PHL2230

Feminist philosophers

(ART)

Karen Green

8 points + 3 hours per week + Second semester + Clayton + Prerequisites: A first-year philosophy sequence or one 8-point womens studies subject

Synopsis: Introduction to philosophical problems arising from conceptions of sexual equality and difference, and their implications for norms of rationality and morality. The work of pioneer feminist philosophers, Christine de Pisan, Mary Wollstonecraft and Simone de Beauvoir and contemporary theorists such as Luce Irigaray will be studied. The influence of liberalism, socialism, psychoanalysis and postmodernism on feminist thought; questions relating to sexual equality and sexual difference; the public and the private; conceptual connections between reason and masculinity; the implications of sexual difference for moral theory and epistemology.

Assessment: Two essays (2500 words each) or essay and exam (2 hours): 40% each + Examination (1 hour): 20%