Examining two particular texts and applying modifications of Western feminist concepts, the author argues that early twentieth-century Chinese women's writing contains feminist thoughts and textual strategies far more complex and nuanced than conventional wisdom has led one to expect. (Contains 6 notes.)

Offers an understanding of "class activism" that focuses less on the putative emotional needs of working-class students, of whatever ethnicity or gender, and more on the ways hierarchy and distinction are reproduced within and outside of the various institutions of higher education. Suggests that it is possible and even desirable for most people…

Discusses how both novels share key thematic elements pertaining to the experiences of migrants from rural Appalachia to multiethnic industrial centers of the urban north. Notes that a focus on the authors' handling of material culture helps to point one with increased clarity and precision to the writerly method by which Attaway and Arnow convey…