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flyer van de encyclopedie 'vrouwelijke filosofen'
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Door de eeuwen heen hebben talloze vrouwen zich verdiept in een veelheid aan filosofische thema’s, maar vaak zijn deze... more
Door de eeuwen heen hebben talloze vrouwen zich verdiept in een veelheid aan filosofische thema’s, maar vaak zijn deze denkers onzichtbaar gebleven. Van de twaalfde eeuwse filosofe Hildegard van Bingen zullen de meesten wel hebben gehoord, maar wat van haar tijdgenote Mechtild van Magdeburg? Uit recentere tijden is Hannah Arendt inmiddels wereldberoemd, maar de namen Gloria Anzaldúa en Suzanne Langer zullen misschien alleen de specialisten bekend in de oren klinken.
Uitgesloten van officiële onderwijsinstellingen namen vele vrouwelijke denkers hun toevlucht tot andere vormen van filosofie bedrijven, zoals briefwisselingen. En dat levert een onschatbare rijkdom aan filosofische bronnen op. In dit nieuwe standaardwerk worden 67 vrouwelijke denkers uit 30 eeuwen bij elkaar gebracht; van de oudheid tot onze eeuw; van islamitische en katholieke mystica’s, een achttiende eeuwse Nederlandse logicus tot een Nigeriaanse politiek filosofe.
Dit boek, waaraan ruim zestig wetenschappers uit binnen- en buitenland een bijdrage leverden, is samengesteld door de filosofes Carolien Ceton, Ineke van der Burg, Annemie Halsema, Veronica Vasterling en Karen Vintges.
‘De titel is gedegen, de inhoud is dat ook.’ – Opzij
Voor meer informatie:
Marjet Knake Publiciteit non-fictie Uitgeverij Atlas Contact 020 524 98 23, mknake@atlascontact.nl
And You Can Be My Sheikh: Gender, Race, and Orientalism in Contemporary Romance Novels
Published in The Journal of Popular Culture, Volume 40, Issue 6, pages 1032–1051, December 2007
This paper examines popular category romances with sheikhs as heroes within the context of writing on Orientalism. I... more This paper examines popular category romances with sheikhs as heroes within the context of writing on Orientalism. I suggest that in category romances the conventions of Orientalism and those of the romance allow for a narrative of difference where a masculine, sexualized, Oriental Other and a feminine, western, desiring Subject meet, struggle, and resolve in an amalgam of Other and Self. This paper considers this narrative in the context of the place of the white Anglo Woman in the expansion of the American empire and the larger discourses of masculinity and femininity, race and ethnicity. I argue that sheikh romances create an imaginary eastern landscape which can be captured through detailed knowledge and which is open to the white woman's gaze. They create an Orient with harems empty of women, where anxieties about gender relations in the West can play out in a geographically separate terrain. The sheikhs in these romances are liminal figures: dark and desirable, but not too dark; masculine and powerful, yet willing to surrender to love; rooted in their “eastern” place, yet international. These sheikhs represent the Orient as desirable, but also desiring a union with the West in the form of a woman, representing the possibility of the Orient's incorporation into an expanding American cultural empire.
From Rags to Riches, the Policing of Fashion and Identity: Governmentality and What Not To Wear
Co-authored with Sheri Gibbings. Published in vis-à-vis: Explorations in Anthropology. Vol 10, No 1, 2010.
Even the most casual perusal of television over the past ten years should reveal an increasing number of... more Even the most casual perusal of television over the past ten years should reveal an increasing number of self-improvement reality shows. This paper explores the Learning Channel (TLC) television show What Not to Wear (WNTW), which provides fashion advice to deviant dressers. We use Foucault's concept of governmentality to understand how WNTW engages women in their own projects of self-improvement in ways that are simultaneously disciplining and pleasing. Women who participate in the show are taught by the hosts, Stacy and Clinton, how to view themselves through the gaze of an imagined middle-class public. We suggest that WNTW tells us that outward appearances are the privileged site from which identities and self can be read. Even though the goal of the show is not to change identities, many of the women claim to experience a radical transformation. These transformations are often in the direction of a new professional and feminine identity, one maintained within the structure of the show by the continuing possibility and internalization of surveillance.
Un caffè da Starbucks. Intersezionalità e disgregazione del soggetto nella sfida al diritto antidiscriminatorio
Published in Ragion Pratica 37, 2011, pp. 365-84.
The article examines those developments in the field of feminist theory that have dealt with the (disappearance of... more
The article examines those developments in the field of feminist theory that have dealt with the (disappearance of the) notion of the subject of feminism, both as collective agent and as subject matter. In particular, it aims at examining how these developments might influence or relate to critical reformulations of the concept of discrimination and, consequently, of main topics in antidiscrimination law. The article starts by assessing the issue of intersectionality, that might be considered a common concern of both contemporary feminist theory and the more technical feminist legal theory. The original concern about the exclusion produced by the interaction of more grounds of discrimination (typically sex and race, or sex and class) has, at some point, been crossed by post-modern and post-structuralist criticism of general and abstract categories, such as subject, gender, women. The article examines, then, the criticism to the fragmentation of the subject produced by these theories and the alternatives proposed in the name of the subject of feminism and its project of emancipation. In the last two paragraphs, the relations of these developments with critical feminist reformulations of antidiscrimination law are explored.
Keywords: intersectionality, feminist theory, subjectivity, feminist legal theory, antidiscrimination law.
Reconfiguring the gender relation: The case of the Tablighi Jamaat in Bangladesh
Culture and Religion: An Interdisciplinary Journal
Volume 13, Issue 2, 2012
Special Issue: Finding Muslim Partners, Building Islamic Lives
The international Islamic reform movement Tablighi Jamaat (TJ) began in India in the 1920s and has now spread over... more The international Islamic reform movement Tablighi Jamaat (TJ) began in India in the 1920s and has now spread over much of the world. Barbara Metcalf and others have raised the question of the impact of TJ practices in the area of gender relations. This article investigates this issue based on the author's fieldwork in Bangladesh. TJ teachings stress the importance of male authority within the family in a way that conflicts hardly at all with ‘traditional’ Bangladeshi patriarchal attitudes. However, the central practice of TJ, dawah (communicating the message of Islam) is carried out in ways that encourage positive and cooperative relations between husband and wife, and allow for female agency in a number of ways.
My Feminist Perspective of Authority – Part 1 by Elise M. Edwards
Originally posted on the Feminism and Religion project
I make a distinction between power and authority. Authority is a personal characteristic based on a relationship... more
I make a distinction between power and authority. Authority is a personal characteristic based on a relationship of trust between me and a text, a person, or their work. Power, on the other hand, is operative with or without trust.
This past weekend, I had the honor of participating in a workshop on Living Texts: Celebrating Feminist Perspective and Theo/alogy, Authority, and the Sacred in the Academy. The workshop was organized for the Women’s Caucus of WECSOR, a regional association of national organizations who study religion. I was delighted to connect with new friends, mentors and sisters interested in feminism and religion,
The Legacy of Original Intentions: The Non Violence of Wonder Woman by Nick Pumphrey
Originally posted on the Feminism and Religion project
What would a superhero comic be without Pow, wham!, Zap, and even a Boom! (insert your own campy sound bites from... more What would a superhero comic be without Pow, wham!, Zap, and even a Boom! (insert your own campy sound bites from Batman). Oddly enough, when psychologist William Marston created the character of Wonder Woman, he did not intend for her to be a violent character. When villains shot their mere bullets, she simply would deflect them with her indestructible bracelets. Instead of stooping to the level of her attackers, she would wield the lasso of truth, capture her foes, and force them to admit their malevolent deeds. Meanwhile, creator William Marston was actually developing the first polygraph using changes in blood pressure as exemplified in Wonder Woman’s lasso. Wonder Woman was not the first female superhero; however, she was the first non-violent one. While other writers like Siegel and Shuster (Superman’s creators) were using their religion as inspiration, Marston drew on the women of his life as example. He intended to have a peaceful, warrior woman, who was more than equal on grounds of “sex,” and could stop the tyranny created by war and hatred (i.e. men) without having to embrace it. He wanted an example for young girls to idolize and a way for boys to embrace feminine power.
ON NOT GETTING WHAT WE WANT AND LEARNING TO BE GRATEFUL FOR WHAT WE HAVE BY CAROL P. CHRIST
Originally posted on the Feminism and Religion project
Many women’s dreams have not been realized. How do we come to terms with this thealogically?
Although I am... more
Many women’s dreams have not been realized. How do we come to terms with this thealogically?
Although I am as neurotic as the next person, I am also really wonderful—intelligent, emotionally available, beautiful (if I do say so myself), sweet, caring, and bold. I love to dance, swim, and think about the meaning of life. I passionately wanted to find someone with whom to share my life. I did everything I could to make that happen—including years of therapy and even giving up my job and moving half way around the world when I felt I had exhausted the possibilities at home.
On Being in the Moment By Ivy Helman
Originally published on the Feminism and Religion project
Time. We mark years, months, days, hours, minutes and seconds. We mark seasons. We mark life events. ... more Time. We mark years, months, days, hours, minutes and seconds. We mark seasons. We mark life events. We live our lives in time: both circular and linear. Time began before we did and time will continue after we cannot experience it any further. Some say we repeat time with rebirth. Others suggest that we only have one lifetime of which we should make the most. Still others suggest there is existence outside of time with concepts like infinity and eternal life.
The First Casualty Of War by Daniel Cohen
Originally published on the Feminism and Religion project
This is the tale of the first death in the Trojan War.
The Greek army was gathered in Aulis. Its men had... more
This is the tale of the first death in the Trojan War.
The Greek army was gathered in Aulis. Its men had come from many towns and islands. Some were there with dreams of glory, some with dreams of gold. Others were there because their chief had demanded their presence, and either loyalty to the chief or fear of him had brought them.
The fleet was waiting and the soldiers were ready to embark. But for weeks now the wind had been blowing from the wrong direction, and the men were getting restless at waiting so long. They were beginning to think of the harvest – they had expected that the war would be won long before harvest time – but that was now so close that many men were making ready to go home, and some had already gone.
Is Baptism a Male Birthing Ritual? By Michele Stopera Freyhauf
Originally published on the Feminism and Religion project
Quite a number of years ago I had a conversation with one of my professors, a feminist theologian, who posed the... more Quite a number of years ago I had a conversation with one of my professors, a feminist theologian, who posed the question “Why do I need a man to purify my baby with the waters of baptism? Is there something wrong or impure about the blood and water from a mother’s womb – my womb?” Before you jump and shout the words Sacrament or removal of original sin, this question bears merit in exploring, especially in today’s world where women are taking a serious beating religiously, politically, and socially. In today’s world, violations and rants are causing women to stand up and say STOP! This is MY Body. This outcry was provoked by chants of ethical slurs against women– Slut! Prostitute! Whore! The cry got even louder when the issue of religion and government was raised in the fight of healthcare coverage of contraception. The cry got even louder with the enactment of the laws in Virginia and Texas (and many other states to follow suit) that forces women to undergo transvaginal ultrasounds in early stage abortions. The mandatory insertion of a wand into a woman’s vagina (mandated by the government, mind you), is a violation and has women crying RAPE!
“Speaking Shadows”: A History of the Voice in the Transition from Silent to Sound Film in the United States
Published in the Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, Volume 19 Issue 1 June 2009
In this paper I examine the media discourse surrounding the voice in the silent to sound film transition in American... more In this paper I examine the media discourse surrounding the voice in the silent to sound film transition in American cinema. When the technologies of synchronized sound became widespread in the late 1920s the question of how this new technology would be incorporated into the well-established film culture was of great interest, revealing some of the underlying ideologies of language at the time. These discussions worked to stabilize the new sound cinema around an ideology of the voice, closely tied to an ideology of American society, which became less audible as it became more certain, leaving behind its now naturalized structures of voiced race, class, gender and ethnicity. [voice, technology, cinema, race, gender]
Allowing Girls to Hold up Half the Sky: Combining Norm Shifting and Economic Incentives to Combat Daughter Discrimination in China
Chicago Journal of International Law, Vol. 7, No. 1, 2006
The related problems of missing women and daughter discrimination plague contemporary China. Although statistics... more
The related problems of missing women and daughter discrimination plague contemporary China. Although statistics predict only a slightly greater male birth rate and a slightly lower female mortality rate in the first few years after birth, sons substantially outnumber daughters in modern Chinese families. This article assesses the mechanisms by which families effect daughter discrimination: sex selective abortions, female infanticide, child abandonment, underinvestment of family resources in girls, as well as secondary reinforcing practices like lineage societies and patrilocal living arrangements. Rather than developing legal proposals to counteract each of these individual practices, this paper suggests ways that law can help ameliorate the root causes of the widespread son preference.
China's rapid shift away from the once-prevalent custom of footbinding provides a helpful lesson for those seeking to use law to change social practices. Both footbinding and modern daughter discrimination rest on a belief trap, a set of incorrect but self-reinforcing perceptions, about the economic and social value of girls. In the context of footbinding, the combination of anti-binding associational societies and laws supporting the anti-binding position helped foster a norm cascade in opposition to footbinding, leading to the rapid elimination of that practice. This historical success suggests a template for approaching daughter discrimination in modern China. Specifically, this article proposes: (1) the creation of modern associational societies that eschew daughter discrimination; (2) the provision of financial incentives to family planning workers and doctors to promote female births; and (3) the development of targeted economic reforms to erode support for patrilocal and patrilineal traditions.
Gender and uneven working-class formation in the Irish linen industry
by Jane Gray
Gray, Jane. 1996. “Gender and Uneven Working Class Formation in the Irish Linen Industry.” Pp. 37-56 in L.L. Frader and S.O. Rose, eds. Gender and Class in Modern Europe. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
This analysis of the cultural changes associated with class formation centers on the gendered meanings attached to the... more This analysis of the cultural changes associated with class formation centers on the gendered meanings attached to the consumption of beer and tea in the poems of "rhyming weavers" from the northeast of Ireland. These works, published by subscription during the first half of the nineteenth century, give unique clues to how ordinary people understood and represented the changes surrounding the transition to centralized production.
Gender and plebian culture in Ulster
by Jane Gray
Gray, Jane. 1993. “Gender and Plebian Culture in Ulster.” Journal of Interdisciplinary History 24 (Autumn): 251-270.
Colonial products, such as tea and tobacco, were still considered luxury items in Ireland at the end of the eighteenth... more Colonial products, such as tea and tobacco, were still considered luxury items in Ireland at the end of the eighteenth century, but their consumption by spinners and weavers of linen yarn and cloth increased from about 1780 onward. The changing cultural meanings that Irish linen producers attached to tea-drinking are explored in this article through an analysis of poems and songs written by weavers (and one spinner) around the turn of the nineteenth century. Conspicuous luxury commodity consumption formed part of a new, collective identity among rural industrial producers in Ireland and throughout Europe
Spinners and Spinning in the Political Economy of Pre-Famine Ireland: Evidence from County Cavan
by Jane Gray
Gray, Jane. 1999. “Spinners and Spinning in the Political Economy of Pre-Famine Ireland: Evidence from County Cavan in 1821.” Pp. 240-266 in M. Cohen and N. Curtin, eds. Reclaiming Gender: Transgressive Identities in Modern Ireland. NY: St. Martin’s Press.
In this chapter I present results from an analysis of the surviving 1821 census manuscripts for County Cavan in an... more In this chapter I present results from an analysis of the surviving 1821 census manuscripts for County Cavan in an effort to locate spinners and spinning in the political economy of the pre-Famine era. I suggest that despite the shortcomings of these documents in relation to the reporting of female occupations, it is possible to make reasonable inferences about the variable significance of spinning in different household types and in different localities. Building on my earlier published research, I argue that the embeddedness of spinning in the self-provisioning activities of rural households is a central feature of proto-industrialization in Ireland, and thus has key implications for understanding the process of deindustrialization. Hence the difficulty of measuring its extent and significance should inspire scholars to develop new ways of systematically studying women’s work in spinning, rather than simply excluding it from their analyses.