Women’s studies began as an outgrowth and direct expression of the feminist movement. It sought to understand the forces that had limited women’s choices and to name the ways in which various academic disciplines had contributed to destructive mythologies about women’s place in society. Anger was a motivating force in feminist studies and activism, a reality captured by Audre Lorde brilliant essay “The Uses of Anger,” which insists on the power of anger as an indispensable tool for change. Over time, (...) women’s and gender studies became more professionalized, and the anger of many of its practitioners dissipated, often dulling the field’s critical and political edge. (shrink)