Through the study of local and global activism, Women, Social Change and Activism: Then and Now engages scholars interested in the artistic, economic, educational, ethical, historical, literary, philosophical, political, psychological, religious, and social dimensions of women's lives and resistance. Through an interdisciplinary inquiry of past and present dilemmas that women and girls have faced globally, this book offers a variety of insights into multicultural issues even outside of the gender studies field.

This book uses the tools of the arts, humanities, social sciences, and other fields to address challenges faced by women and girls around the world, both historically and in modern day, with an emphasis on intersectionality.

The Global Status of Women and Girls: A Multidisciplinary Approach fosters inquiries into the complex and multifocal issues faced by women and girls around the world, both historically and today. It not only asks key questions related to public policy, but also it unearths the forces that created these current dilemmas. Through the multidisciplinary study of past and present, contributors take on policy conversations benefiting the global community. This book will appeal to any scholar interested in communication and gender studies.

Although religious innovation in America has historically been the norm rather than the exception, mainstream Americans have often viewed new religious movements with suspicion and occasionally with outright alarm. The question motivating many studies of new religious movements has been "why would someone join these religions?" In Antiquity and Social Reform, Dawn Hutchinson offers at least one answer to this often repeated query. She argues that followers of new religious movements in the 1960s-1980s, specifically the Unification Church, Feminist Wicca and the Nation of Yahweh, considered these religions to be legitimate because they offered members a personal religious experience, a connection to an ancient tradition, and agency in improving their world. Utilizing an historical approach, Antiquity and Social Reform considers the conversion narratives of adherents and primary literature of the formative years of these movements, which demonstrates that the religious experiences of the adherents, and a resonance with the goals of these religions, propelled members into social action.