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PHILOSOPHY AND FEMINISM(S)
Prepared by: Dr. Kay Picart
Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Course Description and Objectives: This course revolves around the philosophical and interdisciplinary study of social and ethical issues relating to sexuality, such as feminist philosophy, equality, sex roles, issues of reproduction, and the normative judgement of sexual behaviors. Topics range across feminist social theory; cross-cultural perspectives; psychological and psychoanalytic theory; sexuality; women and the law; women, crime and deviance; science, medicine and reproductive technology; feminist literary criticism; language and gender; and representations of women in the media. Every effort will be made to ensure exposure to a plurality of perspectives, topics, and media.
Among the aims of this course are:
a.) to expose students to, and encourage a critical awareness of, the complex history of feminism in relation to traditional philosophical questions;
b.) to increase students’ knowledge of the multiplicity of feminist approaches in their theoretical and practical manifestations;
c.) to develop further students’ abilities to distill out and assess underlying assumptions and core arguments;
d.) to encourage and refine the use of oral and written communication as an effective means of expression;
e.) to stimulate movement towards an active re-visioning of social and political practices and mentalities that may foster equality and justice along gendered, racial and class lines
Pedagogical Methods:
This course will employ a lecture and discussion format. Students are required to come in, having read the required texts for the day, in order to present and defend their opinions, as well as critique those of others and pose clarificatory questions. For some sections, supplementary texts, which will be on reserve at the library, are listed for students who wish to know more about a specific subject area, but are not required reading. Students are highly encouraged to consult with the instructor early and regularly if they are having difficulties with understanding the material, the requirements, or simply with writing.
Extended discussions via e-mail over an issue posted by the instructor during the periods in between sessions will be used to help set up and continue generating class momentum. Students are required to log in at least once or twice a week, during an assigned set of days, to carry on these electronically mediated conversations.
After a number of sessions handled principally by the instructor, the duty of giving a brief summary and critique of some of the assigned texts for the day, and of generating discussion, will be rotated among the students. This is designed to enable students to be more actively involved in class discussions, and to give them a trial run for their final reports (that will resemble conference presentations in format). In addition, each student will be required sign up for at least one listserve group and participate consistently in these listserve group discussions and to write up a review of related literature derived from library and website searches to integrate into their final papers. This simple exercise will not only expose students to internet resources but also give them experience at “networking.” It will also enable them to pursue a topic of their choice in greater depth, and give them an exercise in writing critical summaries of related works—an essential skill for further professionalization. Weekly print-outs of list-serve discussions should be handed in to the professor.
At the end of the course, students will be required to hand in papers (6-10 pages) on topics of their choice related to the course. Movement towards the completion of the paper will be achieved through a step-wise procedure that will expose students to the fundamental steps involved in producing an academic research paper. These steps move from heading a discussion on a particular topic, writing up a preliminary topic statement, to a slightly more extended project description, to a review of related literature or context review (involving library and computer searches), to a first draft, and culminating in revisions based on student/peer reviews and comments from the professor. The last three meetings of the course will be devoted to brief 15-20 minute presentations of students’ papers, followed by 5-10 minute periods of questioning from the open floor by the class. Such a format will give students exposure to a conference format, where papers are professionally delivered, and the final paper may be seen as raw material that may be refined in preparation for possible publication with a journal or further presentation at a conference.
Preliminary Bibliography of Required Texts (Some to be Purchased; Some to be put in the Library Rental Service):
1. Richard Posner, Sex and Reason (Cambridge, MA and London, England: Harvard University Press, 1992). ISBN: 0-674-80280-2
2. Plato, Phaedrus and Letters VII and VIII, trans. and intro. Walter Hamilton (London & New York: Penguin Books. 1973). ISBN: 0-14-044275-8 (photocopy to be provided)
3. Alan Soble, ed. The Philosophy of Sex; Contemporary Readings, 2nd Edition (Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 1991). ISBN: 0-8226-3013-3
4. Robert Trevas, Arthur Zucker, and Donald Borchert, eds. Philosophy of Sex and Love (New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1997). ISBN: 0-02-312431-8 (photocopy to be provided)
5. Stevi Jackson, ed. Women’s Studies; Essential Readings (New York: New York University Press, 1993). ISBN: 0-8147-4215-7
6. Nancy Tuana, ed. Feminism and Science (Bloomington & Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1989). ISBN: 0-253-20525-5
7. Nancy Tuana and Rosemary Tong, eds. Feminism and Philosophy (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1995). ISBN: 0-8133-2213-8 (photocopy to be provided)
8. Andrea Nye, Philosophy and Feminism at the Border (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1995). ISBN: 0-8057-9778-5 (photocopy to be provided)
9. Moira Gatens, Imaginary Bodies; Ethics, Power and Corporeality (London and New York: Routledge, 1996). ISBN: 0-415-08210-2 (photocopy to be provided)
Additional Excerpts and Supplementary Texts (On Reserve, in Photocopies): Detailed within Specific Subsections of the Content Outline/Class Schedule below
Content Outline/Schedule of Classes:
Part I: Sexuality and Classical Philosophical Texts
January 27, 29:
--Introduction:
--Excerpt from Dante Alighieri’s Canto 5, Inferno with slides by Rossetti, Ingres, Koch and Delacroix
--Video Excerpts from Dreamworlds: Desire/Sex/Power in Rock Video
--Platonic Eros:
--W.M. Alexander, “Philosophers Have Avoided Sex,” The Philosophy of Sex, ed. Soble, pp. 3-19
--Plato, Phaedrus, pp. 21-66
--Video excerpts from The Great Minds, 1-A “Plato’s Symposium: The Dialectic of Reason, Love and Wisdom and The New Sexuality
--A History of Sexuality: Posner, “Autres Temps, Autres Moeurs” (includes “History of Western Sexual Mores,” and “The Sexual Mores of Non-Western Cultures,” Sex and Reason, pp. 37-69
Supplementary Readings: Posner, “Theoretical Sexology,” Sex and Reason, pp. 13-36; “Ancient Greek Views, Plato,” The Philosophy of Sex and Love, pp. 5-13; Ann Garry, “Why are Love and Sex Philosophically Interesting?” Philosophy of Sex, pp. 21-38; Peter Bertocci, “Sex with Love,” Philosophy of Sex and Love, pp. 65-71; Russell Vannoy, “Sex Without Love,” Philosophy of Sex and Love, pp. 72-85.
February 3, 5:
Topic 1: Nietzschean Phallic Motherhood and Freudian Patriarchy.
--Friedrich Nietzsche, excerpts from Thus Spoke Zarathustra,
--Sigmund Freud, excerpts from The Freud Reader
--Luce Irigaray, “Speaking of Immemorial Waters,” Marine Lover of Friedrich Nietzsche, pp. 8-25
--Caroline Picart, “Classic and Romantic Mythology in the (Re) Birthing of Nietzsche’s Zarathustra,” Journal of Nietzsche Studies 12 (1996): 40-68.
--Video excerpts from The Great Minds, 5-B, “Nietzsche’s Critique of Christianity: The Genealogy of Morals;” The Great Minds, 4-B, “Freud’s Theories of Motivation and Development”
Supplementary Readings:; Luce Irigaray, “This Sex Which is Not One,” This Sex Which is Not One, pp. 23-33; Jane Flax, “Political Philosophy and the Patriarchal Unconscious…,” Feminism and Philosophy, pp. 199-216; Shirley Nelson Garner, “Feminism, Psychoanalysis, and the Heterosexual Imperative,” Feminism and Philosophy, pp. 247-259.
February 10, 12: The History of Sexuality from the Perspective of Economics
--Posner, Sex and Reason, pp. 146-180
--“Greek Love and the Institution of Pederasty,” pp. 146-150
--“Monasticism, Puritanism & Christian Sex Ethics,” pp. 151-160
--“Swedish Permissiveness,” pp. 161-172
--“Three Stages in the Evolution of Sexual Morality,” pp. 173-180
February 17, 19: Myths of “the Feminine” and Female Embodiment
STUDENTS HAVE TO SIGN UP FOR THEIR PREFERRED DATES (AND TOPICS) FOR STUDENT-LED DISCUSSIONS AND FINAL PAPER PRESENTATIONS
--Simone de Beauvoir, excerpts from The Second Sex
--Video excerpts from Daughters of de Beauvoir and Dreamworlds II
February 24-Mar 10: Gender, Power and Art
February 24, 26: Sexual Harrassment
--Susan Bordo, “Can a Woman Harass a Man?” Philosophy Today 41 (Spring 1997): 51-66
--Invited lecture by Barb Stevens, Affirmative Action Officer, UWEC
March 3, 5, 10: Women and Art
--Linda Nochlin, “Why Have there been No Great Women Artists?” Art and Sexual Politics, ed. Thomas B. Hess and Elizabeth C. Baker (New York: Collier Books, 1973)
--Invited Ballroom Dance Demonstrations by Jerry Danielson, Eau Claire School of Dance, and Two to Tango of UWEC
--Sally Peters, “From Eroticism to Transcendence
Supplementary Readings: Shulamith Firestone, “On Romantic Love—A Male Invention,” Philosophy of Sex and Love, pp. 93-102; Iris Marion Young, “Pregnant Embodiment: Subjectivity and Alienation, pp. Feminism and Philosophy, 407-419
Part II: Paradigms of Sexuality
STUDENTS BEGIN LEADING DISCUSSIONS ON TOPICS OF THEIR CHOICE (LEADING UP TO THE FINAL PAPER)
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM/CHOICE OF TOPIC (1 PAGE) DUE
Week 4:
Topic: Marriage and Motherhood
--Posner, Sex and Reason,“Marriage and the Chanelling of Sex” (pp. 243-266) and “The Sexual Revolution in the Courts” (pp. 324-350)
--Sallie Westwood, “Domestic labourers…,” Women’s Studies, pp. 184-187
--Haleh Afshar, “Gender Roles…,” Women’s Studies, pp. 195-196
--Ann Oakley, “Becoming a Mother,” Women’s Studies, pp. 198-202
--Ann Oakley, “Taking it Like a Woman,” Women’s Studies, pp. 202-204.
--Video Excerpts from A Doll’s House and Raise the Red Lantern
Supplementary Texts: Immanuel Kant, “Monogamous Heterosexual Marriage Supported,” (from Lectures on Ethics and the Philosophy of Law), Philosophy of Sex and Love, pp. 125-129; Lyla H. O’Driscoll, “A Broader View of Marriage Examined,” Philosophy of Sex and Love, pp. 130-137; Marilyn French, “On Marriage—Seldom Perfect If Ever,” Philosophy of Sex and Love, p. 119; Heidi I. Hartmann, “The Family as the Locus of Gender, Class and Political Struggle: The Example of Housework,” Feminism and Philosophy, pp. 104-128.
Week 5:
STUDENT LED DISCUSSIONS ONGOING
RETURN OF PRELIMINARY STATEMENTS OF PROJECTS
Topic 1: Violence, Desire, and Sexuality
--Sandra Bartky, “Foucault, Femininity…,” Women’s Studies, pp. 227-231
--Diane Scully, “Understanding Sexual Violence,” Women’s Studies, pp. 234-236
--Susan Ardill and Sue O’Sullivan,“Difference, Desire, and Sadomasochism,” Women’s Studies, pp. 241-242
--Andrea Dworkin, “On the Immorality of Intercourse,” Philosophy of Sex and Love, pp. 108-117
-- Video excerpts from She’s Gotta Have It
Topic 2: Perspectives on Intersections of Race, Class and Gender
--bell hooks, “Ending Female Sexual Oppression,” Women’s Studies, p. 245
--Maria C. Lugones and Elizabeth V. Spelman, “Have We Got a Theory for You! Feminist Theory, Cultural Imperialism, and the Demand for ‘The Woman’s Voice’,” Feminism and Philosophy, pp. 494-507
--Patricia Hill Collins, “The Social Construction of Black Feminist Thought,” pp. 526-547
--Caroline Picart, “Inside Notes from the Outside,” Rending and Renewing the Social Order, ed. Yeager Hudson (Lewiston, N.Y.: E. Mellen Press, 1996), pp. 83-108
Supplementary Texts: Erica Jong, “On Intercourse—Perfect If,” Philosophy of Sex and Love, p. 118; Elizabeth Abel, “Race, Class and Psychoanalysis? Opening Questions,” Feminism and Philosophy, pp. 508-525.
Week 6
STUDENT-LED DISCUSSIONS ONGOING
PROJECT PROPOSAL DUE (2-3 PAGES)
Topic 1: Women and the Law—Sexual Harassment and Rape
--Rosemarie Tong, “Harassment—Definition and Legal Responses,” Philosophy of Sex and Love, pp. 326-342
--Mike Martin, “Rape—Its Harms,” Philosophy of Sex and Love, pp. 343-350
--Katie Roiphie, “An Uncommon Feminist Analysis of Rape,” Philosophy of Sex and Love, pp. 364-367 --Katha Pollitt, “ A Feminist Critique of Roiphe’s Style of Feminism,” Philosophy of Sex and Love, pp. 369-372
--Video Excerpts from The Accused
Topic 2: Public/Private: Women, Politics and the State
--Susan Edwards, “Policing…,” Women’s Studies, pp. 346-348
--Margery Wolf, “The Birth Limitation Program…,” Women’s Studies, pp. 348-349
--Peter Squires, “Policing the Family,” Women’s Studies, pp. 349-351
--Alison Young, “Body/Politics…,” Women’s Studies, pp. 354-359.
Supplementary Texts: A. Nicholas Groth and Jean Birnbaum, “Rape: Its Motivation,” Philosophy of Sex and Love, pp. 357-363; H.E. Baber, “How Bad is Rape?’ The Philosophy of Sex, pp. 243-258; “Sexual Misconduct, Guidelines and Codes of Ethics for the American Medical Association, American Swimming Coaches Association, and Antioch College,” Philosophy of Sex and Love, pp. 373-393.
Week 7
STUDENT-LED DISCUSSIONS ONGOING
PROJECT PROPOSAL BACK
REVIEW OF LITERATURE/CONTEXT REVIEW DUE (2-3 PAGES)
Topic: Science, Medicine and Reproductive Technology
--Nancy Tuana, “The Weaker Seed: The Sexist Bias of Reproductive Theory,” Feminism and Science, pp. 147-171
--The Biology & Gender Study Group,“The Importance of Feminist Critique for Contemporary Cell Biology,” Feminism and Science, pp. 172-187
--Jacqueline Zita, “The Pre-Menstrual Syndrome: ‘Dis-easing’ the Female Cycle,” Feminism and Science, pp. 188-210
--Donna Haraway, “Introduction: The Persistence of Vision,” Primate Visions, pp. 1-15
--Gena Corea, “The Reproductive Brothel,” Women’s Studies, pp. 389-394
--Video excerpts from The Handmaid’s Tale
Supplementary Texts: Anne Fausto-Sterling, “Life in the XY Corral,” Women’s Studies, pp. 368-371; Elaine Showalter, “Managing Female Minds,” Women’s Studies, pp. 378-380; Jana Sawicki, “Disciplining Mothers…,” Women’s Studies, pp. 394-396; Christine Delphy, “New Reproductive Technologies,” Women’s Studies, pp. 396-399; Ynestra King, “Healing the Wounds: Feminism, Ecology, and the Nature/Culture Dualism,” Feminism and Philosophy, 330-352; Audre Lorde, “Breast Cancer: Power Versus Prosthesis,” Feminism and Philosophy, pp. 420-430.
Week 8
STUDENT-LED DISCUSSIONS ONGOING
COMMENTS ON REVIEW OF LITERATURE/CONTEXT REVIEW RETURNED
Topic 1: “Feminist Literary Criticism”:
--Linda Alcoff, “Cultural Feminism Versus Post-Structuralism: The Identity Crisis in Feminist Theory,” Feminism and Philosophy, pp. 434-456
--Luce Irigaray, “Sorcerer Love: A Reading of Plato’s Symposium, Diotima’s Speech,” Feminism and Philosophy, pp. 457-466
--Susan Bordo, “Reading the Slender Body,” Feminism and Philosophy, pp. 467-489
Topic 2: “Representations of Women in the Media”
--E. Deidre Pribham, “Female Spectators,” Women’s Studies, pp. 475-480
--Annette Kuhn, “The Power of the Image,” Women’s Studies, pp. 484-486
--Jeanette Murphy, “A Question of Silence,” Women’s Studies, pp. 486-489
--Gillian Dyer, “Women and Television…,” Women’s Studies, pp. 492-494.
Supplementary Texts: Adrienne Rich, “On Lies…,” Women’s Studies, pp. 445-447; Ann Rosalind Jones, “Writing the Body…,” Women’s Studies, pp. 454-458; Maggie Humm, “Feminist Criticism,” Women’s Studies, pp. 462-464;
Week 9
STUDENT-LED DISCUSSIONS ONGOING
Topic 1: “The Normal Vs. The Perverted”
--Thomas Nagel, “Sexual Perversion,” The Philosophy of Sex, pp. 39-51
--Robert Solomon, “Sexual Paradigms,” The Philosophy of Sex, pp. 53-62
--Janice Moulton, “Sexual Behaviour: Another Position,” The Philosophy of Sex, pp. 63-71.
--Posner, “Coercive Sex,” Sex and Reason, pp. 383-404
Topic 2: Homosexuality, Heterosexuality, Lesbianism
--Michael Ruse, “Homosexuality is not Immoral,” Philosophy of Sex and Love, pp. 261-267;
--Dennis Prager, “Homosexuality Undermines the Benefits of Heterosexualism,” Philosophy of Sex and Love,” pp. 268-281
--Sarah Hoagland, “Lesbianism Avoids the Evils of Heterosexualism,” Philosophy of Sex and Love, pp. 282-284
--Posner, “Homosexuality: The Policy Questions,” Sex and Reason, pp. 291-323
Supplementary Texts: Donald Levy, “Sexual Perversion as a Denial of Basic Goods for Pleasure’s Sake,” Philosophy of Sex and Love, pp. 247-254; Michael Slote, “Sexual Perversion as a Name for Fantasies,” Philosophy of Sex and Love, pp. 255-259; Richard D. Mohr, “ Why Sex is Private: Gays and the Police,” Philosophy of Sex, pp. 193-218.
Week 10
STUDENT-LED DISCUSSIONS ONGOING
FIRST DRAFTS (6-10 PAGES) DUE (COPIES TO BE GIVEN TO THE PROFESSOR AND A PRE-ASSIGNED STUDENT REVIEWER)
Topic 1: Pornography, Society, Law
--Posner, “Erotic Art, Pornography and Nudity,” Sex and Reason, pp. 351-382
--Harry Brod, “Pornography and the Alienation of Male Sexuality,” The Philosophy of Sex, pp. 281-299
--Rosemarie Tong, “Women, Pornography, and the Law,” The Philosophy of Sex, pp. 301-316
--Kathy Myers, “Towards a Feminist Erotica,” Visibly Female, ed. Hilary Robinson (New York: Camden Press, 1987), pp. 283-296
--Video Excerpts from Patently Offensive: Porn Under Siege
Topic 2: Prostition
--Lars O. Ericsson, “The Case for Sound Prostitution,” Philosophy of Sex and Love, pp. 192-211
--Carole Pateman, “The Feminist Objection to Prostitution,” Philosophy of Sex and Love, pp. 213-216
--Laurie Shrage, “The Feminist Objection Reinforced,” Philosophy of Sex and Love, pp. 218-228
Supplementary Texts: Catharine MacKinnon, “On Collaboration,” Women’s Studies, pp. 276-283; Wendy Moore, “There Should be a law against it…,” Women’s Studies, pp. 283-288; James Dobson, “The Consequences of Pornography” (from Exclusive Interview with Serial Sex Killer Theodore Bundy), Philosophy of Sex and Love, pp. 303-311; Ann Garry, “The Morality and Legality of Pornography,” Philosophy of Sex and Love, pp. 312-314; Alison M. Jaggar, “Prostitution,” Philosophy of Sex, pp. 259-280; Alan Soble, “Pornography and the Social Sciences,” The Philosophy of Sex, pp. 317- 331
Part III: Towards a Feminist Philosophy and Ethics
Week 11
STUDENT-LED DISCUSSIONS ONGOING
Topics: Can there be a Feminist Philosophy? What would a Feminist Ethics Look Like?
--Andrea Nye, Philosophy and Feminism, Chapter 1, pp. 1-23; Chapter 6, pp. 140-164
--Sandra Harding, “Is there a Feminist Method?” Feminism and Science, pp. 17-32
Supplementary Texts: (In excerpted form) Sara Ruddick, “Maternal Thinking,” Mothering: Essays in Feminist Theory, ed. J. Trebilcot, pp. 211-230; Maria Lugones, “Playfulness, ‘World’-Travelling, and Loving Perception,” Making Face, Making Soul…, ed. Gloria Anzaldua, pp. 390-402; Tom L. Beauchamp and James F. Childress, “Types of Ethical Theory,” Principles of Biomedical Ethics, pp. 44-119.
Week 12
STUDENT-LED DISCUSSIONS ONGOING
DRAFT REVIEWS/FEEDBACK RETURNED
Topics: Can Sex and Gender be Separated? Biological Difference versus Sociological Conditioning
--Moira Gatens, Imaginary Bodies, Part I, Section 1, pp. 3-20; Part II, Section 5, pp. 60-75
--Evelyn Fox Keller, “The Gender/Science System: or, Is Sex to Gender as Nature is to Science?” Feminism and Science, pp. 33-44
Supplementary Texts: (In excerpted Form) Freud, “Some Psychological Consequences of the Anatomical Distinction between the Sexes,” Collected Papers, Vol. 5, pp. 186-197; Luce Irigaray, “The Looking Glass, from the Other Side.”