Course Catalog

This course provides a survey of topics in contemporary feminist philosophy, and it will be divided into four units: (1) Oppression, Gender, & Misogyny; (2) Objectification & Self-Objectification; (3) Consent & Sexual Violence; and (4) Feminist Epistemologies. In our first unit, we’ll discuss concepts that are fundamental to feminist theory, including oppression, gender, and misogyny; and then we’ll consider how sexist and racist oppression relate to and augment each other. In our second unit, we’ll ask questions like: what does it mean to be objectified? Who/what can be objectified and who/what can objectify? Then, in our third unit we’ll turn our attention to the nature of consent and sexual violence. We’ll ask: what is consent? What role does consent play in an ethical sex life? What is rape? How does rape relate to other sexual wrongs? And, finally, we’ll survey some of the recent literature in feminist epistemology, focusing largely on the phenomenon of hermeneutical injustice. Prerequisite: PHIL 120. Fall semester, odd-numbered years.