Reconstructing political theory : feminist perspectives

Product Description In this volume, a companion to Feminist Interpretations and Political Theory (Penn State, 1991) edited by Mary Lyndon Shanley and Carole Pateman, leading feminist theorists rethink the traditional concepts of political theory and expand the range of problems and concerns regarded as central to the analysis of political life. Written by well-known scholars in philosophy, political science, sociology, and law, the book provides a rich interdisciplinary account of key issues in political thought.While some of the chapters discuss traditional concepts such as rights, power, freedom, and citizenship, others argue that topics less frequently discussed in political theory—such as the family, childhood, dependency, compassion and suffering—are just as significant for an understanding of political life. The Introduction shows how such diverse topics can be linked together and how feminist political theory can be elaborated systematically if it takes notions of independence and dependency, public and private, and power and empowerment as central to its agenda. Review “Feminist thinking will benefit greatly by engaging with Shanley and Narayan's fine collection of essays. I would further recommend its use in graduate or advanced undergraduate classes—not only for courses in feminist theory, but also (and perhaps especially!) in more general democratic theory or political philosophy courses.”—Susan Bickford, Hypatia“This collection is a valuable contribution both to the feminist challenge to mainstream political theory and to ongoing debates within feminist theory. The essays in this volume reveal how profoundly the full inclusion of women transforms fundamental concepts and arguments in political theory—from dependency and privacy to rights and power.”—Susan Okin, Stanford University About the Author Uma Narayan is Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Mary Lyndon Shanley is Professor of Political Science, both at Vassar College.