Essay questions (2 of these 3 questions will appear on the exam. Please pick only ONE of these to respond to. Your essay should have an introduction, roughly 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The essay is worth 70 points.) 1) Discuss some of the differences in perspective between Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Emma Goldman, and Rosa Luxemburg on the subject of women’s suffrage. What political ideologies do each of the authors express? How do each of these perspectives relate to their overall social theories (i.e., how does society “work,” according to them)? What are some flaws in their analyses? Please analyze at least one specific idea from each author in your response. 2) Discuss the impact of post-structuralism on the feminist movement. What are the theoretical and political aims of the post-structuralist critique? How have feminist and queer theorists engaged with these ideas in their work? Be sure to discuss at least two of our course readings in your response. 3) What does intersectionality theory tell us about gender and its relationship to structural inequality? In which context did this theory emerge, and how have social movements since then responded to it? How have different authors/activists exemplified intersectionality in their work, and what are the larger implications of this work in relation to feminism? Be sure to reference at least two readings from our course in your response. --- #### 1) Compare Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Emma Goldman, and Rosa Luxemburg on the subject of women’s suffrage. #### 2) Discuss the impact of post-structuralism on the feminist movement. Discuss the impact of post-structuralism on the feminist movement. What are the theoretical and political aims of the post-structuralist critique? How have feminist and queer theorists engaged with these ideas in their work? Be sure to discuss at least two of our course readings in your response. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Bu2LxzgDzM5l9fgoOW-xSiZN_BfTCdVaY0KQv6K322A/edit#slide=id.g9b5bfad7e2_0_46 https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1SshEl5OR3Ku3tYhnxzD7TBhy61zoWBg7P8uOm2LL5cI/edit#slide=id.g81f44e11d2_0_121 First wave: 19th century, really kicked off in 1840s with Seneca Falls Convention. Really goes until (white) women get right to vote in 1920 with 19th amendment. Second wave: 1960s/70s, connected to larger movement The New Left. Women begin revolting against conservative, patriarchal ideals and repressed sexuality. The new left was distinguishing itself from the old left which was associated with soviet-style, cold war politics. They wanted something more like Che Guveras and Mao's style. Third wave: late 1980s, 1990s, connected to post-Structuralism, especially Foucault; Queer theory developed and elaborated on by Judith Butler. Butler's performativity theory has been misinterpreted as fake (e.g. "performative outrage") or as a performance (e.g. a theatrical performance). She uses "performative" in the linguistic notion of the word, where by declaring it, you make it so. (e.g. "I now pronounce you husband and wife." or "I sentence you to 5 years in prison.") So, in doing the thing, you make it real. There is no such thing as gender that exists outside of us doing gender. We are constituting gender as we do it. Butler's idea in relation to what Foucault was saying. Foucault was saying that there's no sense of self outside of our cultural and historical relations, there's no pure, free self that isn't being imposed upon. It's a rejection of the Enlightenment way of thinking that you're born free and society puts you in chains. Foucault and Butler are saying you were never free, you were always born in some sort of web of historical significance. This idea helps queer theorists to start questioning heteronormativity and the gender binary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBJTeNTZtGU Michel Foucault was a French 20th century philosopher and historian who spent his career forensically criticizing the power of the modern bourgeois capitalist state, including its police, law courts, prisons, doctors and psychiatrists. His goal was to work out nothing less than how power worked and then to change it in the direction of a marxist-anarchist utopia. Though he spent most of his life in libraries and seminar rooms, he was a committed revolutionary figure. He met with enormous popularity in elite Parisian intellectual circles. Post-structuralism is difficult to define, but can be broadly understood as a body of reactions to structuralism. It's difficult to define because post-structuralism rejects definitions that claim to have discovered facts or absolute truths about the world. Additionally, very few people have willingly accepted the label "post-structuralist"— they have been labeled by others as such. Lastly, no one has produced a post-structuralist manifesto. ### Theoretical and Political Aims of Post-Structuralist Critique - **Deconstruction of Fixed Identities**: Post-structuralism challenges the idea of inherent, static identities, arguing instead that identities are constructed through discourse and power relations. This critique opens space for feminist and queer theorists to question and dismantle binary gender norms and essentialist notions of identity. - **Emphasis on Power and Discourse**: It emphasizes how power dynamics are enacted through language and discourse, influencing societal structures and individual subjectivities. This lens allows for a nuanced analysis of how gender oppression and privileges are perpetuated. - **Questioning of Universal Truths**: Post-structuralism is skeptical of grand narratives and universal truths, advocating for a recognition of the plurality of experiences and perspectives. This approach aligns with feminist goals of highlighting diverse women's voices and experiences. ### Engagement of Feminist and Queer Theorists - **Michel Foucault**: Although not a feminist or queer theorist per se, Foucault's ideas on power, knowledge, and discourse have profoundly influenced feminist and queer theories. His concept of power relations as embedded in everyday practices and institutions provides tools for analyzing gender and sexuality's socio-political dimensions. - **Judith Butler**: A direct proponent of post-structuralist critique in gender studies, Butler's concept of gender performativity challenges the notion of gender as a fixed identity, arguing instead that it is produced and maintained through repeated performances. Her work exemplifies the application of post-structuralist ideas to feminist and queer theory. - **Siobhan Somerville**: Engaging with both post-structuralist and queer theory, Somerville explores the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality, demonstrating how these categories are not natural but constructed through historical and social discourses. - **Angela Davis**: While Davis's work is more commonly associated with critical race theory and Marxist feminism, her analysis of the intersections of race, class, and gender echoes post-structuralist critiques of universal narratives and highlights the complex interplay of multiple systems of oppression. - **Anne Fausto-Sterling**: A biologist and feminist theorist, Fausto-Sterling applies post-structuralist critique to the biological sciences, challenging essentialist notions of sex and gender. Her work on the fluidity of biological sex categories and the social construction of gender aligns with post-structuralist emphasis on the contingent nature of identities.