Enlightened Women: Modernist Feminism in a Postmodern Age / Edition 1

by Alison Assiter

Overview

This is a bold and controversial feminist, philosophical critique of postmodernism. Whilst providing a brief and accessible introduction to postmodernist feminist thought, Enlightened Women is also a unique defence of realism and enlightenment philosophy.
The first half of the book covers an analysis of some of the most influential postmodernist theorists, such as Luce Irigaray and Judith Butler. In the second half Alison Assiter advocates a return to modernism in feminism. She argues, against the current orthodoxy, that there can be a distinction between "sex" and "gender".
For students trying to pick their way through the maze of literature in the area of postmodernist feminism, Enlightened Women is a concise guide to contemporary thought - as well as a radical contribution to the debate.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415083386
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/28/1995
Pages:	174
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Alison Assiter is Head of Social Studies at the University of Luton. She is the author of Althusser and Feminism and Pornography, Feminism and the Individual as well as co-editor of Bad Girls, Dirty Pictures.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1 The Flight from Universals 2 Irigaray, Lacan and Derrida 3 Realism and Anti-Realism 4 Irigaray and the Self 5 Feminist Epistemological Communities 6 Feminism and Morality 7 Essentialism and Universalism Revisited 8 A Critique of Constructivist Accounts of Sexuality

Editorial Reviews

'A well-grounded defence of feminist principles through a considered, reasoned conversation with postmodernism.' - Red Pepper

From the Publisher