Feminist Epistemology and Value

Assiter, Alison

doi:10.1057/9780230508026_8

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…In her response to Walby, Joey Sprague (2001: 528) warns of a 'simple version of standpoint theory' that 'breaks down into a kind of relativism that typically gets resolved by romanticizing the oppressed'. As we will return to later in our discussion of the concept of 'epistemic communities' (Assiter, 1996(Assiter, , 2000, we strongly agree with Walby's argument. However, while Walby tends to turn this issue against standpoint theory as such, we think that the latter is usually not based on a strong and narrow concept of 'community', but on a much wider, more heterogeneous concept of dialogical relations among women as elaborated in standpoint theory (probably first by Collins [1990]).…”

Section: Standpoint Theory and Situated Knowledgesupporting

confidence: 66%

“…To the two dimensions Harding relates to, we need to add a third one which is not necessarily implied in either of the other two: Alison Assiter's (1996Assiter's ( , 2000 notion of 'epistemic communities' in which political values rather than location along intersecting/intermeshed axes of power or cultural perspectives become the unifying factors. Such 'epistemic communities' shape their access to knowledge collectively rather than individually.…”

Section: Standpoint Theory and Situated Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

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Standpoint theory, situated knowledge and the situated imagination

2002

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The aim of the article is to further assess and develop feminist standpoint theory by introducing the notion of the `situated imagination' as constituting an important part of this theory as well as that of `situated knowledge'. The article argues that the faculty of the imagination constructs as well as transforms, challenges and supersedes both existing knowledge and social reality. However, like knowledge, it is crucial to theorize the imagination as situated, that is, as shaped and conditioned (although not determined) by social positioning.

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Section: Standpoint Theory and Situated Knowledgesupporting

confidence: 66%

Section: Standpoint Theory and Situated Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

Standpoint theory, situated knowledge and the situated imagination

2002

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“…Lorraine Code in particular has emphasised the importance of ‘taking subjectivity into account’ when considering the production of feminist knowledge, and thus I take her extension of ontological concerns to foreground the embodied and intersubjective nature of being as emblematic of feminist concerns with this relationship (1993, 1995). Feminist epistemologists have stressed the significance of intersubjectivity and relationality (MacKenzie and Stoljar, 2000) not only as critiques of existing fantasies of objective knowledge produced by autonomous subjects, but also as ways of valuing other modes of knowing that prioritise dialogue and collectivity (Assiter, 2000; Collins, 2000). Such work highlights the importance of feeling for others as a way of transforming ourselves and the world, and thus renders affect as a way of moving across ontology and epistemology.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Affective solidarity: Feminist reflexivity and political transformation

2012

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This article seeks to intervene in what I perceive to be a problematic opposition in feminist theory between ontological and epistemological accounts of existence and politics, by proposing an approach that weaves together Elspeth Probyn’s conceptualisation of ‘feminist reflexivity’ with a re-reading of feminist standpoint through affect. In so doing, I develop the concept of affective solidarity as necessary for sustainable feminist politics of transformation. This approach is proposed as a way of moving away from rooting feminist transformation in the politics of identity and towards modes of engagement that start from the affective dissonance experience can produce. Moving beyond empathy as a privileged way of connecting with others, I argue that the difference between ‘womanhood’ and ‘feminism’ is critical for a universal yet non-essential understanding of what motivates gendered change.

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“…We did this by acknowledging our positionalities as an academic and an activist, our differences in age and professional status, and the inherent power dynamics in any research endeavour. We embraced a dialogical epistemology (Yuval-Davis, 2012) centred on ‘emancipatory values’ (Assiter, 2000, p. 339), which sought to bring the spheres of academia and activism into dialogue. Throughout the process, we engaged in constant discussion and reflection of our findings and analysis.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The politics and practices of intersectional prefiguration in social movements: The case of Sisters Uncut

Ishkanian

Saavedra

2019

The Sociological Review

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Considering contemporary movements as sites of struggle between attempts at inclusiveness and enduring tendencies to exclude and reproduce power hierarchies, this article examines how movement actors confront and tackle inequalities within their organisational spaces. Drawing on an in-depth study, which relied on Participatory Action Research methods, of the intersectional feminist anti-austerity group Sisters Uncut, the article analyses how actors collectively define and translate intersectionality into practice and the challenges they face in enacting this form of politics, which the authors call intersectional prefiguration. The authors consider intersectional prefiguration as a form of radical democratic politics which acknowledges relations of domination and seeks to transform them within both movements and society. The article discusses how enacting intersectional prefiguration is predicated on actors developing a collective identity, embracing a commitment to organise intersectionally, and adopting specific methodologies through which to do so. The findings have relevance to scholars of social movements and intersectionality and can help advance our understandings of the ways in which movements, prefigurative and otherwise, drive social change and transformative politics and the challenges they face in this process.

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Feminist Epistemology and Value

Cited by 5 publications

References 11 publications

Standpoint theory, situated knowledge and the situated imagination

Standpoint theory, situated knowledge and the situated imagination

Affective solidarity: Feminist reflexivity and political transformation

The politics and practices of intersectional prefiguration in social movements: The case of Sisters Uncut

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