Moral & Philosophical Issues of Gender in Society (PHIL 275)

This course is a (partial) philosophical introduction to feminist theory. We’ll begin with a brisk survey of some of the central concepts and issues treated by feminist philosophers, such as sexism, oppression, and relationships between them, the concept of gender, and established (patriarchal) social practices. Next we’ll move to a sustained reading of Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex. Finally, we’ll finish by considering two important theoretical developments in feminism after Beauvoir: the application of certain “postmodern” approaches to philosophy and social theory to questions of gender, and the intersection between problems of sex and gender, and those of race.

Cross-listed with WMST 275.

Benjamin Bagley’s webpage