Nothing Mat(t)ers: A Feminist Critique of Postmodernism

Acknowledgements
Many friends and colleagues contributed to this book through their support and
encouragement. In particular, I would like to thank Suzanne Blaise, Pippa Brewster,
Peggy Bristow, Gail Buckland, Annette Burfoot, Frieda Forman, Heather Guylar,
Daphne Johnston, Julie Lee, Cath McNaughton, Heather McPherson, and everyone
at Resources for Feminist Research/Documentation sur la recherche féministe.
This book began as a dissertation at the University of Toronto, and its genesis
would not have been possible without the presence of Mary O’Brien and her words
of substance. Warm thanks also to my committee of Madeline Grumet, Alkis
Kontos, Angela Miles, Dorothy Smith and Jeri Wine.
Doctoral fellowships granted by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research
Council of Canada are also gratefully acknowledged. I also want to acknowledge the
support of the University of Victoria, British Columbia. Thanks to Doris Lam and
Laurel Barnes in particular.
Special thanks to Karen Ogden, Acting Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of
Manitoba, and Keith Louise Fulton, Joint Chair of Women’s Studies for the Prairies
and Northwest Territories, who both saw me through interesting times at a university
under investigation by the Manitoba Human Rights Commission for systemic
discrimination against women. The Winnipeg S.D.B.Feminist Co-op provided an
ideal research environment, and the Prairie fire and feminism of Chris Clark, Terry
Gray, Margaret Clark and Simone Clark sustained me on an everyday basis. Thanks
also to the students in my French Feminist Thought seminar.
Special thanks to Cindy Mallin of Added Touch for her skilful word-processing.
Jane Rhodes of the Art Gallery of Ontario found the Greek vase at the right moment.
Sylvia Bardon of the Department of Political Science, University of Victoria,
provided valuable assistance with the index. I am grateful to Angela Miles for her
comments on a preliminary version of the introduction, and to Jennifer Waelti-
Walters who graciously helped with some of the translations.
For their fierce commitment to feminist writing I am grateful to Renate Klein,
Janice Raymond, Gloria Bowles and Susan Hawthorne. Without their support, this
book would not have been brought to light.
And I owe much to my family for their strength and resilience: Gwendoline
Morgan, Mae Lamothe, Heather Mackey, Ann Brodribb, Meghan Athena McCusker.
To my mother, Hilda Mackey, I owe the most.
Somer Brodribb, April 1992
You get into trouble when you write a book like this, and when you teach
Feminist Theory and Politics in any Political Science Department. Thanks to the
students in “Feminist Political Thought”, “Politics of Canadian Feminism” and
“Feminist Perspectives on Temporality” for their courage to learn and change and
challenge knowledges, and for making the context welcoming.