Feminist Philosophy

Feminism denotes both a political movement and a set of philosophical concerns. In this course we will focus on the latter to move to the former. The goal is to obtain a philosophical background that will allow us to analyze and understand the philosophical foundations of different political feminist movements. First, we will read about what is the relationship between biological sex and gender; what is the relationship between gender and other forms of identity, e.g., race, class, sexual orientation, etc.; what issues arise when we consider our standard conceptions of knowledge, scientific inquiry, and rationality from the standpoint of oppression as women (any other gender identity). In the second part of the course, we will read about what constitutes oppression, how does it arise, and why women became oppressed; how our ethical and political theories should change to reflect feminist concerns about the status of women in modern society not limiting the latter to only feminist concerns and movements in affluent countries. We will read about feminist movements in Latina America, indigenous feminist movements, and India.