InhaltsangabeAcknowledgements. Introduction - Of spinsters and mistresses. Editorial by Series Editors. 1 Setting the scene. 1.1 Introduction. 1.2 Women's studies and lifelong learning. 1.3 Lifelong learning in the academy. 1.4 Lifelong learning in Britain. 1.5 Conclusion. 2 Back to the future? 2.1 Introduction. 2.2 Henry Giroux and critical pedagogy. 2.3 Paulo Freire and liberatory pedagogy. 2.4 Basil Bernstein and educational rights. 2.5 Conclusion. 3 Women and social class. 3.1 Introduction. 3.2 The women. 3.3 In a class of their own? 3.4 Gender class and identity. 3.5 (Working-class) women's ways of knowing? 3.6 Restraints and silences. 3.7 Conclusion. 4 Differently academic? 4.1 Introduction. 4.2 Considering women's studies. 4.3 Subject matters. 4.4 Being 'academic'. 4.5 How 'academic' is women's studies? 4.6 Different writing? 4.7 The journals. 4.8 The essays. 4.9 Differently academic? 4.10 Conclusion. 5 Researching and teaching in the academy. 5.1 Introduction. 5.2 Researching women. 5.3 Teaching women. 5.4 Conclusion. 6 Language and discourse in the academy. 6.1 Introduction. 6.2 Michel Foucault and power/knowledge. 6.3 Jacques Lacan: language as the root of culture. 6.4 'French feminists': Luce Irigaray. Julia Kristeva and Helene Cixous. 6.5 Searching for our mothers' gardens. 6.6 From silence to speech. 6.7 Dreaming of a common language. 6.8 Speaking in different voices. 6.9 Conclusion. 7 Returning 'the academic' to women's lifelong learning. 7.1 Introduction. 7.2 Challenging meanings. 7.3 Finding new knowledges. 7.4 Moving on. 7.5 The future of higher education? 7.6 Conclusions and recommendations. Bibliography. Index.