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Thinking Duck the Newsletter for the Department of Philosophy at the University of Oregon Spring 2008

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Thinking Duck the Newsletter for the Department of Philosophy at the University of Oregon Spring 2008 The THINKING DUCK THE NEWSLETTER FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON SPRING 2008 The Society for Interdisciplinary Feminist Phenomenology A new initiative promises to change the face of feminist philosophy by Lori Brown, graduate student he Society for Interdisciplin- ary Feminist Phenomenology T (SIFP) will host its inaugural institute and public forum over Me- morial Day weekend, May 28–31. SIFP is the brainchild of philoso- phy faculty members Bonnie Mann and Beata Stawarska. Bringing it to fruition, however, has involved the efforts of people and programs from across—and beyond—the uni- versity. Bonnie and Beata founded the institute in 2006 with advisory assistance from Sara Heinämaa, senior lecturer in philosophy at the University of Helsinki, and Eva Maria Simms, professor of psychology at Duquesne University. The society’s inception was further aided by gen- erous funding from the University Seated (left to right): cofounders of SIFP Dr. Beata Stawarska and Dr. Bonnie Mann. Back row of Oregon’s Center for the Study of (left to right): current administrative graduate teaching fellows and graduate students Caroline Lundquist, Elena Cuffari, Emma Jones, Amrita Banerjee and Sarah LaChance Adams Women in Society, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Wired Humanities Project, the Oregon complished through a small-group focus, an opportunity for deep Humanities Center, and the Department of Philosophy. engagement with one another’s work beforehand, and a commit- Graduate students in the philosophy department also have ment to holding the sessions in a beautiful place. been integral to the society’s success. Sarah LaChance Adams Now, that last point may catch you off guard. How can the lo- and recent graduate Celia Tagamolila Bardwell-Jones met regu- cation be philosophically significant? Bonnie explains: “In a sense, larly with Bonnie and Beata during its initial stages and played the typical conference is such a disembodied experience. You’re a significant role in the grant writing. Last year, Amrita Banerjee sitting there in a hard chair in an ugly room with somebody who and Al Frankowski joined the planning process and helped bring see SIFP, page 2 the society closer to its realization. This year, Emma Jones and Elena Cuffari collaborated with the Wired Humanities Project to INSIDE create the society’s website and listserv and continue to lend Department Head Greetings. 3 administrative support to the upcoming conference. Philosophy and During the institute, twelve scholars from Europe, Canada, and the U.S. will gather along with three graduate students cho- Conflict Resolution. 4 sen from the University of Oregon to discuss the task of feminist Fellowships and Awards. 4 phenomenology. What makes this gathering unique is the way Events Calendar . 5 in which its structure will be informed by the very philosophical philosophy.uoregon.edu Faculty Notes . 6 approach it addresses. According to Bonnie, this goal will be ac- 2 The THINKING DUCK SIFP continued from page 1 is looking down and reading their paper. Here we are, phenom- the complexity of ethics. Finally, Amrita Banerjee develops a phe- enologists, worried about our lived embodied experience and nomenology of rape, illustrating the ways in which this method having a horrible lived embodied experience at the same time helps “disentangle the complexities” and make sense of the ex- that we are talking about it. Nobody would choose that! So we perience. At the same time, she highlights the manner in which decided to hold the institute in a place where people would want the personal and political come together in the act of rape to to go anyway.” Located in a temperate rain forest and boasting form an ethical wrong. a nationally recognized trail that runs along ten waterfalls, Silver As the work of these scholars shows, the society is strongly Falls State Park fits that bill perfectly. committed to thinking about the political dimensions of phenom- There will be plenty of unstructured time during the institute, enology. “Questions of political recognition, of rights, seem in- so people can go hiking with one another, take meals together, herent in the very phenomena we are trying to describe,” Beata and talk outside of the meetings. Rather than reading their pa- asserts. “It seems to be an abstraction and an oversight if we do pers aloud to other participants, attendees will share their work in not bring those questions that are traditionally defined as political advance of the conference. Sessions into our phenomenological inquiry.” will be devoted solely to discussion of Of course, the institute is but one one another’s work, enabling scholars avenue for taking up this work. After to engage deeply with each other’s “There is a” the gathering, SIFP will craft an an- ideas. According to Beata, “This meth- thology addressing the task of femi- od reflects how we are thinking about strong need for a nist phenomenology. Beata and Bon- the task of feminist phenomenology. It nie will carry the work further by creat- is not a single-author project that hap- community of scholars ing and co-teaching a course on this pens in your mind. It is more engaged. philosophical discipline. Through the It has this sort of communal dimension aware of the history of website, the society has also created to it practiced by a group rather than a virtual community that will help facili- individually.” Rather than “just com- phenomenology and tate and carry forward the kind of col- ing to the conference and receiving a laborative work realized through the product,” as Bonnie puts it, this format what it has institute. Feminist phenomenologists will encourage participants to think from around the world can create a along with rather than against one an- to contribute profile on the site that enables others other. She points out, “So often our in- to learn about their research interests tellectual lives are lived in isolation and to feminism . .” and even access their publications. our work is ‘my work, my thinking, my At this writing, twenty-eight scholars idea.’ So much more happens when — Bonnie Mann, SIFP cofounder from more than twenty different uni- you have a dynamic community work- versities in places as far-flung as the ing on the same questions.” Philippines, Australia, Israel and Ar- Participants have been asked to gentina have posted their profiles on frame their research within a larger inquiry into what it means to the site. practice phenomenology in a feminist manner. As a preliminary These kinds of initiatives are important for the flourishing response to this question, Bonnie and Beata emphasize the way of feminist phenomenology. As it stands, there are few feminist in which both disciplines interact with and change the shape of scholars in the United States working out of continental tradi- one another. Phenomenology deepens the reflection upon and tions; even fewer are working within phenomenology. Both se- understanding of lived experience to which feminist activists nior and emerging scholars lack a platform for presenting their often appeal. Feminism, in turn, brings a political dimension to ideas and receiving feedback from their colleagues, so creating phenomenology. an active society is a top priority. As Bonnie puts it, “There is a We see this interplay at work in the projects of the graduate strong need for a community of scholars aware of the history of students involved in the institute. In her paper, Caroline Lundquist phenomenology and what it has to contribute to feminism and challenges Iris Marion Young’s early phenomenological work on the way feminism changes it in turn. More importantly, we need pregnant embodiment. She does so by examining two “often- to create a community that is intensively engaged with one an- marginalized” forms of pregnant experience: denied and rejected other in terms of figuring out what the task of the discipline is pregnancy. Her goal is to develop a more comprehensive de- right now. What are the questions that we should be taking up? piction of this experience that accounts for its “radical diversity.” What is the method we should use?” SIFP is the first society of Sarah LaChance Adams also takes up the issue of maternity its kind in the United States to address these questions. but through a different lens. Her emphasis is on the tension be- Bonnie and Beata also see the society as an opportunity to tween what has been called maternal pacifism and the ambiva- distinguish the University of Oregon from other programs. “Part lence mothers often feel toward their children. She brings the of what makes our department unique,” Bonnie asserts, “is our philosophy of Levinas into conversation with that of feminist care emphasis on feminist philosophy. The society’s further emphasis ethicists to explore what we can learn from this tension about on feminist phenomenology will help us stand out in a field where The THINKING DUCK 3 Greetings from the Department Head My bike ride into work is still braving this activity, and to Ival McMains for his ongoing support of frosty ground, but spring is neverthe- your many initiatives. less persevering in Eugene. Our third You should know that we are also engaging the local quarter is now underway. Classes are community in a variety of ways. Along with the Lundquist stuffed, as usual, and we are happily College of Business, we hosted a Community Philosophy processing a very favorable external Institute that convened community members, including Eu- review of our program. gene’s mayor, Kitty Piercy, to discuss whether and how we We are also bracing ourselves should ethically evaluate the work of businesses and cor- for several conferences this term. Enrique Dussel is visit- porations. It was a stimulating afternoon, and several par- ing for two papers, and a handful of other scholars will be ticipants are still discussing issues that arose that Saturday.
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