November 6, 2014 - 22:10
I promised you a few resources.
The classic text on standpoint theory is Sandra Harding's 1993 essay, "Rethinking Standpoint Epistemology: What is 'Strong Objectivity?" --
which argues (as I said in class) that the perspectives of marginalized and oppressed individuals can help to create
more objective accounts of the world; these individuals are placed in a unique position to point to patterns of behavior
that those in the dominant group culture are unable to recognize....
I actually think that the wikipedia entry on standpoint theory is a good starting point and overview of this concept:
it gives a history that goes all the way back to Hegel's identifying the different standpoints of master and slave....
I also mentioned the work of Marilyn Waring, a one-time New Zealand legislator, feminist, environmentalist, anti-nuclear activist
and economist; I find her stuff very imaginative, an interesting extension of the range of discourses we are exploring here. I've put four
chapters of her book Counting for Nothing, up in our password protected file; you might also watch the 90-minute video about
her work, Who's Counting? (which you may find more engaging....).