Demythicizing, Unveiling, Challenging
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Turning to the humanities, Paloma Rodríguez Escudero (1987) and especially Lourdes Méndez (2002) were among the first to address issues involving the artistic sphere. But it was not until the 1990s that more researchers began to work in this area and expand its horizons. María Teresa Beguiristain (1996) and Xesqui Castañer (1993) are two key figures for understanding the world of art from a gendered point of view. In the case of literature, the work of both Linda White (1996, 2003) and Maria José Olaziregi (1999) represents an important contribution to the analysis of Basque women writers. Finally, another interesting area of study in recent years has to do with the presence/absence of women in the world of science. Teresa Nuño (2000) insists on the need to recognize the many contributions made by women to scientific progress, and calls for a greater female presence in the sciences. Within this area, male and female researchers such as Victoria Fernández, Edurne Larraza, Txelo Ruíz and Kepa Sarasola examine the relationship between gender and new technologies, focusing especially on stereotypes that tend to steer women away from careers in information technology (Fernández, Larraza, Ruíz and Maritxalar 2008; Larraza et al. 2008). In closing, we would especially single out work that has involved a broader analysis of feminist theory. It seems particularly appropriate to mention here the contributions of those authors working within disciplines with a stronger feminist tradition, such as anthropology, philosophy, and sociology. We would therefore cite the work of del Valle; Méndez (2008), who in the 1990s began publishing a series of reflections on feminist theory that has continued to the present day; and Amurrio, who has also addressed the concept of gender (1995, 2003). At the end of this admittedly cursory review of feminist academic production during the 1990s, one can appreciate the diversity of feminism—not only as a movement, but also as a space of intellectual reflection.
Challenging: Tomorrow’s Genealogies By way of conclusion, our final point is directly related to the consolidation of feminist theory in the university teaching curriculum. This represents a genuine challenge for many of the feminist theorists affiliated with the UPV/EHU and who in some measure saw their efforts rewarded with the launching in 2001 of the university’s first Master’s degree program in Male/ Female Equality.11 11. This graduate program was preceded during the years 1992–94 by a Master’s program at the UPV/EHU (with classes at the SEM-EBIM) in “Women’s and Gender Systems.” The program