable collection of written work as much as we have enjoyed preparing this issue for publication. And please don’t forget to join in the fascinating discussions begun by our authors by visiting our new Comments function for the journal. If you’re not already a registered user of our site, signing up is easy– for more information, see our readers page (http://www.thirdspace.ca/journal/information/readers) or hit “Register” above.