ABSTRACT
This study has explored the role of intellectual activism in the emergence and institutionalization of women’s and gender studies in Taiwan. I developed a microfoundational approach to illustrate the interplay of identity, action and structure. I explored how, in this interplay, feminist scholars created networks, formed identities, and strategized action that led to the production and transmission of feminist perspectives and knowledge in Taiwanese academia. I have argued that the form, scope, and degree of the institutionalization of women’s and gender studies in Taiwan has been the result of the ongoing, multifaceted efforts of these academicians whom I call pathfinders.
