Feminist Philosophy (an introductory course) Peter Seipel
Contact Information [Omitted]
Course Description: The relationship between feminism and philosophy is complex. On the one hand, feminists have used philosophical reflection to challenge sexism and support the emancipation of women from oppressive social structures. On the other hand, many intellectuals in the history of philosophy have promoted sexist concepts, theories, and ideas. In this course students will consider how philosophy and feminism stand to benefit from one another. In the first part of the course, we will examine philosophical attempts to grapple with questions about sexism, oppression, gender, and feminine bodily experience. In the second part, we will explore some of the ways that feminist philosophers challenge us to rethink ethics, epistemology, and political philosophy.
Course Objectives: Over the course of the semester, students will: • Cultivate critical thinking, reading, and writing skills; • Gain competence in identifying and evaluating philosophical positions; • Understand central issues and debates in feminist philosophy; and • Reflect on their own beliefs about these issues and debates.
Course Texts: • Ann Cudd and Robin Andreason, Feminist Theory: A Philosophical Anthology [bibliographical information omitted] • All other readings will be available on Blackboard.
Course Requirements: • Participation: 20% • Reading Responses: 10% • Quizzes: 10% • Papers: 30% • Final Exam: 30%
Attendance Policy [Omitted]
Academic Integrity Policy [Omitted]
Classroom Policy [Omitted]
Writing Assignments: You are required to write three essays for this course. The essays will focus on three components of argumentative writing and will build on each other over time. • In the first essay, you will summarize an argument from a course reading on sexism. • In the second essay, you will compare and contrast feminist and non-feminist views of ethics. • Finally, in the third essay, you will assess an argument concerning the concept of autonomy. • Additional instructions will be provided for each essay assignment.
Quizzes: There will be five quizzes over the course of the semester. Each quiz will consist of two or three short answer questions on the assigned reading for a given day. Students who arrive late or do not have a good reason for missing class will not be allowed to take the quiz.
Reading Responses: You are required to turn in five reading responses this semester. You may write on any of the assigned readings in the course but each reading response must be on a different existentialist thinker. Your response should focus on a particular argument or challenging passage in the reading and should raise an objection or offer an interpretation.
Course Schedule:
I. Course Introduction
Class 1: Course Introduction
II. Introduction to Feminist Philosophy
Class 2: What is Feminist Philosophy? Why Study It? Marilyn Frye, “Sexism”
Class 3: Historical Origins of Feminist Philosophy Mary Wollstonecraft. “Of the Pernicious Effects which Arise from the Unnatural Distinctions Established in Society”
Class 4: Historical Origins of Feminist Philosophy, Continued John Stuart Mill, “The Subjection of Women”
Class 5: Social Construction Simone de Beauvoir “Introduction from The Second Sex”
III. Sexism and Oppression
Class 6: Sexism Ann E. Cudd and Leslie E. Jones, “Sexism”
Class 7: Oppression Marilyn Frye, “Oppression”
Class 8: Oppression, Continued Iris Marion Young, “Five Faces of Oppression”
IV. Gender
Class 9: Naturalist Discourse Elisabeth A. Lloyd, “Pre-Theoretical Assumptions in Evolutionary Explanations of Female Sexuality”
Class 10: Gender Trouble Judith Butler, “Subjects of Sex/Gender/ Desire”
Class 11: Gender and Race Sally Haslanger, “Gender and Race: (What) Are They? (What) Do we Want Them To Be?”
V. The Body
Class 12: Feminine Bodily Comportment Iris Marion Young, “Throwing Like a Girl”
Class 13: Pregnancy and Contemporary Medicine Iris Marion Young, “Pregnant Embodiment: Subjectivity and Alienation”
Class 14: Bodily Experience and Race bell hooks, “Black Women: Shaping Feminist Theory”
VI. Feminist Ethics
Class 15: Justice and Care Annette Baier, “The Need for More than Justice”
Class 16: Care Ethics Joan Tronto, “An Ethic of Care”
Class 17: Dependency Eva Feder Kittay, “Vulnerability and the Moral Nature of Dependency Relations”
Class 18: Feminism and Culture Martha Nussbaum, “Women and Cultural Universals”
VII. Feminist Epistemology and Philosophy of Science
Class 19: Sexism in Rationality Genvieve Lloyd, “The Man of Reason”
Class 20: Sexism in Rationality, Continued Elizabeth Anderson, “Feminist Epistemology: An Interpretation and a Defense”
Class 21: Feminist Philosophy of Science Helen Longino, “Can There Be a Feminist Science?”
VIII. Autonomy and Conceptions of the Self
Class 22: What is Autonomy? How Should We Understand the Self? Jean Grimshaw, “Autonomy and Identity in Feminist Thinking”
Class 23: A New Account of Autonomy Marilyn Friedman, “Autonomy, Social Disruption, and Women”
Class 24: Trauma and the Self Susan Brison, “Outliving Oneself”
IX. Feminist Politics and Liberation
Class 25: Sex Discrimination Law and Policy Catharine A. MacKinnon, “Difference and Dominance: On Sex Discrimination”
Class 26: Feminist Political Philosophy Susan Moller Okin, “Toward a Humanist Justice”
Class 27: Feminist Political Philosophy, Continued Drucilla Cornell, “Feminism, Utopianism, and the Role of the Ideal in Political Philosophy”
X. Wrapping Up
Class 28: Review for Final Exam