University of the West of England
MODULE SPECIFICATION
(Revised November 2002)
Code: UPSNPQ-30-3 Title: Feminist Philosophy Version: 2
Level: 3 UWE credit rating: 30 ECTS credit rating: 15
Module type: Standard
Owning Faculty: SSH Field: Sociology
Valid from: September 2008 Discontinued from:
Contributes towards: Awards up to BA/BSc (Hons.)
Pre-requisites: None
Co-requisites: None
Excluded combinations: None
Learning outcomes:
Students should be able to:
1 Demonstrate a grasp of key concepts and theoretical approaches in feminist philosophy (Components A & B);
2 Demonstrate understanding of debates surrounding the question of the nature of the knowing subject (Components A & B);
3 Demonstrate knowledge of the main theories in feminist epistemology and the central problems that have been posed in the subject (Components A & B).
Syllabus outline:
The syllabus is likely to vary and evolve over time but will generally include most of the following:
1 An overview of central questions in epistemology, including the views of key classical western thinkers on the subject – Descoles, Locke and Kent;
2 The feminist challenge to the idea of universal knowing, looking at feminist standpoint theory, as presented by feminist philosophers Harding and Hartstock;
3 Critique of this approach to epistemology including the work of Benhabib
4 An examination of the nature of the self, and the nature of the knowing subject.
Teaching and learning methods:
1 Traditional lecture;
2 Workshops and presentations;
3 Readings;
4 Discussions.
Indicative sources:
Assiter, A (1996) Enlightened Women, London: Routledge.
Benhabib, S (1992) Searching the Self, Routledge, London
Braidotti, R. (1991) Patterns of Dissonance, Cambridge: Polity Press
Code, L. (1991) What can she know? Feminist Theory and the Construction of Knowledge, New York: Cornell
Craig, E. (1990) Knowledge and the State of Nature – An Essay in Conceptual Synthesis, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Dalmiya, V. and Alcoff, L. (1993) Are ‘Old Wives’ Tales Justified? in Alcoff, L. and Potter, E. (eds) Feminist Epistemologies, London and New York: Routledge.
de Weitz, S. (1999) Reasonableness, pluralism and justice: a pragmatic approach. Paper presented in the conference volume. The Liberal Order: The Future for Social Justice, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic, pp.84-94.
Gadamer, H-G, (1975) Truth and Method, London: Sheed and Ward
Gellner, E. (1992) Reason and Culture, New Perspectives on the Past, Oxford: Blackwell.
Gilroy, P. (1993) The Black Atlantic: double Consciousness and Modernity, Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press
Griffiths, M. (1995) Feminisms and the Self, the Web of Identity, Routledge: London.
Grimshaw, J. (1986) Feminist philosophers, Women’s Perspectives on Philosophical Traditions, Brighton: Harvester
Hall, Radclyffe, (1983) The Well of Loneliness, London: Virago.
Habermas, J. (1972) Knowledge and Human Interests, (trans. Jeremy J. Shapiro) London, Heinman
Nicholson, L. London: Routledge.
Harding, S. (1986) The Science Question in Feminism, Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Harding, S. (1991) Whose Science, Whose Knowledge? Thinking from Women’s Lives, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Harding, S. (1993) Rethinking Standpoint Epistemologies: What is Strong Objectivity? in Feminist Epistemologies, ed Linda Alcoff and Elizabeth Potter, London: Routledge
Hartstock, No. (1983) Money, Sex and Power, New York: Longman
Hartstock, N. (1983) The Feminist Standpoint: Developing the Ground for a Specifically Feminist Historical Materialism, in Harding, S. and Hintikka, M. (eds) Discovering Reality, Dortrecht Boston, London: Reidel. 311-32.
Hegel, G.W.F. (1967) The Phenomenology of Mind, trans.Baillie, J.B. New York: Harper and Row.
Lennon, K. (1997) Reply to Longino, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Supp. Vol.LXX1 38 –
Seller, A. (1994) Should the Feminist Philosopher stay at home? in Lennon, K. and Whiteford, M. Knowing the Difference, Feminist Perspectives in Epistemology, London: Routledge, 230-249.
Stanley, L. (1997) (ed) Knowing Feminisms, London: Sage.
Assessment
Weighting between components A and B (standard modules only) A: 25% B: 75%
ATTEMPT 1
First Assessment Opportunity
Component A
Description of each element Element weighting
1. Oral Presentation (1 hour) 25%
Component B
Description of each element Element weighting
1. Short Essay (2-3000 words) 37.5%
2. Short Essay (2-3000 words) 37.5%
Second Assessment Opportunity (further attendance at taught classes is not required)
Component A
Description of each element Element weighting
1. Test (1 hour) 25%
Component B
Description of each element Element weighting
1. Short Essay (2-3000 words) 37.5%
2. Short Essay (2-3000 words) 37.5%
SECOND (OR SUBSEQUENT) ATTEMPT: Attendance at taught classes is not required.
Specification confirmed by …………………………………………………Date ……………………………
(Associate Dean/Programme Director)