The Evolution of Economics at the University of Oxford: Gendered Constructions of Legitimate Economic Knowledge and Authorities

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Bibliographic Details
Title: The Evolution of Economics at the University of Oxford: Gendered Constructions of Legitimate Economic Knowledge and Authorities
Language: English
Authors: Claire McCann (ORCID 0000-0003-0839-1483)
Source: History of Education. 2025 54(5):556-574.
Availability: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 19
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Universities, Economics Education, Educational History, Gender Discrimination, Females, Economics
Geographic Terms: United Kingdom (England)
DOI: 10.1080/0046760X.2025.2486094
ISSN: 0046-760X
1464-5130
Abstract: As evidence of women's exclusion from economic study emerges, interrogation of the discipline is crucial. While feminist scholars have extensively examined the barriers women face in contemporary economics, less attention has been given to the historical evolution of the field and its disciplinary formation. Drawing on primary sources related to the University of Oxford's Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) degree, this article aims to address this silence. It explores how economics' evolution within PPE (re)produced or challenged dominant conceptualisations about "legitimate" knowledge and authorities, and the corresponding impact on women's status. This analysis highlights the social construction of economics within institutions like Oxford, and university complicity in women's marginalisation. However, this construction did not necessarily follow a linear trajectory; the boundaries of economics appear a product of contestation. Perhaps, then, these boundaries can be renegotiated in the twenty-first century, creating space for a more holistic discipline.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1482304
Database: ERIC
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Description
Abstract:As evidence of women's exclusion from economic study emerges, interrogation of the discipline is crucial. While feminist scholars have extensively examined the barriers women face in contemporary economics, less attention has been given to the historical evolution of the field and its disciplinary formation. Drawing on primary sources related to the University of Oxford's Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) degree, this article aims to address this silence. It explores how economics' evolution within PPE (re)produced or challenged dominant conceptualisations about "legitimate" knowledge and authorities, and the corresponding impact on women's status. This analysis highlights the social construction of economics within institutions like Oxford, and university complicity in women's marginalisation. However, this construction did not necessarily follow a linear trajectory; the boundaries of economics appear a product of contestation. Perhaps, then, these boundaries can be renegotiated in the twenty-first century, creating space for a more holistic discipline.
ISSN:0046-760X
1464-5130
DOI:10.1080/0046760X.2025.2486094