PHIL 271T(S) Woman as "Other" (Same as Women's and Gender Studies 271T) (W)

At mid-century, Simone de Beauvoir, perhaps the greatest feminist theorist of the twentieth century, described woman as "living is a world where men compel her to assume the status of the Other." In other words, man is the absolute subject, and woman takes on all of the negative qualities (bodily, mortal, irrational) that he prefers not to see in himself. At the same time, Beauvoir asserts: "One is not born a woman, one becomes one." How, given the fact that woman historically have been reduced to objects for men, that they have internalized the gaze of men, can they become subjects for themselves? How can (and do?) they become self- rather than other-determined? What are the conditions of possibility for authentic, self-determining womanhood? For authentic personhood? Is authenticity even possible? Must the relation between self and other inevitably be one of objectification and domination? Is reciprocity and mutuality in self- other relations possible? In our effort to deepen our understanding of these important philosophical questions, questions that have been at the center of social and political thought at least since Hegel introduced the dialectic of master and slave, we will engage in close readings of influential works by Beauvoir, Luce Irigary and Judith Butler.
Format: tutorial; students will work in pairs. Requirements: each student will write and present orally a five-page essay every other week. Students not presenting essays will prepare oral critiques of their partners' essays.
Evaluation will be based on written work, oral presentations of essays, and oral critiques.
Prerequisites: one course in either Philosophy or Women's and Gender Studies. Enrollment limit: 10 (expected: 6-8).

Tutorial meetings to be arranged. SAWICKI