There’s a post up on this over at NewAPPS; go check it out!
A Reason for More Sex Ed… April 30, 2013
…We want 15 year olds (and journalists) to be able to tell the difference between contraceptive pills you take daily (which come in packages of 28) and emergency contraceptive pills (packages of 2).
Using History to Teach April 12, 2013
From a recent news article:
“A high school English teacher could face disciplinary action for giving a writing assignment that asked students to make a persuasive argument blaming Jews for the problems of Nazi Germany, Albany school district officials said Friday.”
The assignment, first reported Friday by the Albany Times Union, asked students to research Nazi propaganda, then assume their teacher was a Nazi government official who had to be convinced of their loyalty. The assignment told students they “must argue that Jews are evil.”
My first reaction was, this could have been a poignant exercise on rhetoric, logic and history, but didn’t take into account the current existence and legacy of antisemitism. Though, whether that is a valid reaction might depend on what one thinks of things like The Third Wave experiment. The more I read over the article though, the more I’m baffled about what the teacher in NY was even trying to accomplish. (Were they just trying to be edgy?)
Kakenya Ntaiya and the Kakenya Center for Excellence March 19, 2013
Kenya ranks #130 in the 2012 Gender Inequality Index and ranks #145 in the Human Development Index. (Also, click here for a PDF of Kenya’s composite indices for the 2011 Human Development Report.)
Despite serious problems represented by these figures/values, Kakenya Ntaiya and the Kakenya Center for Excellence arguably provide many of the kinds of action, growth, hope, and promise that we need most in this world.
Woman challenges tradition, brings change to her Kenyan village (CNN Heroes story from March 14, 2013)
(Please check this out. Well worth our time. Every single minute – only 15 minutes, 42 seconds. Really gets going, truly inspiring, in the second half.)
The Unwritten Rules of the Game February 18, 2013
I’ve been chatting lately with a junior colleague at another university (let’s call her Barb), and with grad students in the Pro Seminar I’m currently teaching, about all of the unwritten rules of the discipline — e.g., give the same paper at two conferences if you wish, but don’t submit it to two journals at the same time. Some supervisors and programs are good at teaching young philosophers these rules; others — not so much. And, in some places the “rules” are informally taught over rounds of beer or golf games, a practice that tends to exclude whomever’s not invited for beer or golf. (Y’all know who that is, right?) There’s pretty clearly an equity issue here. As with other etiquette conventions, such implicit rules can serve to subtly cue who’s on the inside and who’s on the outside.
To that end, Barb suggests that readers post in the comments below any of those unwritten rules of the game that they’ve learned over the years, or any questions they might have about such rules. Let’s shine a little light on Philosophy’s dimmer corners!
Resource: Reading List for Non-Western Feminism January 24, 2013
Because We’re Still Oppressed reblogged a reading list of Non-Western Feminism readings. Check it out here!
From the OP:
It is my intention to put together a non-western feminism course syllabus for submission to my Women’s Studies department. In that spirit, I have collected a list of texts on non-western feminism, mostly in the voices of non-western women, to serve as a starting point for developing this syllabus.
I’m sharing this list with Tumblr because too often “feminism” is understood through a western lens, and this includes African-American and Latin@ feminism, as practiced in the academy. Positions at the margins of feminism, developed from theoretical frameworks that do not rely on western epistemology are necessary to disrupt the theoretical assumptions that we have grown too comfortable with.
Further, it is my intention that, as this list circulates tumblr through reblogs, more texts will be added to it so that space can be made for voices that are all too often unheard, new voices can be added to the feminist “canon,” and we can recognize the very real need for feminisms that arise in contexts outside the american and the western theoretical.
AP Sex Ed January 14, 2013
Came across this guide on tumblr. Liked the title and the straight talk (example below.)
“Vaginal Opening: This is for sex and toys and babies. Not pee.”
Recommended readings for module on distributive justice December 14, 2012
I’m putting together my reading list for next term’s module on distributive justice, and aiming that it NOT be a total sausage fest. I’m finding it surprisingly easy – so many great women political philosophers!
There are two topics I (and perhaps other interested readers?) would really benefit from reading recommendations on:
a) prioritarian principles (either arguing for or being critical of them), and
b) so called left-libertarianism. Any ideas?
Women and the History of Analytic Philosophy December 5, 2012
I will be teaching a new (for me) upper-level History of Analytic Philosophy course in the spring. I’d like to make sure I have some works by women philosophers, including feminist philosophers if possible, on my reading list. Could our readers lend me their expertise and make some suggestions? Some of the topics I plan to cover are listed below, though I’m entirely open to additions or revisions:
Moore on epistemology and analysis
Russell on logic and language
Wittgenstein’s Tractatus
Logical Positivism
(Btw, I’ve already thought of Marie McGinn and/or Cora Diamond for the Wittgenstein stuff.)
Your suggestions are much appreciated!
Help some budding feminist philosophers! November 5, 2012
Our Year 7s recently did some work in History about why the subject is relevant to us today. They had to come up with their own historical questions. The pupils had to believe that in answering these questions they would discover something that would shape the way we live today. They then voted on the most interesting questions. One class chose the above question: “Why are men and women different?” – qualifying it, as all good philosophy students should, with the follow-up: “That is, if they are that different really?”
I am delighted that the class voted for this question. I am constantly both infuriated and heartbroken by the constant bombardment of images and ideas about gender that our young people receive, and am very happy that the chance to discuss this came from the kids themselves.
So here is my request, oh lovely F Word readers: how would you begin helping 11-year-olds answer this question? Are there any good resources you can recommend? Any short stories, or interesting videos, or beautiful and terrifying graphs that would be accessible to 11-year-olds? Are you a teacher who has tried and tested methods of aiding pupils’ discovery? Do you work in London, and if so, would you like to come and meet the next generation of feminist-philosophers? Please get in touch with me by email!
For more, go here. (Thanks, J!)
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