Women in Philosophy of Education
Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain
Branch SeminarRelationships, Practices, Imaginaries
September 30-October 2, 2011
University of Edinburgh, Moray House School of Education
In an attempt to profile the work of women, and career-young researchers of both sexes, in philosophy of education, the organisers of this weekend seminar on the theme relationships, practices, imaginaries invite participation from a variety of perspectives and request submissions to present works in progress. Submissions not directly related to the theme are also welcome. Our hope is to create a fertile environment for discussion, networking, and mentoring across a range of interests. We strongly encourage both new and more experienced scholars to get involved in generating an active and lively intellectual community.
We are inviting proposals of works in progress of 2000-3000 words. Deadline for submission is August 15, 2011. The seminar will run from 3 p.m. Friday to 12 p.m. Sunday and there will be 3 time slots for presenters to discuss their work, Friday evening, Saturday morning and afternoon, with a scheduled meeting planned for Sunday morning. We will group the proposals thematically for each of the three time slots, and post them on-line prior to the seminar so that everyone can read them beforehand.
The conference registration fee is £20 and confirmation of participation is required by September 1st. Funding is available for travel, bed and breakfast accommodation and meals. You do not need to present a paper to apply. Since our budget is limited, travel funding will be prioritised according to need. Application forms from Caroline Maloney, carolinemaloney25 AT yahoo.co.uk. For more information please contact one of the organisers below.
Morwenna Griffiths Sharon Todd
morwenna.griffiths AT ed.ac.uk sharon.todd AT edu.su.se
CFP: Women in Philosophy of Education (Relationships, Practices, Imaginaries) April 14, 2011
One way to support our colleagues in Wisconsin April 14, 2011
Here’s a link to an open letter, signed by professors, in support of colleagues in Wisconsin: http://www.petitiononline.com/taa2010/petition.html
Hedda Sterne, 1910-2011 April 13, 2011
She was an artist in NYC who died at 100 on April 8. From the CDS Gallery:
After studying art in Paris, Bucharest and Vienna, Hedda Sterne emigrated to the United States in 1941. Upon her arrival, Sterne’s work was included in the maiden exhibition of surrealism in the United States, First Papers of Surrealism (October 1942), curated by Marcel Duchamp and André Breton. In the fifties, she was a prominent member of the Irascibles, along with Jackson Pollock, Robert Motherwell, Clyfford Still, Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman, among others. In this innovative milieu, Sterne was a key figure in developing the language of what came to be known as Abstract Expressionism.
A key figure in Abstract Expressionism. Is she one of these wonderfully talented women who ‘simply’ disappear from public sight, to leave us with the idea that only men can be great artists?**
She can be seen in this famous photograph from a 1951 picture of the leading lights of Abstract Expressionism:
**That is to say, of the many mechanism that contribute to placing one in the national and international spotlight, too few were available to/applied to her.
Opposing big government: What’s that really about? April 13, 2011
Darian Warren at Colorlines has an interesting answer to the question, What is behind the loathing of big government that the Tea Party has brought to the center of US politics? You can get to his answer by asking yourself where the claims about states’ rights start to become very vocal.
Of course, that’s when southern states opposed government regulations that would deprive them of slave labor. Keeping government small, Warren claims, is about maintaining the exploitation of black labor and opposing any social amelioration of the resulting injustices.
I think it’s very tempting to respond by pointing out that an anti-big-government sentitment starts with the founding of the country; it begins as a resistance to the idea of having a king, and not as a plan to preserve slavery. But this response probably misunderstands the issues raised, which are about the present sentiment. If the Tea Party is really just against a large government, where were they during the presidency of GW Bush?
Thinking about the possibly more subtle racism behind the Tea Party also offers a perspective on the mixed blessing of Obama’s speech today on the budget. Against most economists, he has agreed that the deficit is a really, really bad thing. But at least he did also say (from the NY Times):
“There’s nothing serious about a plan that claims to reduce the deficit by spending a trillion dollars on tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires,” Mr. Obama said of budget proposals put forward by Republicans in the House. “There’s nothing courageous about asking for sacrifice from those who can least afford it and don’t have any clout on Capitol Hill. And this is not a vision of the America I know.”
I’m not sure what we should finally think about Warren’s idea, but it does offer a solution to a puzzle. Why does the white fear that is so obviously fueling the Tea Party end up with bad economic ideas about cutting spending when the economy is still so fragile? The answer is that it isn’t directly about economics.
And then there’s Mitch McConnell of Kentuky, Senate minority leader:
… too often, it seems, Democrats in Washington claim to be interested in helping those in need, when what they really seek is to protect big government.
What do you think?
What they’re doing in physics about what it’s like April 13, 2011
In 2009, the Institute of Physics carried out a survey on childcare, and since then, they’ve set up a Carers Fund to help cover members’ costs when they want to attend an IoP event and need to arrange care for someone…
Equality Act? that’s just pointless red tape… April 13, 2011
In case anyone’s missed it, here in the UK we’ve got a shiny new coalition government, and one of the things they’re really keen on is cutting unnecessary bureaucracy and red tape. So they’ve started a website, the Red Tape Challenge, where they’re inviting people to comment on which areas of pointless regulation they think should be abolished. Note, regulation, NOT primary legislation: so this is supposed to be about the kinds of details which get set out in secondary legislation after Parliament has properly debated and decided the principles.
But then we get to the section on ‘Equalities‘. Unlike the other topic areas, here they’ve put the key piece of primary legislation up for comment, and the first question is: should we scrap it?
Um, no??????
Let’s be clear. This is the Act which makes discrimination because of sex, or disability, or ethnicity, or pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic unlawful. It has provisions on equal pay. It deals with harassment on grounds of a protected characteristic. And our government is seriously asking whether it should be scrapped?!
Describing equality legislation as ‘red tape’ is outrageous and, frankly, offensive. Please go to the site – ideally before Wednesday 20 April, when it seems it might close for comments – and:
- point out that the Equality Act is primary legislation, not a regulation, and that it was supported by all the major parties only weeks before the last General Election;
- point out how improper this process is, when it appears to be asking about mere regulations but is in fact inviting criticism of the entire Act;
- explain why it’s important for discrimination to be unlawful;
- give examples of the difference made in people’s lives by the existence of equality law.
Thanks to the Discrimination Law Association newsletter!
A wonderful ad April 13, 2011
Rather sweetly, it features J Crew’s creative director and her five-year-old son.
Of course, the reason I heard about it is because Fox News is so upset by it.
(Thanks, Balk!)
Important Sex Discrimination Lawsuit April 12, 2011
El’Jai Devoureau is legally a man. But because his boss had heard a rumour that he was transgender, she fired him from his job “watching men urinate into plastic cups at a drug treatment center”. He’s suing. It’s truly appalling that this isn’t just open and shut. He’s legally a man, and that should be the end of it. (Worse yet, he was fired on the basis of * a rumour*. Again, that should be the end of it all by itself.)
CFP: Feminist Epistemology and Philosophical Traditions April 12, 2011
Call for papers
Society for Women in Philosophy
Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy, Kingston University LondonFeminist Epistemology and Philosophical Traditions
Central London, Friday 18th-Saturday 19th November 2011The aim of this conference is to reflect critically on the relation of feminist epistemology to the various philosophical traditions that
generated it and those that have nourished it intellectually and challenged it in the past three decades. These traditions include that of epistemology itself (of course), but also more generally the analytical philosophical traditions, the continental philosophical
traditions, feminist philosophical traditions, and other philosophically inflected theoretical traditions, for example psychoanalytical theory. It is to be hoped that responses to the call for papers will add to this list.Questions to be addressed include:
• What, currently, is the relation between feminist epistemology and the more mainstream traditions of epistemology?
• What influence has feminist epistemology had on the more mainstream traditions of epistemology, if any?
• Is there any unity to ‘feminist epistemology’ across its relation to different philosophical traditions (for example the analytical and the continental traditions)?
• How have other theoretical traditions influenced andchallenged feminist epistemology?
• What is the significance of the mainly Anglo-American constitution of the field of feminist epistemology?
• ‘What, if anything, remains distinctive about ‘feminist epistemology’? That is, when is ‘feminist epistemology’ simply ‘epistemology’?Plenary speakers:
Kirsten Campbell (Goldsmiths, University of London)
‘Feminist Epistemology and Psychoanalytical Theory’
Respondent: Stella Sandford (Kingston University)Miranda Fricker (Birkbeck College, University of London)
‘Feminist Epistemology as Social Epistemology’
Respondent: Stella Gonzalez Arnal (University of Hull)Gillian Howie (University of Liverpool)
‘Is There a “Continental” Feminist Epistemology?’
Respondent: Alison Stone (Lancaster University)Alessandra Tanesini (Cardiff University).
‘From Margin to Centre: Feminist Epistemology as Socially Responsible Epistemology’
Respondent: Kathleen Lennon (University of Hull)Submissions for papers for parallel sessions (sessions comprising a maximum of 3 short – 15–20 minutes – papers each) are invited on any
aspect of feminist epistemology. Graduate students and early career scholars are particularly encouraged to submit abstracts for the parallel sessions.Please submit abstracts, prepared for anonymous review, of no more than 500 words to Stella Sandford (S.Sandford AT Kingston.ac.uk) by Friday 24th June 2011. Abstracts will be scrutinised by the Conference Committee. Decisions will be made by by Friday 22nd July.
Further information: Stella Sandford (S.Sandford AT Kingston.ac.uk)
Petition to reinstate funding for Liverpool Rape Crisis Centre April 11, 2011
Sign it here. (It does allow international signers.)
Gender pay gap: when it’s a plus for him and a minus for her. April 11, 2011
Inside higher education has some grim news about faculty salaries, especially in public universities, though with some exceptions. But they also look at a study of gender equity in salaries for faculty that claims it exists even when we correct for longer times spent on the job, etc. They have an example that’s new to me for the strange category with entries that can count for one sex but against the other. For example, having lots of undegraduates hanging around to see you can show that he is popular and motivating, while they show she is unable to make effiient use of her class period. That’s one I’ve made up, but this one is for real:
By using information in the database about how faculty members use their time, Meyers also suggests that some activities that both men and women perform seem to have different results. For instance, men who spend significant time on professional service activities that are not based at their institution (say, working with a disciplinary group) do not see any negative impact on their salaries. Women, however, see a consistent, negative impact on their salaries from similar contributions to their professions.
The two links above take you to two different articles; the second has a number of interesting points about gender, pay and prestige.
If you have one of those lists of things that benefit him but not her (or vice versa) please think of sharing it with us!
What It’s Like and What We’re Doing April 11, 2011
What Is it Like to Be a Woman in Philosophy has started posting again! And What we’re Doing About What It’s Like has started posting for the first time! Go check them out, and tell all your friends. And send in your stories!
CFP: Existential and Phenomenological Theory and Culture April 11, 2011
Authors Wanted!!
PhaenEx: Journal of Existential and Phenomenological Theory and CulturePhaenEx, the online journal for the Society for Existential and Phenomenological Theory and Culture, is looking for submissions for our Open Issue (Volume 7, No. 1, spring/summer 2012).
We are looking for papers dealing with any topic relevant to the goals of PhaenEx, including phenomenology, psychoanalysis, hermeneutics, feminist philosophy, queer theory, philosophy and literature, bioethics (broadly construed), existentialism, critical theory, biopolitics, deconstruction, animal studies, etc. Please note that we are a feminist friendly journal!
Submissions are to be made online and are due September 1, 2011. All submissions will be subject to peer review. For more information contact lead Editors:
- John Duncan (JDuncan AT trinity.utoronto.ca)
- Astrida Neimanis (astrida AT sympatico.ca)Note that PhaenEx publishes in both French and English.
The Sunday Cat Shows Cats have moral emotions April 9, 2011
Such as feeling guilty.
While the first cat may well be a tattle tale.
Thanks to PJ!
Girls have always worn pink, right? April 9, 2011
According to a piece in the Sminthsonian magazine, “pink and blue arrived as colors for babies in the mid-19th century, yet the two colors were not promoted as gender signifiers until just before World War I. ” It’s great to read about photos of a young FDR in a dress with long hair. According to social convention in 1884, when FDR was photographed at age 2 1/2, boys wore dresses until age 6 or 7, also the time of their first haircut.
A picture is worth… April 9, 2011
well, actually in this case is made up of words.
Most common words in toy adverts visualized, split by gender. Predictable but somehow arresting nonetheless.
From the blog Boys, Masculinity, and Gender Stereotypes. Boy wordle image first, then the girls’. But you probably didn’t need to be told that.
Was the shutdown threat really about abortion? April 9, 2011
Katha Polllitt gives an emphatic “No.” That’s merely the Republican spin, which the media has bought, she holds;
Planned Parenthood gets no federal money for abortion, a procedure which constitutes some 3 percent of their work. None! (Neither, by the way, does the United Nations Population Fund, which Republicans also want to defund. In fact, it has been banned from funding abortions since its founding in the 1970s, and by several bouts of US legislation since.)
The real message should go like this:
Next time, so-called liberal media, try these handy phrases: “Birth control blocks budget agreement.” “Government shut down looms over Pap smears” “Republicans to women: can’t afford cancer screening? Tough luck.”
Salon sort of agrees, but thinks that even more general references to women’s health care suit both sides:
Planned Parenthood is not really going to be responsible for a government shutdown. But it suits both sides to make it seem like Planned Parenthood is a big deal, because then Democrats can claim to have saved it, while Republicans get what they really want, which is the biggest spending cuts possible.
It is profoundly distressing to think the Republicans feel confident that they will not suffer from being presented as against women’s health care. And it could well be right. Voters vote values, many analysts say, and I fear that health care for women is not high on enough people’s list.
“Archaeologists find gay caveman!!” April 9, 2011
Ummm, no. Headline should be more like “Archaeologists find male skeleton buried with some stuff that they take to be typically female, if they’ve correctly identified the stuff, and if they’ve correctly identified the sex of the skeleton.” (Conversations with archaeologists reveal doubt on both scores, based on the evidence cited in the article.) So, at best, “Archaeologists find male skeleton buried in gender-atypical way”. And possibly “Archaeologists pretty sloppy about sexual orientation and gender identity”.
(A little disappointing really: I was wondering what could possibly have told them about sexual orientation. Seems I was right.)
(Thanks, E!)
Who is a person? April 8, 2011
From Sally Haslanger:
See Charles Mills’ essay “The Political Economy of Personhood” in the
forum at On the Human:
http://onthehuman.org/
Please join the discussion using “comments” and spread the word!
best, Sally
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