The subject of liberty : toward a feminist theory of freedom / Nancy J. Hirschmann.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hirschmann, Nancy J.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Liberty.

Feminism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (307 p.)

Edition:

Course Book

Other Title:

Toward a feminist theory of freedom

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, c2003.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book reconsiders the dominant Western understandings of freedom through the lens of women's real-life experiences of domestic violence, welfare, and Islamic veiling. Nancy Hirschmann argues that the typical approach to freedom found in political philosophy severely reduces the concept's complexity, which is more fully revealed by taking such practical issues into account. Hirschmann begins by arguing that the dominant Western understanding of freedom does not provide a conceptual vocabulary for accurately characterizing women's experiences. Often, free choice is assumed when women are in fact coerced--as when a battered woman who stays with her abuser out of fear or economic necessity is said to make this choice because it must not be so bad--and coercion is assumed when free choices are made--such as when Westerners assume that all veiled women are oppressed, even though many Islamic women view veiling as an important symbol of cultural identity. Understanding the contexts in which choices arise and are made is central to understanding that freedom is socially constructed through systems of power such as patriarchy, capitalism, and race privilege. Social norms, practices, and language set the conditions within which choices are made, determine what options are available, and shape our individual subjectivity, desires, and self-understandings. Attending to the ways in which contexts construct us as "subjects" of liberty, Hirschmann argues, provides a firmer empirical and theoretical footing for understanding what freedom means and entails politically, intellectually, and socially.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

PREFACE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Chapter One. INTRODUCTION

Chapter Two. THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF FREEDOM IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Chapter Three. FEMINISM AND FREEDOM: THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION PARADOX

Chapter Four. INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL RESTRAINT: THE CASE OF BATTERED WOMEN

Chapter Five. WELFARE AS A PROBLEM FOR FREEDOM THEORY

Chapter Six. EASTERN VEILING, WESTERN FREEDOM?

Chapter Seven. TOWARD A FEMINIST THEORY OF FREEDOM

NOTES

NAME INDEX

SUBJECT INDEX

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786612157516

9781282157514

1282157515

9781400825363

1400825369

9780691096247

0691096244

OCLC:

436044758