The volume deals with international women's and gender history since the 1970s. It presents some early conceptualizations as well as retrospectives from today's point of view. Moreover, it deals with a series of grand themes which demonstrate the variety of women's and gender history: veritable and controversial 'multiple stories' (Natalie Zemon Davis). These include the early modern Querelle des femmes, the rise of the new concept of 'women's emancipation' in Germany through the 19th century, the national and transnational paths to women's citizenship, gender dimensions of the Nazi 'racial state' and of the democratic welfare states. The volume combines social, political and intellectual history, national, comparative and transnational history, European and extra-European history. Some chapters were written specifically for this purpose, others appear here for the first time in German and some are reprinted in view of their impact on the development of the field.

Prof. Dr. Gisela Bock ist emeritiert und lehrte Geschichte am Europäischen Hochschulinstitut in Florenz, an der Universität Bielefeld und an der Freien Universität Berlin.