Kristen Ghodsee

Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism by Kristen Ghodsee is a provocative and enlightening investigation into the intersections of gender, sexuality, and economic structures. In this thought-provoking book, Ghodsee combines enlightening historical analysis, compelling case studies, and a strong feminist perspective to demonstrate how socialist policies can lead to improved lives for women. The narrative is anchored in the...

An uplifting look at communal living from a trail-blazing anthropologist. Throughout history and around the world today, forward-thinking communities have pioneered alternative ways of living together, sharing property and raising children. In Everyday Utopia, anthropologist Kristen Ghodsee explores what we can learn from these experiments—from the ancient Greek commune founded by Pythagoras to the trail-blazing feminists of the French Revolution,...

Through a series of lively and accessible biographical essays, Red Valkyries explores the history of socialist feminism in Eastern Europe. By examining the revolutionary careers of five prominent socialist women active in the 19th and 20th centuries, Kristen Ghodsee narrates the personal challenges faced by earlier generations of socialist and communist women. The book delves into the lives of: the...

Red Valkyries explores the history of socialist feminism in Eastern Europe, following the lives and careers of five prominent women active in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: the aristocratic Bolshevik Alexandra Kollontai; the radical pedagogue Nadezhda Krupskaya; the polyamorous firebrand Inessa Armand; the deadly sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko; and the partisan turned scientist turned global women's activist Elena Lagadinova. In brief...

Ethnography centres on the culture of everyday life. So it is ironic that most scholars who do research on the intimate experiences of ordinary people write their books in a style that those people cannot understand. In recent years, the ethnographic method has spread from its original home in cultural anthropology to fields such as sociology, marketing, media studies, law,...