Perspectives On Feminist Political Thought In European History

Spanning six centuries of political thought in European history, this book puts the ideas of thinkers from Christine de Pizan to Simone de Beauvoir in the broader contexts of their time. This intriguing collection of essays shows that feminism is not a varient of modern radical discourse but a mode of analysing the issues of authority, power and virtue that have been at the heart of European political thought from the middle ages.

This ambitious book explores challenges to male hegemony throughout continental Europe over the past 250 years. For general readers and those interested primarily in the historical record, it provides a comprehensive, comparative account of feminist developments in European societies, as well as a rereading of European history from a feminist perspective. By placing gender, or relations between women and men, at the center of European politics, it aims to reconfigure our understanding of the European past and to make visible a long but neglected tradition of feminist thought and politics. On another level the book seeks to disentangle some misperceptions and to demystify some confusing contemporary debates about the Enlightenment, reason, nature, and public vs. private, equality vs. difference. In the process, the author aims to show that gender is not merely 'a useful category of analysis', but that sexual difference lies at the heart of human thought and politics.

alike." --Book Jacket.

This book explores and examines the political philosophies of enlightenment women across Europe in the eighteenth century.

Feminist Perspectives on Politics considers how feminist perspectives have considerably broadened the scope of what is considered 'political'. Themes and issues covered range from nineteenth century debates around women's equality and liberation, to twentieth century arguments and activities towards gaining a more nuanced understanding of women's differences and diversity. ' Difference' remains a key term in contemporary feminisms, and the author examines debates engendered from women's liberation politics to open up discussion of Black feminisms, lesbian politics and disabled feminist agendas. Formal political participation and the impact of women's movement politics are assessed in global comparisons as are the debates surrounding discourses on 'development' and transnational politics, and the influence of women at local, national and international levels. The book will be essential reading for students at all levels across the fields of Politics, Women's Studies, Sociology, History, Cultural Studies, Political Economy and 'Development' Studies more generally (such as in studies concerned with anti-racism, gender, social policy and the history of ideas within educational institutions, local government and voluntary organisations)

This ground-breaking book surveys the history of women's political thought in Europe from the late medieval period to the early modern era. It will be of interest to political philosophers, historians of ideas, and feminist scholars alike.

Redescriptions was recently renamed as the Yearbook of Political Thought, Conceptual History and Feminist Theory. In volume 12 (2008) aspects of studying the politics of the past are thematized through feminist historians' discussion on war and the role of the worker in communist regimes. One article and two comments on an article published in volume 11 deal with contemporary theories of democracy. One of the included articles discusses the chances of democratization in the EU, and one carries out a fictional analysis of an undemocratic regime. Three articles propose rhetorical redescriptions of key political concepts, namely "objectivity", "decision" and "patriotism".

Over the course of the past twenty-five years, feminist theory has had a forceful impact upon the history of Western philosophy. The present collection of essays has as its primary aim to evaluate past women’s published philosophical work, and to introduce readers to newly recovered female figures; the collection will also make contributions to the history of the philosophy of gender, and to the history of feminist social and political philosophy, insofar as the collection will discuss women’s views on these issues. The volume contains contributions by an international group of leading historians of philosophy and political thought, whose scholarship represents some of the very best work being done in North and Central America, Canada, Europe and Australia.