French Feminists

Suggestions and submissions for publication on this page are welcome, see our Call for Contributions.

Reviews of Feminist Theory Books

Reviews published in online journals (mostly PostModern Culture). 

Women in Philosophy Gallery

Images of women philosophers and theorists - slow loading, be patient.

The Agony of Feminism: Why Feminist Theory Is Necessary After All

Essay by Nina Baym, Jubilee Professor of Liberal Arts & Sciences, U. Illinois "Feminist theory's main point--that no coherent definition of that crucial feminist term woman underlay our diverse undertakings--was undoubtedly correct. But feminist theory's obsessive complaints over, alternately, the dearth or surplus of concepts of woman in our work seemed to reanimate the disabling essentialism that our practical feminism had hoped to escape."

Anne Balsamo - An Interview

on the occasion of her presentation, "Cyberflesh: World Wide White Wash" on 28 April 1997. " My project, whether it has been body building or cosmetic surgery or the Web itself, has been trying to investigate how these technologies have been taken up and the way in which they work and the way they function institutionally."

Approaches to Feminism

Nancy Tuana's overview of the "dominant approaches to feminist philosophy in the U.S." in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy with additional essays Analytic Feminism, Contential Feminism, Pragmatist Feminism, Feminist Approaches to the Intersection of Pragmatism and Continental Philosophy and Feminist Approaches to the Intersection of Analytic and Continental Philosophy.

Association for Feminist Ethics and Social Theory (FEAST)

Back to the Future: Marriage as Friendship in the Thought of Mary Wollstonecraft

frp, tje Abstract: If liberal theory is to move forward, it must take the political nature of family relations seriously. The beginnings of such a liberalism appear in Mary Wollstonecraft's work." --Ruth Abbey

Bat Kol: A Feminist House of Study

"...we use the methodologies of feminist criticism to examine the integration of women into the many aspects of Jewish life."

Butler's Sophisticated Constructivism: A Critical Assessment

Abstract: This paper aims to investigate whether and in what respects the conceptions of the body and of agency that Judith Butler develops in Bodies That Matter are useful contributions to feminist theory. The discussion focuses on the clarification and critical assessment of the arguments Butler presents to refute the charges of linguistic monism and determinism." --Veronica Vasterling

Bodies and Technologies: Dora, Neuromancer, and Strategies of Resistance" [U Iowa only]

Wendy Wahl writes in PostModern Culture, January, 1993 about the failure of resistance to technologies of the early twentieth century

Chandra Mohanty and the Technology of Gender

By Ingrid Hoofd, Utrecht University, 1997. "The general aim of this paper will be to explain the idea of the technology of gender and especially as how it is appropiated by Teresa De Lauretis and Chandra Talpade Mohanty in respectively 'The Technology of Gender' and 'Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses'."

Cognitive Dissonance: Should Twentieth-century Women Composers be Grouped with Foucault's Mad Criminals?

Rosemary N. Killam in Music Theory Online Vol. 3.2 (1997). "This article considers recent books on twentieth-century music by Lester (1989), Kostka (1990), Straus (1990), and Morgan (1991) and their exclusion of women composers' scores. Three hypotheses for this exclusion are proposed, based on writings of Margolis and Foucault, and recent history in academic areas of theory and composition."

Deconstructing McClary: Narrative, Feminine Sexuality, and Feminism in Susan McClary's Feminine Endings

Elizabeth Sayrs, The Ohio State University. Published by the College Music Society in College Music Symposium 33/34(1993/1994): 41-55. "Susan McClary declares her book, Feminine Endings, to be the first work explicitly dedicated to a feminist critique of music, especially as it functions in the traditional academic disciplines of musicology and music theory. … I will focus on the interaction and tension between McClary's work and other feminist theories, including those she acknowledges and those she does not, especially in relation to her theory of narrative, and the issues of feminine/masculine sexuality and authority."

differences: A Journal of Feminist Cultural Studies

Tables of Contents and selected full texts from each issue. Published by Indiana University Press. Access to full text [U. Iowa only]

Ecofeminist Philosophy

Annotated links and texts

Evelyn Fox Keller: A Bibliography

Compiled by Eddie Yeghiayan for the UC Irvine Critical Theory Resource.

Feminism against `the feminine'

Stella Sandford in the January/February issue of Radical Philosophy " Since the 1960s, English-language feminisms, in so far as they are distinctive, have centrally either presupposed or explicitly theorized the category of gender, for which there is no linguistic equivalent in French."

Feminism and Canons

or, How Feminism Rewrites the History of "Great Men" - By Cynthia Freeland, University of Huston. Originally a lecture at San Jacinto Community College, South Campus, in 1996, revised in 1999

Feminism and Metaphysics: Negotiating the Natural

Sally Haslanger, Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, MIT. In the Cambridge Companion to Feminism in Philosophy, ed., M. Fricker and J. Hornsby. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), pp. 107-126.) (pdf)

Feminists as Invisible Dramaturgs: A Case Study of Terry Galloway's Lardo Weeping

by Donna Marie Nudd, in Liminalities: A Journal of Performance, V2, N2 2006.

Feminist Bioethics

2004 entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy by Anne Donchin

Feminist Bioethics: Toward Developing a "Feminist" Answer to the Surrogate Motherhood Question (Access through Project Muse with UIowa ID)

Rosemarie Tong, writing in Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal 6.1 (1996) argues that "bioethicists should work toward developing the kind of shared theoretical base that will foster frequent consensus on the biomedical principles, practices, and policies most likely to serve the interests of most women in the U.S. today." Note: part of Project Muse, Johns Hopkins University Press - may be available only to subscribing institutions.

Feminist Epistemology and Philosophy of Science

entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy by Elizabeth Anderson, University of Michigan. First published 2000, revised November, 2001.

Feminist Ethics

2003 entry by Rosemarie Tong in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Feminist Film Theory

A 1996 draft by Cynthia A. Freeland for the Encyclopedia of Aesthetics.

Feminist History of Philosophy

2000 entry by Charlotte Witt in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Feminist Perspectives on Class and Work

2004 entry by Ann Ferguson in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Feminist Perspectives on the Self

2004 entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy by Diana Meyers

Feminist Perspectives on Reproduction and the Family

2004 entry by Debra Satz in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Feminist Research Processes: Practices, Issues, Debates

A special issue of Sociological Research Online a British peer-reviewed online journal. This thematic issue is compiled from previous issues but no dates are given for individual articles.

Feminist Studies in Aotearoa

FMST (Feminist Studies in Aotearoa Electronic Journal) is produced by and for those interested in feminist theory, feminist perspectives in philosophy, and contemporary feminist debates, publications and research. FMST operates from New Zealand.

Feminist Theory articles by Allan Hunter

Same Closet, Different Door: A Heterosexual Sissy's Coming-out Party - Sexual Objectification and Visual Aspects of Sexuality - The Radical Feminist Perspective in (and/or on) the Field of Sociology (a metatheoretical excursion) - Missing in Action: Radical Feminism and/or Poststructuralist Feminism the Academy -  Witchpaper '86: Feminism, Orthodoxy, and Deviance - Rhythms, Predictability, and Order.

Feminist Theory Bibliography - Core List

Developed by by Beth Sibley for the Association of College and Research Libraries.

Feminist Theory and Feminist Jurisprudence

Sections on Violence, Legal Texts, Biographies of Prominent Women Lawyers and Judges and more compiled and maintained by Kim Dayton at the University of Kansas.

Feminist Theory, Power and Knowledge

A study guide for students at Deakin University's School of Social Inquiry written by Renate Klein and Bronwyn Winter. Sections: Introduction, Theory and knowledge, The diversity of feminist theory, Feminist theories of power, The practice of power, Resistance, visions and strategies for change.

Feminist Theory File Collection from WMST-L

Dated 1993 - A Compilation of Messages from WMST-L Subscribers in response to this request: "Does anyone have handy, at her or his fingertips, a few references for articles defending feminists "doing theory" from the attacks against theory (esp. poststructuralist theory and what's perceived as its "elitism," "density," "androcentrism," etc.)."

Feminist Theory Website

Kristin Switala is producing this set of pages with the following categories: History of US Feminism, Various Fields within Feminism, Different Ethnic and National Feminisms and Individual Feminists.

Feminist and Womanist Criticism

Excerpts from the chapter "Feminist and Womanist Criticism" in the book The Postmodernist Bible, which lays out "Postmodern feminism's contribution to the ongoing feminist critique of the Bible, literature, and religious ideology."

Future Genders? Future Races?

Sally Haslanger, Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, MIT. In Philosophic Exchange 34 (2003-4): 4-27. To be reprinted in, Moral Issues in Global Perspective, 2nd edition, ed., Christine Koggel. (Broadview Press, forthcoming 2005). "To describe someone by their race and gender is not simply to describe their appearance, but to situate them in a framework of meaning and indicate the social norms that govern our interactions."

Gender, Body and the Sacred: Heterosexual Hegemony as a Sacred Order

Sari Charpentier in Queen: A Journal of Rhetoric and Power. "...I will claim that the overall maintenance of the heteronormative order itself, as it appears in the writings that oppose same-sex marriages and adoptions, may be understood as religious, since a heterosexual gender system is produced in these texts as a sacred order."

Gender and Race: (What) Are They? (What) Do We Want Them To Be?

Sally Haslanger, Department of Linguistics and Philosophy Massachusetts Institute of Technology "By far the best, most theoretically sophisticated available article-length reference, online or in text, on the concept of race.  It stands out for clearly distinguishing the many different uses and corresponding definitions of race, and also for the comparisons it makes with the concept of gender.  A shorter version of this paper is forthcoming in Nous." --Elizabeth S. Anderson, Department of Philosophy, University of Michigan

The Future of Sexual Difference: An Interview with Judith Butler and Drucilla Cornell [uiowa.edu only]

Conducted by Pheng Cheah and Elizabeth Grosz, in Diacritics  28.1 (1998) 19-42.

How Feminism Is Re-writing the Philosophical Canon - Charlotte Witt

The Alfred P. Stiernotte Memorial Lecture in Philosophy at Quinnipiac College, October 2, 1996.

Hypatia (Access through Project Muse - UIowa ID required)

"Hypatia is the only journal for scholarly research at the intersection of philosophy and women's studies and is a leader in reclaiming the work of women philosophers."

International Network on Feminist Approaches to Bioethics

"Our goals are to develop a more inclusive theory of bioethics encompassing the standpoints and experiences of women and other marginalized social groups, to examine presuppositions embedded in the dominant bioethical discourse that privilege those already empowered, and to create new methodologies and strategies responsive to the disparate conditions of women's lives across the globe."

Irigaray and the Political Future of Sexual Difference [uiowa.edu or other subscribing institution only]

The Spring, 1998 issue of Diacritics  dedicated to Irigaray. Special Editors: Pheng Cheah and Elizabeth Grosz.

Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion.

Judith Butler - www/theory.org.uk

"This page gives an introduction to Judith Butler and the arguments put forward in her 1990 book Gender Trouble."

Judith Butler

Her faculty page at the European Graduate School where, in addition to her position at UC Berkeley, she is the Hannah Arendt Professor of Philosophy in Saas-fee Switzerland. Includes a bibliography of Butler's works.

Judith Butler Bibliography

Compiled by Eddie Yeghiayan - UC Irvine Libraries

Kuhn, Feminism and Science? [ uiowa.edu or other subscribing institution only]

Evelyn Fox Keller, in Configurations  6.1 (1998) 15-19. Subjects: Luce Irigaray, Feminist theory and the political aspects of sex differences. [U. Iowa readers should put in their U.I. number without dashes or spaces to gain access]

Labyrinth

International Journal for Philosophy, Feminist Theory and Cultural Hermeneutics.

Lesbian Bodies in the Age of (Post)Mechanical Reproduction

Cathy Griggers, "Lesbian Bodies in the Age of (Post)Mechanical Reproduction" PostModern Culture May, 1992.

Mary Daly - Social Attitudes Towards Women

One of two essays published in The Dictionary of the History of Ideas: Studies of Selected Pivotal Ideas, edited by Philip P. Wiener, was published by Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, in 1973-74. See also: "Faith, Hope, and Charity"

Meridians: feminism, race, transnationalism

"a new feminist, interdisciplinary journal whose goal is to provide a forum for the finest scholarship and creative work by and about women of color in U.S. and international contexts. The journal is a collaborative venture of Smith College and Wesleyan University and is published twice a year by Indiana University Press.

Nomadic Philosopher: A Conversation with with Rosi Braidotti

In this interview with Kathleen O'Grady, Rosi Braidotti discusses her recent work at the intersection of feminist and environmental activism, the central role of feminism in the redefinition of philosphy, the polemics between continental and anglo-American feminist discourses, and the development of women studies programs in Western Europe and North America.
See Also: "Cyberfeminism with a difference" by Rosi Braidotti

On Being Objective and Being Objectified

Sally Haslanger, Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, MIT. In A Mind of One's Own: Feminist Essays on Reason and Objectivity, 2nd edition. Edited by Louise M. Antony and Charlotte E. Witt. (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2002), pp. 209-253 Originally published in the 1st edition, (c) 1993.

Pornography and Silence: An Interview with Susan Griffin

Susan Griffin and discusses pornography with Karla Tonella in this 1981 radio progam for KPFA, Pacifica Radio, Berkeley, CA. Susan also reads from her book, Pornography and Silence: Culture's Revenge Against Nature.    

The Professor of Parody

Martha Nussbaum writes a highly critical summation of Butler's writing in February 22, 1999 issue of The New Republic: "What precisely does Butler offer when she counsels subversion? She tells us to engage in parodic performances, but she warns us that the dream of escaping altogether from the oppressive structures is just a dream: it is within the oppressive structures that we must find little spaces for resistance, and this resistance cannot hope to change the overall situation. And here lies a dangerous quietism. ."

Pornography as a Cause of Rape by Diana E.H. Russell

"This version of "Pornography As a Cause of Rape" has been excerpted from my book, Against Pornography: The Evidence of Harm." --D. Russell

Sexuality and Cyberspace: Performing the Digital Body

A special issue of Women & Performance: A Journal of Feminist Theory,   edited by Stacy Horn and Theresa M. Senft. "Our book uses an arsenal of techniques -- first-person narrative, substantial online experience, feminist, queer and postcolonial theories -- in order to address the latest intersections of identity, sexuality, and the Internet."

Social Dramas and Cultural Performances: All the President’s Women

by Elizabeth Bell in Liminalities: A journal of performance studies, V2 N1, 2006. "This essay [about “Monica and Bill” websites ] analyzes these cultural performances for their perpetuation of hegemonic masculinity and rescue of heternormativity through the President’s women—Monica Lewinsky and Hillary Rodham Clinton."

Society for Women in Philosophy

In addition to SWIP membership and listserv information, this site contains syllabi, bibliographies, articles, calls for papers and other resources. Created and maintained by Cynthia Freeland, U of Houston.

That was Then: This is Now: Ex-Changing the Phallus

Lynda Hart, Dept. of English, U of Penn. in PostModern Culture, September, 1993.

The Theology of Sacrifice and the Non-Ordination of Women

Mary T. Condren Th.D. , Director, Institute for Feminism and Religion; Research Associate, Gender and Women's Studies, Trinity College,
Dublin, Ireland.

Theorizing--Feminism and Postmodernity: A Conversation with Linda Hutcheon

One of the most respected and renown of Canada's theorists provides lucid and succinct analyses of the most slippery of topics -- parody, irony, aesthetics. An interview by Kathleen O'Grady, Trinity College, University of Cambridge

Toward an Interrogation of Escort Prostitution

Tessa Dora Addison and Audrey Extavasia, "Fucking (With Theory) for Money: Toward an Interrogation of Escort Prostitution" PostModern Culture May, 1992.

Using Early Cinema in Reassessing Feminist Theory

Ingred hoofd, Utrecht University, 1996. "The aim of this paper therefore will be to outline the theories with which traditional feminist film theory is working, to discuss the disadvantages that come with it and - most importantly - to show how thinking about early cinema can challenge these very preconceptions of traditional feminist film criticism."

Voices of the Shuttle: Gender Studies Page

Women's studies and feminist theory links with an emphasis on theory and multicultural sources.

What is feminist phenomenology? Thinking birth philosophically

Article by Johanna Oksala in the July/August 2004 issue of Radical Philosophy " Does the study of experiences, such as being pregnant or giving birth, which are traditionally understood as feminist issues and relegated to the margins of phenomenology, not change the phenomenological project in any fundamental way?."

What Are We Talking About? The Semantics and Politics of Social Kinds

Sally Haslanger, Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, MIT. Hypatia 20:4 (Fall 2005):10-26. Theorists “analyzing” the concepts of race and gender disagree over whether the terms refer to natural kinds, social kinds, or nothing at all. The question arises what we mean by the terms, and it is usually assumed that ordinary intuitions of native speakers are definitive. I argue that contemporary semantic externalism can usefully combine with insights from Foucauldian genealogy to challenge mainstream methods of analysis and lend credibility to social constructionist projects.

What Knowledge Is and What it Ought to Be: Feminist Values and Normative Epistemology

Sally Haslanger, Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, MIT. from Philoaophical Perspectives, Epistemology, 1999.

Womanist Theory and Research

A journal of womanist and feminist-of-color scholarship and art. "Published by the Womanist Studies Consortium at The University of Georgia, Womanist Theory and Research is a biannual, peer-edited, interdisciplinary, intercultural, international journal on women of color."

URL: http://bailiwick.lib.uiowa.edu/wstudies/theory.html
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