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Dorothy Smith : The Theorist That I Chose

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Introduction

The theorist that I chose is Dorothy Smith. She is a well-known Marxist feminist scholar and activist (Carroll, 2010, p. 1). The reason I chose to write about Dorothy Smith is because her unique approach to feminism and women’s movements interested me, making me want to learn more about her.

Biography
Dorothy Smith was born in England in 1926. In her late 20’s she applied to the London School of Economics for her undergraduate studies in the hopes of getting a better secretarial job (Dillon, 2010, p. 333). Smith (n.d.) has indicated that the London of School Economics was where she got a degree in sociology and social anthropology and also met her future husband, William Reid Smith (para. 1). Later in 1955, she decided along with her husband to move to the United States for their graduate studies at the University of California (Dillon, 2010, p. 333). However, while she was doing her doctorate degree they divorced, making her responsible for their two children and for earning a living alone (Smith, n.d., para. 2). Beginning in 1964, Smith taught sociology for a few years as a lecturer at the University of California before moving back to London (Smith, n.d., para. 2).
It is important to note that Smith was the only woman teaching in the faculty of sociology at that time at the University of California. It was also during this time that women’s inequality issues were beginning to be raised on a larger scale (Smith, n.d., para. 2). This also marked the

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