Feminist political philosophy does have its favourite topics – including, but not limited to, gender justice, the politicization of the seemingly private or the debates on pornography or abortion, among others. Yet feminist political philosophy cannot be defined by these topics, for it aims at a different kind of political philosophy by incorporating questions concerning the oppression of women because of their gender into its methods of inquiry. The resulting theories are in deliberate tension to a traditional, value-free or neutral idea of science, thus requiring additional reflexivity. By reading classic texts of feminist political philosophy in the seminar, we will analyse both the substantial topics as well as the methodological implications embedded in feminist interventions in political theory. For above all, feminist political philosophy is a politicization of theory.
Preparatory Reading
Becker-Schmidt, Regina/Knapp, Gudrun-Axeli (2011): Feministische Theorien zur Einführung. 5., erg. Aufl. Hamburg: Junius.
Nagl-Docekal, Herta (2010): Feministische Philosophie. In: Becker, Ruth/Kortendiek, Beate (Hrsg.): Handbuch Frauen- und Geschlechterforschung. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, S. 302–311.
Rössler, Beate (1996): Feministische Theorien der Politik, in: Klaus von Beyme und Claus Offe (Hrsg.): Politische Theorien in der Ära der Transformation. Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag, 267–291.