Philosophy and Gender
Code: 108434Credits: 6
| Degree programme | Type | Course |
|---|---|---|
| Philosophy | OB | 3 |
Contact lecturer
- Name :
- Anabella Di Tullio Arias
- Email :
- anabella.ditullio@uab.cat
Teaching staff
- Sofia Lorenzon
Group languages
You can consult this information at the end of the document.
Prerequisites
None.
Objectives
Philosophy and Gender is a required third-year course in the Philosophy degree program. The course introduces contemporary debates on the relationship between philosophy and gender with the aim of critically analyzing how feminist theory and gender studies have addressed fundamental philosophical categories such as the subject, reason, the body, freedom, equality, justice, and power. The course brings the philosophical tradition into dialogue with the contributions of contemporary feminist thought, including intersectional and decolonial approaches.
Objectives:
-To reconstruct the genealogy of modern and contemporary feminist philosophical thought by identifying its internal breaks and continuities.
-To analyze the field’s central concepts (otherness, performativity, autonomy, recognition, intersectionality, care) with philosophical rigor, drawing on original texts.
-To identify the reinterpretations that feminism offers of concepts from the philosophical tradition.
-To develop the ability to critically compare theoretical positions, identifying tensions and internal debates within the tradition.
-Integrate perspectives from postcolonial and decolonial feminism as a means of challenging the limits of the Western canon.
-Apply the conceptual tools acquired to the analysis of contemporary political and social issues.
Learning outcomes
- CM13 (Demonstrate intellectual autonomy, openness to dissent, and commitment to epistemic and social justice.) Demonstrate intellectual autonomy, openness to dissent, and commitment to epistemic and social justice.
- CM14 (Develop innovative proposals in which the role of philosophy in social and cultural transformation is recognised through ethical positioning in the face of various inequalities, as well as discrimination in the environment on the basis of gender, race or class.) Develop innovative proposals in which the role of philosophy in social and cultural transformation is recognised through ethical positioning in the face of various inequalities, as well as discrimination in the environment on the basis of gender, race or class.
- CM15 (Contrast through dialogue different contemporary philosophical currents, favoring interdisciplinary and inclusive reflection.) Contrast through dialogue different contemporary philosophical currents, favoring interdisciplinary and inclusive reflection.
- KM14 (Recognise the main contemporary philosophical currents, their historical contexts and their theoretical implications.) Recognise the main contemporary philosophical currents, their historical contexts and their theoretical implications.
- KM15 (Associate the different conceptions of the subject, language, history, justice and power in contemporary thought.) Associate the different conceptions of the subject, language, history, justice and power in contemporary thought.
- KM16 (Demonstrate a critical and plural philosophical vision of the contemporary world, aware of its social, political and cultural complexities and attentive to the impact of power relations on the shaping of discourses and identities.) Demonstrate a critical and plural philosophical vision of the contemporary world, aware of its social, political and cultural complexities and attentive to the impact of power relations on the shaping of discourses and identities.
- KM45 (Identify between the features that define an author's place in the context of a problem and reorganise them into a coherent scheme.) Identify between the features that define an author's place in the context of a problem and reorganise them into a coherent scheme.
- SM14 (Apply conceptual tools from various contemporary philosophical traditions to address current problems.) Apply conceptual tools from various contemporary philosophical traditions to address current problems.
- SM15 (Apply a critical and plural philosophical vision of the contemporary world, with an awareness of its social, political and cultural complexities.) Apply a critical and plural philosophical vision of the contemporary world, with an awareness of its social, political and cultural complexities.
- SM16 (Integrate contributions from different theoretical currents to formulate a grounded social perspective on historicity, language, rationality, oppression and identity.) Integrate contributions from different theoretical currents to formulate a grounded social perspective on historicity, language, rationality, oppression and identity.
Contents
Module 1: Introduction. Philosophy and gender: fields in dispute?
Foundations of feminist philosophy as a field of autonomous and critical thought. Tensions between reason, sexual difference and epistemological exclusion.
Readings:
- Alison Stone, An Introduction to Feminist Philosophy.
- Geneviève Fraisse, Musa de la razón
- Celia Amorós, Hacia una crítica de la razón patriarcal
Supplementary readings:
- Sara Ahmed, La política cultural de las emociones
Module 2: Feminist critique of the philosophical canon
The exclusion of women from the philosophical subject. Critical reading of foundational texts of the Western canon. Conceptual hierarchies.
Readings:
- Mary Wollstonecraft, Vindicación de los derechos de la mujer (selección)
- Birulés, Fina, Entreactos (Las filósofas y la tradición)
Supplementary readings:
- Michèle Le Doeuff, El estudio y la rueca.
- Genevieve Lloyd, The Man of Reason
Module 3: Body, Difference, and Sexuality
Critiques of Cartesian dualism. The construction of the sexed body and gender norms. Conceptual shifts.
Readings:
- Simone de Beauvoir, El segundo sexo (selección)
- Judith Butler, El género en disputa (cap. 1 y 3)
- Judith Butler, Cuerpos que importan (cap. 1)
- Monique Wittig, El pensamiento heterosexual
Supplementary readings:
- Paul B. Preciado, Manifiesto contra-sexual
Module 4: Italian Difference Feminism
Critiques of the category of equality. Sexual difference as a political category. The symbolic order and the genealogy of women.
Readings:
- Carla Lonzi, Escupamos sobre Hegel y otros escritos
- Libreria delle donne di Milano, No creas tener derechos. La generación de la libertad femenina en las ideas y vivencias de un grupo de mujeres
- Lia Cigarini, La política del deseo: la diferencia femenina se hace historia
Supplementary readings:
- Luisa Muraro, El Orden simbólico de la madre
Module 5: Freedom, power and subject: contemporary debates
Critique of liberal freedom as abstract self-determination: What does it mean to be free from a feminist perspective? Tensions between liberalism, structuralism and poststructural critique. Subject situated, embodied and in relation: vulnerable bodies, dependencies and material conditions. Concepto of care.
Readings:
- Martha C. Nussbaum, The Feminist Critique of Liberalism en Sex and Social Justice
- Carole Pateman, El contrato sexual (cap. 1 y 5)
- Iris Marion Young, La justicia y la política de la diferencia (cap. “La idea de la justicia como inclusión”)
- Susan Moller Okin, ¿Es el multiculturalismo malo para las mujeres?
- Nancy Fraser, La justicia social en la era de la política de la identidad: redistribución, reconocimiento y participación
Supplementary readings:
- Joan Tronto, Moral Boundaries
- Eva Kittay, Love’s Labor
Module 6: Gender, coloniality and critical epistemologies
Intersectionality and non-hegemonic feminisms. Decolonial critiques of the enlightened subject and of abstract universality
Readings:
- María Lugones, “Colonialidad y género”
- bell hooks, Teoría feminista: de los márgenes al centro
- Rita Segato, La guerra contra las mujeres (cap. 4: Colonialidad y patriarcado moderno)
- Gloria Anzaldúa, Borderlands/La frontera
Learning activities and methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading the bibliography | 75 | 3 | CM13, CM15, KM14, KM15, KM16, KM45, SM14, SM15, SM16 |
| Theoretical and practical classroom sessions | 46 | 1.84 | CM13, CM14, CM15, KM14, KM15, KM16, KM45, SM14, SM15, SM16 |
| Tutoring, development of active and collaborative learning activities | 22 | 0.88 | CM13, CM14, CM15, KM14, KM15, KM16, KM45, SM14, SM15, SM16 |
Classroom sessions will combine lectures with time set aside for the analysis and group discussion of the texts.
Active and collaborative learning methods.
Moodle will be used to share materials and post grades.
Assessment
Continuous assessment activities
| Title | Weight | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exam | 40% | 3.5 | 0.14 | CM13, CM14, CM15, KM14, KM15, KM16, KM45, SM14, SM15, SM16 |
| Text analysis | 35% | 2.5 | 0.1 | CM13, CM15, KM14, KM15, KM16, KM45, SM14, SM15, SM16 |
| Group Oral Presentation | 15% | 1 | 0.04 | CM13, CM14, KM14, KM15, KM16, KM45, SM14, SM15, SM16 |
Course assessment is ongoing and requires class attendance and consistent participation throughout the course.
To pass the course, students must earn a grade of at least 5 on the final exam. If this requirement is not met, students must take the retake exam. Students may also take the retake exam to make up for a failed text analysis or to improve their exam grade.
Students who have completed less than 30% of the assessment activities will receive a grade of “not evaluable.”
Active participation in class beyond the required presentation will be taken into account.
At the time each assessment activity is conducted, students will be informed of the procedure and date for reviewing exams.
If a student commits any irregularity that could lead to a significant change in the grade for an assessment, that assessment will be graded as a 0, regardless of any disciplinary proceedings that may be initiated. If multiple irregularities occur in the assessments for the same course, the final grade for that course will be 0.
The Department of Philosophy may establish (as it did during the first semester) a concentrated period for assessment exams. Faculty members will indicate whether such a period exists and what the exam dates are at the beginning of each course.
Single Evaluation
Assessment Components: Essay exam, text analysis, and comparative reading exercise. All three assessment components will take place on the same day.
Weighting of Assessment Components: Exam 50%, Text Analysis 25%, and Comparative Reading Exercise 25%.
Use of AI
Restricted use: For this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted exclusively for support tasks, such as bibliographic or information searches, text correction, or translations. Students must clearly identify which parts were generated using this technology, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how these tools influenced the process and the final result of the activity, as well as provide the link and all corresponding prompts. Failure to disclose the use of AI in this graded assignment will be considered a breach of academic integrity and may result in a partial or total deduction from the assignment grade, or more severe penalties in serious cases.
Bibliography
Ahmed, S. (2015). La política cultural de las emociones. UNAM.
Amorós, C. (1991) Hacia una crítica de la razón patriarcal. Anthropos.
Beauvoir, S. de (2005). El segundo sexo (selección). Ediciones Cátedra.
Birulés, F. (2015). Entreactos. En torno a la política, el feminismo y el pensamiento. Katz.
Butler, J. (2002). El género en disputa (caps. 1 y 3). Paidós.
Butler, J. (2014). Cuerpos que importan (cap. 1). Paidós.
Cigarini, L. (1996). La política del deseo: La diferencia femenina se hace historia. Icaria Editorial.
Fraisse, G. (1991). Musa de la razón: La democracia excluyente y la diferencia de los sexos. Cátedra.
Held, V. (2006). The ethics of care: Personal, political, and global. Oxford University Press.
hooks, b. (2020). Teoría feminista: De los márgenes al centro. Traficantes de Sueños.
Kittay, E. F. (1999). Love’s labor: Essays on women, equality and dependency. Routledge.
Le Doeuff, M. (1999). El estudio y la rueca. De las mujeres, de la filosofía, etc. Ediciones Cátedra.
Libreria delle donne di Milano. (1991). No creas tener derechos. La generación de la libertad femenina en las ideas y vivencias de un grupo de mujeres. Horas y Horas.
Lonzi, C. (2018). Escupamos sobre Hegel y otros escritos. Traficantes de Sueños.
Lloyd, G. (1984). The man of reason: "Male" and "female" in Western philosophy. Routledge.
Lugones, M. (2008). Colonialidad y género. Tabula Rasa, 9, 73–101.
Muraro, L. (1994). El orden simbólico de la madre. Horas y Horas.
Nussbaum, M. C. (1999). The feminist critique of liberalism. En Sex and social justice (pp. 55–80). Oxford University Press.
Preciado, P. B. (2002). Manifiesto contra-sexual. Opera Prima.
Segato, R. L. (2016). Colonialidad y patriarcado moderno. En La guerra contra las mujeres (cap. 4, pp. 105–121). Traficantes de Sueños.
Stone, A. (2007). An introduction to feminist philosophy. Polity Press.
Tronto, J. C. (1993). Moral boundaries: A political argument for an ethic of care. Routledge.
Wollstonecraft, M. (2000). Vindicación de los derechos de la mujer (selección). Ediciones Cátedra.
Young, I. M. (2000). La justicia y la política de la diferencia, Cátedra.
Software
No specific software required.
Course groups and languages
The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE
| Type of teaching | Group | Language | Semester | Shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (TE) Theory | 1 | Spanish | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | Spanish | second semester | morning-mixed |