PHIL 272

PHIL 272: Feminist Philosophy
Instructors: Kristin Rodier & Randi Nixon

Course Description:

This course aims to introduce students without background in feminist thought to the philosophical concepts and skills they will need to understand basic feminist theoretical paradigms, arguments, and political strategies. This course is not historically complete or exhaustive of the present field, though it introduces students to varieties of feminist theory, key feminist concepts and figures, and contemporary feminist debates. We will focus on questions such as how to theorize “woman” as a subject of unique experiences, and the philosophical problems that can result from such theorizations. We will critically examine theories of gender constitution and analyze the ways in which the process is inflected by race, class, ability, size, and sexuality. We will ask whether the knower of epistemology is gendered and how power and knowledge relate, which will ground a critique of traditional epistemologies. In addition, this course will touch on feminist phenomenology, feminist affect and affective politics, critical race feminism.