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27 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What is the classic definition of Theory? |
-A contemplative, rational, abstract way of thinking about how nature works - Pure theory involves no doing it is the search to understand causes, rather than applying solutions "To theorize is to develop knowledge" |
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What is the feminist definition of theory? |
Theory is dependent upon practice; theory & practice have a reciprocal relationship -Thinking emerges from experience, social location, and is personalized - Feminist theory emerges from personal experience with oppression and injustice - Need diversity in theorists (ethnicity, gender, race, culture, sex etc.) |
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What is PRAXIS? |
The combination of theory and practice - Theory is dependent on practice and they have a reciprocal relationship (theory enables practice and practice enables theory) - There is no hierarchy of theory-practice - No dichotomy (division) between them "When our lived experience of theorizing is fundamentally linked to the process of self-recovery, of collective liberation, no gap exists between theory and practice" |
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Who said the quote, "theory could be a healing place"?
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Bell Hooks in her essay "Theory as a Liberatory Practice"
- She describes how her theory comes from a painful childhood entwined in classism and racism - Through theory, she identified where her pain came from and it allowed her to heal - She had personal experience with injustice and with the need to solve injustice |
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Why is the classic theory not trusted? |
It has been around for a long time but has not accomplished much. It has been standardized and uses inaccessible. |
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What was Bell Hooks, "Theory as Liberatory Practice" about? |
- She says that theorizing can help make sense of what happens in the world and leads to healing, liberation, and revolution - She argues that feminist theory has been commodified by white females which uses the same jargon making it inaccessible for many.
- She says that while feminist theory may legitimize women's studies in the eyes of the patriarchy but it subverts feminist theory. - However the production of theory as a social practice is liberatory. She argues for the need of theory within practice and for the use of personal experience in theory. |
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What are the tension with theory? |
Pro: - It legitimizes feminist theory within the academy Con: - Theory often uses inaccessible and complex jargon (intellectualism assumed to be alienating) - Theory is often dismissed as pointless/opposed to action |
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Who says the quote, " By reinforcing the idea that there is a split between theory and practice or by creating such a split, both groups deny the power of liberatory education for critical consciousness thereby perpetuating conditions that reinforce our collective exploitation and repression”? |
Bell Hooks in her essay "Theory as a liberatory practice" -She argues for the incorporation of theory into practices as they are reciprocal - She says that both theory and practice are essential as there is a need for critical thinking to understand where the problematic ideas come from |
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Who said the quote, “I found a place where I could imagine possible futures, a place where life could be lived differently”? |
Bell Hooks in her essay "Theory as a liberatory practice" |
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How has feminism been harmful? |
Feminism fails when it makes problematic assumptions and lacks intersectionality. Feminism can be both liberatory and conservatory and it must been a reflexive discipline. However, it has historically failed and been harmful to certain groups when it has lack intersectionality. ex: notion for separatism of women and men/hating men + alienation of women of color who needed to fight against racial oppression as well as sexism |
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Maria Lugones and Elizabeth Spelman |
Wrote "Have we got a Theory for You!" => Standpoint Theory |
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What is discussed in Maria Lugones and Elizabeth Spelman's "Have we got a Theory for You!"? |
In this essay, they discuss how the important differences between women and how they are silenced. They warn about the dangers of having accounts of certain women's lives being told by someone else as it leads to falsity, ignorance, and lies told to oppress. They explain that the premise of feminism is telling stories and they demand to head more women's voices. They explain how the silencing of women's voices is systematic and how some women have more privilege than others. They explain that feminist theory is irrelevant to other types of women because it is based on stories but these women (who intersect with sex, race, religion) are silenced. Finally, they explain that there needs to be a genuine dialogue between the groups 'inside' and 'outside.' |
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What is wrong with the "Sisterhood" message? |
It ignores important differences between women including sex, race, gender, ableism etc. This message has been used to call women together; however, it massively overgeneralizes the term 'women'. This type of feminist theory doesn't come from all women only the select few that are privileged therefore it doesn't account for all 'women'. |
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Who said the quote, "itis only possible for a woman who does not feel highly vulnerable with respectto other parts of her identity…to conceive of her voice simply…as a ‘woman’svoice" |
Maria Lugones and Elizabeth Spelman in their essay, "Have we got a Theory for You!" |
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Who said the quote, "becausenotall women are equally vulnerable with respect to race, class, etc., somewomen’s voices are more likely to be heard than others"? |
Maria Lugones and Elizabeth Spelman in their essay, "Have we got a Theory for You!" |
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Who said the quote, "feministtheory has not for the most part arisen out of a medley or women’s voices;instead, the theory has arisen out of the voices, the experiences, of a fairlysmall handful of women"? |
Maria Lugones and Elizabeth Spelman in their essay, "Have we got a Theory for You!" |
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What is Standpoint Theory? |
Much authority in this theory is based on experience - Authority is rooted in individuals' knowledge (their perspectives), and the power that such authority exerts. The dominant group usually can not see the difference in the 'norms' ex: Stairs instead of wheelchair accessible English as the main language Affirmative action getting into college |
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Who said the quote, "Weand you do not talk the same language. When we talk to you we use yourlanguage: the language of your experience and of your theories. We try to useit to communicate our world of experience. But since your language and yourtheories are inadequate in expressing our experiences, we only succeed incommunicating our experiences of exclusion" |
Maria Lugones and Elizabeth Spelman in their essay, "Have we got a Theory for You!" |
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Who said the quote, "You are ill at ease in our world. You are ill at ease in our world in a very different way that we are ill at ease in yours. […] [w]e have had to be in your world and learn its ways. We have to participate in it, make a living in it, live in it, be mistreated in it, be ignored in it, and rarely, be appreciated in it. […] So your being ill at ease in our world lacks the features of our being ill at ease in yours precisely because you can leave and you can always tell yourselves that you will be soon out of there and because the wholeness of yourselves is never touched by us, we have no tendency to remake you in our image"? |
Maria Lugones and Elizabeth Spelman in their essay, "Have we got a Theory for You!" |
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What use is theory that fails to account for experience? |
If theory does not include experience and personal accounts then it is not only useless but is harmful. |
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When is theory useful? |
1. When it points out unforeseen connections in life 2. Helps locate oneself in the world (and their relation to power) 3. Enables thinking about whether/how one is responsible for being in that location 4. Provides criteria for change 5. Convincingly argues for its connection to change |
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How can theory be improved through dialogue between groups? |
People that experience life differently may never be able to see eye-to-eye; however, the goal should be for friendship and a reciprocal dialogue between outside groups and in groups. To have productive dialogue there must be incredible humility. |
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Who said the quote, "Theonly motive that makes sense…for your joining us in this investigation is the motiveof friendship…. Anon-imperialist feminism requires that you make a real space for ourarticulating, interpreting, theorizing and reflecting…. It requires that you bewilling to devote a great part of your life to it and that you be willing tosuffer alienation and self-disruption”? |
Maria Lugones and Elizabeth Spelman in their essay, "Have we got a Theory for You!" |
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Who said the quote, "onlywhen genuine and reciprocal dialoguetakesplace between ‘outsiders’ and ‘insiders’ can we trust the outsider’s account"? |
Maria Lugones and Elizabeth Spelman in their essay, "Have we got a Theory for You!" |
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Who said the quote, “…..Only then can we engage in a mutual dialogue that does not reduce each one ofus to instances of the abstraction called ‘woman.'”? |
Maria Lugones and Elizabeth Spelman in their essay, "Have we got a Theory for You!" |
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What are the requirements for dialogue? |
1. Be unintrusive & unimportant, patient 2. Come to terms being alienated and viewed with mistrust 3. Respect and forgo any power you have over us ( language, education etc.) 4. Question yourselves and your role in own culture |
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When does genuine dialogue breakdown? |
- When people get defensive ( people close to power think the critic is about them being bad people) - when people who are so close to power don't realize their privilege (historically/educationally etc) - When people behave individualistic and egoistic - interject ourselves into the conversation |
