Philosophy 290-6

This course will cover topics in feminist epistemology with special attention to standpoint theory. Standpoint theory treats standpoints that emerge from experiences of oppression, exploitation, and marginalization as epistemically privileged. Questions we will consider are: what is the authority of experience, are there uninterpreted experiences, how do experiences of hermeneutical injustice propel conceptual change, when is suffering a source of knowledge, what does consciousness-raising accomplish, and is ideology a problem for standpoint theory? We will also discuss historical predecessors: Hegel, Marx, Georg Lukács, and Angela Davis.