Subjectivity, Gender and the Struggle for Recognition

Writing outside history: Reification, agency and the discourse on identity and difference

“…Identities, both personal and social, are nowadays recognized as fundamentally important aspects of all social and political inquiry (Frueh, 2003;McQueen, 2015). However, there is a split in academic consensus between those who lament the commodification of identity (i.e.…”

“…The autonomous, self-sufficient and "bounded" self -free from any social or historical constraints -became central to liberal (Western) thought by the early 19 th century (Ansell-Pearson, 1991: 273). Similarly, Kant insisted that political life must always pay homage to the primacy of the rational individual, the ontological status of which is both pre-social and universally assumed (Ansell-Pearson, 1991;McQueen, 2015). Unsurprisingly, this liberal conception of the self has been criticized as a mere formalistic and metaphysical abstraction that "purchases moral autonomy … at the cost of excluding all historical and psychological determination" (Ansell-Pearson, 1991: 274).…”

“…Hegel, the author of this view, criticized Rousseau's insistence for a unity of purpose at the heart of political life, and argued that the assumption that all humans share some pre-social identity ends up granting citizens nothing more than token equality. In this regard, Hegel's insight was to conceptualize selfhood as being dependent on recognition (Häkli & Kallio, 2014;McQueen, 2015). In contrast to the self as something antecedently given, Hegel argued that the self emerges, as both a political subject and moral agent, through a process of recognition by the "other" (McQueen, 2015).…”

“…In this regard, Hegel's insight was to conceptualize selfhood as being dependent on recognition (Häkli & Kallio, 2014;McQueen, 2015). In contrast to the self as something antecedently given, Hegel argued that the self emerges, as both a political subject and moral agent, through a process of recognition by the "other" (McQueen, 2015). As he famously asserted, "self-consciousness exists in itself and for itself, in that, and by the fact that it exists for another self-consciousness; that is to say, it is only by being acknowledged or 'recognized'" (Hegel, 1807as cited in McQueen, 2015.…”

Worthwhile work? Childcare, feminist ethics and cooperative research practices

“…One issue that became apparent from the outset was the realisation that our identities, both academically and personally, were at stake in this process in very visible ways (McQueen 2015). The act of committing opinions to 'paper' (or permanent textual representation) was a continuing reminder of the judgements that will be made by others on what we might write.…”