Includes index.

Introduction -- PART I. AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES -- The traditional framework : agriculture, patriarchy, civilizations -- Early contacts : influences from cultural diversity -- Buddhism and Chinese women -- Islamic standards outside the heartland : changes and continuities in India and sub-Saharan Africa -- The Chinese influence -- Conclusion of PART I. : gender and contacts in agricultural societies -- PART II. NEW PATTERNS OF CONTACT, 1500-1900 -- Europeans and native Americans -- Men and women amid British imperialism in India -- Western influences and regional reactions : Polynesia and Africa -- Reform movements and gender : beyond the colonial models -- Conclusion of PART II. : gender contact amid rising world trade -- PART III. THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD -- Immigration as culture contact -- New international influences : feminism and Marxism -- Contact and retract : the Middle East in the contemporary era -- Latin America : the role of contact in basic change -- Global consumer culture : the question of impact -- Globalization and resistance -- Conclusion of PART III. : gender and contacts in modern societies -- Epilogue -- Big picture : from patriarchy to new debate : the role of contacts in the evolution of gender.

"Covering societies from classical times to the twenty-first century, Gender in World History is a fascinating exploration of what happens to established ideas about men, women, and gender roles when different cultural systems come into contact. Now in its third edition, the book has been thoroughly updated"-- Provided by publisher.