This book looks at the history of medical practice, argues that the suppression of female healers began with the European witch hunts, and describes the sexism of the current medical establishment.

Witches, Midwives, and Nurses examines how women-led healing was delegitimized to make way for patriarchy, capitalism, and the emerging medical industry. As we watch another agonizing attempt to shift the future of healthcare in the United States, we are reminded of the longevity of this crisis, and how firmly entrenched we are in a system that doesn't work. First published by the Feminist Press in 1973, Witches, Midwives, and Nurses is an essential book about the corruption of the medical establishment and its historic roots in witch hunters. In this new and updated edition, Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English delve into the current fascination with and controversies about witches, exposing our fears and fantasies. They build on their classic exposé on the demonization of women healers and the political and economic monopolization of medicine. This quick history brings us up-to-date, exploring today's changing attitudes toward childbirth, alternative medicine, and modern-day witches.

In this sequel to their underground bestseller Witches, Midwives, and Nurses, Ehrenreich and English document the tradition of American sexism in medicine before and after the turn of the century. Citing numerous 'treatments' and 'rest cures' perpetrated on women through the decades, they analyze the biomedical rationales used to justify sex discrimination.

As we watch another agonizing attempt to shift the future of health care in the United States, we are reminded of the longevity of this crisis, and how firmly entrenched we are in a system that doesn't work. Witches, Midwives, and Nurses, first published by The Feminist Press in 1973, is an essential book about the corruption of the medical establishment and its historic roots in witch hunters. In this new edition, Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English have written an entirely new chapter that delves into the current fascination with and controversies about witches, exposing our fears and fantasies. They build on their classic expos on the demonization of women healers and the political and economic monopolization of medicine. This quick history brings us up-to-date, exploring today's changing attitudes toward childbirth, alternative medicine, and modern-day witches.

The higher education industry might seem like it’s booming, with over 200 million students in universities and colleges worldwide and funds flowing in like never before. But the truth is that these institutions have never been unhappier places to work. Corporate-style management, cost-cutting governments, mobilisations by angry students and strikes by a disgruntled workforce have taken their toll — in almost every country around the world. It’s no wonder that there is talk of ‘universities in crisis.’ But what should a ‘good university’ look like? In this inspiring new work, Raewyn Connell asks us to consider just that, challenging us to rethink the fundamentals of what universities do. Drawing on the examples offered by pioneering universities and educational reformers around the world, Connell outlines a practical vision for how our universities can become both more engaging and more productive places, driven by social good rather than profit, helping to build fairer societies.

Traditionally women have been healers who also used empirical evidence and proven techniques to heal. Yet male "doctors", who based their healing practices on the whims of the Church, continuously tried to discredit these successful healers. Throughout the 14th-17th centuries in Europe, these doctors labeled women healers witches and had them executed to maintain their authority and their authority and that of the Church and the ruling class. These witches treated peasants and may have led peasant rebellions. Another way of barring women from the male and, supposedly, "correct" system was establishing medical schools in Medieval Europe which barred women. These techniques were successful in that the emerging middle classes viewed traditional women healers as superstitious and even went so far as to allow males into the last preserve of female healing--midwifery. In colonial America and the early years of the US, women partook equally in people's medicine. Anyone who claimed to heal--regardless of sex, race, or formal training- -could practice medicine. In the early 1800s, however, a group of male, middle class "regular" doctors began their campaign to rid the US of lay practitioners. The Popular Health Movement of the 1830s-1840s set them back, however, and the working class denounced medical elitism. On the offensive in 1848, the regulars formed a national professional organization called the American Medical Association. This began the suppression of women practitioners which included suggesting that respectable women would not travel at night and barring women from medical schools. Further, the medical profession put pressure on states to outlaw midwifery and allow doctors only to practice obstetrics. Nursing remained that last female domain in health and, due to nurse reformers, nurses became subservient, patient, obedient helpers. Women had found their "rightful" place in medicine.

Tavistock Press was established as a co-operative venture between the Tavistock Institute and Routledge & Kegan Paul (RKP) in the 1950s to produce a series of major contributions across the social sciences. This volume is part of a 2001 reissue of a selection of those important works which have since gone out of print, or are difficult to locate. Published by Routledge, 112 volumes in total are being brought together under the name The International Behavioural and Social Sciences Library: Classics from the Tavistock Press. Reproduced here in facsimile, this volume was originally published in 1980 and is available individually. The collection is also available in a number of themed mini-sets of between 5 and 13 volumes, or as a complete collection.