Phil 10164: Metaphysical and Epistemological Issues in Feminism http://www.drps.ed.ac.uk/16-17_Archive_at_01-09- 2016/dpt/cxphil10164.htm Dr Elinor Mason

“One is not born, but rather, becomes a woman” Simone de Beauvoir

In this class we will look at metaphysical and epistemological issues concerning gender and patriarchy, and the concepts involved in talking about oppression in general and sexism in particular.

Classes: Thursdays 2.10-4pm, David Hume Tower LG 06.

Office hours: Thursdays 1pm-2pm and by appointment, Rm 6.06 DSB.

Respect and Sensitivity Please bear in mind that some of the things we talk about are things that other students may find upsetting. Talk to each other with this in mind. Be respectful at all times. It is not disrespectful to disagree with someone’s views, but the expression of that disagreement must be polite and impersonal, and based on argument.

Expectations I expect students to check Learn regularly for updates and announcements.

I expect students to do the reading in advance. Classes will involve a variety of lecturing, discussion, and collaborative work in small groups.

Violations of university policies on plagiarism will be taken extremely seriously.

Assessment Mid-term essay of 1,500 words (40%) due on Thursday 2nd March by 12pm.

End-of-semester essay of 2,500 words (60%) due on Thursday 27th April by 12pm.

Please note that there is some flexibility about essay topics: you can pick your own so long as you run it by me, but the expectation is that you write on a topic from the course. End of semester essays must be on a topic from week 7 or later.

1 4th Year Coursework dissertations: Notify Teaching Office which course you will be completing the dissertation on by Monday 27th February 2017, by 12pm. Coursework dissertations due in on Tuesday 25th April 2017, by 12pm

Generally, any question listed for discussion in a seminar is a suitable short dissertation title, but please discuss your title with me.

Late penalties apply: http://www.docs.sasg.ed.ac.uk/AcademicServices/Regulations/TaughtAssess mentRegulations2013-14.PDF

Disabilities If you have a disability please make sure that I am the relevant offices are aware of necessary provisions in good time. Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities. http://www.ed.ac.uk/student-disability-service

Readings Most of the readings are available online through the library. It is your responsibility to track them down.

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy has very useful entries on feminist topics, some are linked here but there are many others that you may find relevant. The best use of the SEP is to get an overview of a topic and find further reading.

Hypatia is a journal of feminist philosophy and women’s studies – the last ten years or so are available online. Be aware that most but not all of the articles are philosophy.

Introductory books and useful edited collections: Crasnow, Sharon & Superson, Anita (eds.) (2012). Out of the Shadows: Analytic Feminist Contributions to Traditional Philosophy. Oxford. Hackett, Elizabeth & Haslanger, Sally (ed.s), 2000. Theorizing Feminisms, OUP. Fricker, M. and Hornsby, J., (2000). The Cambridge Companion to Feminism in Philosophy (CUP). Saul, Jennifer, (2003). Feminism: Issues and Arguments (OUP).

2 Essential Reading There are a couple of books that we will be reading several chapters of (see class schedule below), and reading the rest would be beneficial. They are available online through the library.

Haslangar, Sally, (2012). Resisting Reality (OUP) Langton, Rae, (2009). Sexual Solipsism (OUP)

Schedule

Week 1 Introduction Haslanger, Feminism in Metaphysics (Ch. 4 of RR) Antony, Louise (2012). Different Voices or Perfect Storm: Why Are There So Few Women in Philosophy? Journal of Social Philosophy 43 (3):227-255.

Week 2 Oppression Haslanger, Sally ‘Oppression’ (Ch. 11 of RR) Iris Young, ‘Five Faces of Oppression’ (available as a pdf on the web).

Additional Reading Cudd, Ann. (2006). Analysing Oppression. New York: Oxford University Press. Frye, Marilyn (1983). ‘Oppression’ in The Politics of Reality. Crossing Press.

Week 3 Intersectionality Patricia Hill Collins (1998) ‘It’s All in the Family: Intersections of Gender, Race, and Nation’, Hypatia 13 (3): 62-82. Garry, Ann (2011). Intersectionality, Metaphors, and the Multiplicity of Gender. Hypatia 26 (4):826-850. Crenshaw, Kimberle (1989). Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics. The University of Chicago Legal Forum 140:139-167.

Additional Reading Crenshaw, Kimberle Williams (1991). Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color. Stanford Law Review 43 (6):1241-99.

Week 4 The Social Construction of Gender Haslanger, ‘Social Construction and Social Critique’, and ‘Gender and Race’ (ch. 6 and 7 of RR)

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Additional Reading Mills, Charles W. (2013). ‘Notes from the resistance: some comments on Sally Haslanger's Resisting Reality’, Philosophical Studies 171 (1):1-13. Haslanger, ‘Social Construction’ (Ch. 3 of RR). Haslanger’s ‘Future Genders? Future Races?’ (ch. 8 of RR) Judith Butler, (1998) “ Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory” Theatre Journal 40(4): pp. 519-531. Young, I. M., 1997, “Gender as Seriality: Thinking about Women as a Social Collective”, in Intersecting Voices, I. M. Young, Princeton: Princeton University Press. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-gender/ http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-metaphysics/

N.B. The SEP articles are particularly useful on this topic.

Week 5 More on the Metaphysics of Gender (Guest lecturer Joey Pollock) Mari Mikkola, 2009, ‘Gender Concepts and Intuitions’, Canadian Journal of Philosophy, 39: 559–583. Katharine Jenkins, 2015, ‘Amelioration and Inclusion: Gender Identity and the Concept of Woman’, Ethics, 126: 394–421. Jennifer Saul, 2006, ‘Gender and Race’, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society Supplementary Volume, 80: 119–43. Natalie Stoljar, 1995, ‘Essence, Identity, and the Concept of Woman’, Philosophical Topics, 23: 261–93.

Week 6 Flexible learning week Some movies you might find relevant (a mixed bag of films/documentaries about masculinity, femininity, trans issues):

Growing up trans http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/growing-up-trans/

The mask you live in (examination of masculinity) http://therepresentationproject.org/.../the-mask-you.../

Strong (on ideals of femininity) Strong! | Our Films | Independent Lens | PBS

Miss Representation (account of under representation and portrayal of women in the media) http://therepresentationproject.org/.../miss-representation/

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Going on 13 (interesting on intersectionality) http://goingon13.com/

Paris is Burning (famous documentary about the drag scene in NYC, critiqued by both Butler and hooks) Paris Is Burning 1990 VOSTFR 720p HD Full DOC

Tough Guise (on masculinity) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1139643/

Week 7 Transgender Identity (class 6) Talia Bettcher, (2012), ‘Trans women and the meaning of ‘woman'’, in Philosophy of sex: Contemporary readings (sixth edition), Nicholas Power, Raja Halwani, Alan Soble eds.,New York: Rowan & Littlefield, 233–250.

Additional Reading Heyes, Cressida J. (2006). Changing Race, Changing Sex: The Ethics of Self- Transformation. Journal of Social Philosophy 37 (2):266-282. Katharine Jenkins, (2016). ‘Amelioration and Inclusion: Gender Identity and the Concept of Woman Ethics Vol. 126, No. 2 pp. 394-421 Judith Butler (2004). Selections from Undoing Gender. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-trans/

Week 8 False Consciousness and Ideology (class 7) Haslanger, ‘But Mom, Crop-Tops Are Cute!" Social Knowledge, Social Structure and Ideology Critique. (ch. 15 of RR) Mills, Charles W. (2005). "Ideal theory" as ideology. Hypatia 20 (3):165-184.

Additional Reading Haslanger, ‘Ideology, Generics and Common Ground’ (ch. 17 of RR) Khader, Serene J. (2011). Adaptive Preferences and Women's Empowerment. OUP USA. Marx, Karl, and Friedrich Engels, The German Ideology in George Sher, ‘Our Preferences, Ourselves’, Philosophy and Public Affairs, Vol. 12, No. 1 (Winter, 1983), pp. 34-50. On JSTOR. Rosen, Michael (1996) Voluntary Servitude: False Consciousness and the Theory of Ideology (esp ch. 2)

5 Week 9 Pornography and Silencing Catherine MacKinnon, 1989 ‘Sexuality, Pornography, and Method: 'Pleasure Under Patriarchy'" Ethics 314 (1989): 99 on JSTOR Rae Langton, ‘Speech Acts and Unspeakable Acts’ (Ch. 1 in SS) Rae Langton and Caroline West, ‘Scorekeeping in a Pornographic Language Game’, ch. 8 in SS)

Additional Reading Nancy Bauer, How to do Things with Pornography Jennifer Saul, 'Pornography, Speech Acts and Context' Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 2006, 106:2, 61-80 (available online). http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-language/ Maitra Ishani, & McGowan Mary Kate, (eds.) (2012). Speech and Harm: Controversies Over Free Speech. Oxford University Press.

Week 10 More silencing McGowan, M.K., (2009) “On Silencing and Sexual Refusal”, Journal of Political Philosophy, 17 (4): 487–494. Ishani Maitra, (2012) ‘Subordinating Speech’ in Maitra Ishani, & McGowan Mary Kate, (eds.) (2012). Speech and Harm: Controversies Over Free Speech. Oxford University Press (available online).

Additional Reading Dotson, Kristie (2011). Tracking Epistemic Violence, Tracking Practices of Silencing. Hypatia 26 (2):236-257.

Week 11 Feminist Epistemology Mills, Charles W. (1988). Alternative Epistemologies. Social Theory and Practice 14 (3):237-263. Charles Mills, (2007), ‘White Ignorance’, in Shannon Sullivan and Nancy Tuana (eds.), Race and Epistemologies of Ignorance, SUNY Press, 13-38. Available on Learn.

Additional Reading Kidd, Ian James ; Medina, José & Pohlhaus Jr, (eds.) (2017). The Routledge Handbook of Epistemic Injustice. Routledge. (may not be out in time to be useful!) Rae Langton, ‘Feminism in Epistemology’ (ch. 12 in SS) http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminist-social-epistemology/

Week 12 More on Epistemic Oppression Fricker, Miranda (2007). Epistemic Injustice: Power and the Ethics of Knowing. Oxford University Press (esp ch. 1 and 2)

6 Dotson, Kristie (2014). Conceptualizing Epistemic Oppression. Social Epistemology 28 (2):115-138.

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