Books in the Re-Reading the Canon series

A collection of essays on the early modern English writer, proto-feminist, and rhetorician Mary Astell. Includes discussions on human nature, equality, rationality, power, freedom, friendship, marriage, and education.

An eminent philosopher of the 20th century, W.V. Quine made contributions to the philosophy of science, mathematical logic, and the philosophy of language. This work examines Quine's views, particularly his holism and naturalism, for their value to feminist theorizing.

Nietzsche has the reputation of being a virulent misogynist, so why are feminists interested in his philosophy? The essays in this volume provide answers to this question from a variety of feminist perspectives.

Simone de Beauvoir identified the importance of Maurice Merleau-Ponty's writings to feminist theory. But there has been little agreement on how Merleau-Ponty's ideas ultimately have an impact on feminist philosophy. The essays presented here attempt to situate Merleau-Ponty in the larger context of feminist theory.

The essays in this volume, representing a wide range of feminist interpretations of Rousseau, explore the many tensions in his thought that arise from his unique combination of radical and traditional perspectives on gender relations and the state.

A collection of essays that explore the philosophy and political theory of John Rawls from a variety of feminist perspectives.

A collection of articles that address Jane Addams (1860-1935) in terms of her contribution to feminist philosophy and theory through her work on culture, art, sex, society, religion, and politics.

A collection of essays examining the writings of William James. Provides a reinterpretation of pragmatism to devise philosophical resources for pragmatist feminism that challenge sexism and male privilege.

These essays reinterpret Simone de Beauvoir's relationship to existentialism and the problem of her relationship to feminism.

A collection of essays on the metaphysical, political, theological, ethical and psychological writings of Spinoza. Examines the ways in which his philosophy presents a resource for the re-conceptualization of friendship, sexuality, politics and ethics in contemporary life.

An exploration of the intersection between the work of Michel Foucault and feminist theory, focusing on Foucault''s theories of sex/body, identity/subject, and power/politics.Like the other books in this series, this volume seeks to bring a feminist perspective to bear on the interpretation of a major figure in the philosophical canon. In the case of Michel Foucault, however, this aim is somewhat ironic because Foucault sees his work as disrupting that very canon. Since feminists see their work as similarly disruptive, Foucault and feminism would seem to find much common ground, but, as the contributors to this collection reveal, the matter is not so simple. Foucault, like many feminists, is centrally concerned with questions related to sexuality and the body. This concern has led both Foucault and feminists to challenge the founding concept of the modernist philosophical canon: the disembodied transcendental subject. For both Foucault and feminists, this subject must be deconstructed and a new concept of identity articulated. The exciting possibilities of a Foucaultian approach to issues of the subject and identity, especially as they relate to sex and the body, are detailed in several of the essays collected here.Despite these possibilities, however, Foucault''s approach has raised serious questions about an equally crucial area of feminist thought-politics. Some feminist critics of Foucault have argued that his deconstruction of the concept "woman" also deconstructs the possibility of a feminist politics. Several essays explore the implications of this deconstruction for feminist politics and suggest that a Foucaultian feminist politics is not viable. Overall, this collection illustrates the range of interest Foucault''s thought has generated among feminist thinkers and both the advantages and liabilities of his approach for the development of feminist theory and politics.Contributors are Nancy Fraser, Nancy Hartsock, Judith Butler, Ellen L. McCallum, Linda Alcoff, Honi Haber, Jana Sawicki, Jon Simons, Monique Deveaux, Moya Lloyd, Amy Allen, and Terry Aladjem.Susan J. Hekman is Professor of Political Science and Associate Dean of Graduate Programs, College of Liberal Arts, at the University of Texas at Arlington. She is the author of, most recently, Moral Voices, Moral Selves: Carol Gilligan and Feminist Moral Theory (Penn State, 1995) and Gender and Knowledge: Elements of a Postmodern Feminism (Northeastern, 1990).

This landmark anthology is the first to engage critically the writings of Ayn Rand from feminist perspectives. The interdisciplinary feminist strategies of re-reading Rand range from the lightness of camp to the darkness of de Sade, from postandrogyny to poststructuralism. A highly charged dialogue on Rand's legacy provides the forum for a reexamination of feminism and its relationship to egoism, individualism, and capitalism. Rand's place in contemporary feminism is assessed through comparisons with other twentieth-century feminists, such as Beauvoir, Wolf, Paglia, Eisler, and Gilligan. What results is as provocative in its implications for Rand's system as it is for feminism.

The contributors to this volume, grappling with questions about the position of women in political society, investigate whether Machiavelli was truly a misogynist and a proto-fascist or instead a proto-feminist and a democratic republican.

This volume is divided into two parts, "Theoretical Sciences" and "Practical and Productive Sciences", reflecting the traditional structure of works in the Aristotelian corpus. It provides an understanding of Aristotle's work and of a feminist methodology in approaching contemporary issues.

A collection of essays examining the writings of William James. Provides a reinterpretation of pragmatism to devise philosophical resources for pragmatist feminism that challenge sexism and male privilege.

Simone de Beauvoir identified the importance of Maurice Merleau-Ponty's writings to feminist theory. But there has been little agreement on how Merleau-Ponty's ideas ultimately have an impact on feminist philosophy. The essays presented here attempt to situate Merleau-Ponty in the larger context of feminist theory.

Images of and references to women are so rare in the corpus of his published work that there seems to be no "woman question" for Hans-Georg Gadamer. Yet the authors of these 15 essays show it is possible to read past Gadamer's silences to find rich resources for feminist theory and practice.