Multiculturalism

Multiculturalism, Post-colonialism/Neo-colonialism/Decolonization, Feminism and Technology

e.g. Haraway, Butler, Benhabib, Fraser, Taylor, Raewyn Connell, Said

Donna Haraway

Donna J. Haraway is an American professor emerita in the history of consciousness and feminist studies departments at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a prominent scholar in the field of science and technology studies. She is best known for her work on cyborgs, feminism, and nature.

Haraway’s most famous work is her 1985 essay “A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century.” In this essay, Haraway argues that the boundaries between humans, animals, and machines are becoming increasingly blurred. She suggests that we should embrace this hybridity and use it to create new ways of being and living.

Haraway’s work has been highly influential in a wide range of fields, including feminist theory, science and technology studies, environmental studies, and media studies. She is a leading figure in the field of cyborg feminism, which explores the intersections of gender, technology, and nature.

Haraway’s work is often challenging and provocative, but it is also deeply insightful and thought-provoking. She has helped us to see the world in new ways and to think critically about the relationships between humans, animals, and machines

Here are some of Donna Haraway’s key contributions to science and technology studies and feminism:

She developed the concept of “situated knowledge,” which emphasizes that knowledge is always produced from a particular perspective and is not objective or neutral.
She challenged the traditional boundaries between humans, animals, and machines, and argued for a more inclusive and hybrid understanding of nature.
She explored the intersections of gender, technology, and nature in her concept of “cyborg feminism.”
Shecritiqued anthropocentrism (the idea that humans are the most important
species on the planet) and argued for a more multispecies and
multiperspectival understanding of the world.

Haraway’s work is still highly relevant today, as we grapple with the challenges and opportunities of the digital age. She continues to be a leading voice in the fight for a more just and equitable world.

A Manifesto for Cyborgs: Science, Technology and Socialist Feminism
- Cyborg – a hybrid combining an engine and a living organism
She defined the term “situated knowledges” – all knowledge comes from positional perspectives.
- Our positionality inherently determines what it is possible to know about an object of interest
Comprehending situated knowledge “allows us to become answerable for what we learn how to see”
- She points out the changeability of categories which are assigned as natural-essential – gender, race or social class – have no meaning in the era when we are constructed hybrids engines and organisms – cyborgs.

Cyborg manifesto

The evolution erase borders between people and animals
- The border between artificial and natural is also blurred
- She emphasises the problematics of dualism – self/other, culture/nature, man/woman, civilized/primitive truth/illusion, god/human
- Dualism is always COMPETITION – the poles always fight to each other about the domination
- Hi-technologies offer a solution for these antagonistic dualities

Cyborg theory

Is a stance against the only code which translates meaning accurate
She’s got the position against the central dogma of phallocentrism – one-dimensional orientation to masculine values and preferring male domination
H. offers to create directions around affinities not around identities
Cyborg is a metaphor for a resistance against effectuality of a gender dichotomy and also against totalitarism of categories assigning an identity in general
Cyborg is artificial but also a part of a human civilization
Borders or a discourse are being cancelled or moved
The tension between genders is releasing … Cyborg is a interstate between male and female or natural or artificial
Instead of emancipation according to a supposed sample of a man or developing allegedly female traits – we should doubt given dualities and admit our entanglement with technology
Gender, Race, and Nature in the World of Modern Science
- The argument of this book is that primatology is about an Order, a taxonomic and therefore political order that works by the negotiation of boundaries achieved through ordering differences
Remap the borderlands between nature and culture
The themes of race, sexuality, gender, nation, family and class have been written into the body of nature in western life sciences since the 19 century
Symbolically nature and culture as well as sex and gender mutually construct each other one pole of dualism cannot exist without the other
Female centred worlds of apes had to give way to the more dynamic “human” family
In the proposed hominid reproductive strategy, the process of pair bonding would not only lead to the direct involvement of males in the survivorship of offspring
It would establish paternity, and thus lead to a gradual replacement of the matrifocal group by a bifocal one-the primitive nuclear family (Lovejoy 1981 347-8)
food sharing patterns emerging from the matrifocal social organization, with selection for more sociable males in that context;
She does not agree with traditional feminism, she calls it the politics of identities which follow excluded
Better and more strategic is to bewilder identities

Judith Butler

Judith Butler is an American philosopher and gender studies scholar whose work has influenced political philosophy, ethics, and the fields of third-wave feminism, queer theory, and literary theory.

Butler is best known for her theory of performativity, which argues that gender is not something that is inherent or innate, but is instead something that is performed through social and cultural norms. She also writes extensively on the topics of power, identity, and subjectivity.

Butler’s work has been highly influential in a wide range of fields, and she is considered to be one of the most important thinkers in the field of gender studies. Her work has been translated into over 20 languages and has been read by millions of people around the world.

Here are some of Judith Butler’s key contributions to gender studies and feminism:

She developed the theory of performativity, which argues that gender is not something that is inherent or innate, but is instead something that is performed through social and cultural norms.
She challenged the traditional binary understanding of gender as male/female and argued for a more fluid and expansive understanding of gender identity.
She explored the intersections of gender, sexuality, and race in her work on queer theory.
She critiqued heteronormativity (the idea that heterosexuality is the norm and that all other sexualities are deviant) and argued for a more inclusive understanding of sexuality.

Butler’s work is still highly relevant today, as we grapple with the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly changing world. She continues to be a leading voice in the fight for a more just and equitable world.

Here are some of Judith Butler’s most important works:

Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (1990)
Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of Sex (1993)
Excitable Speech: A Politics of the Performative (1997)
Undoing Gender (2004)
Frames of War: When Is Life Grievable? (2009)
Notes Toward a Performative Theory of Assembly (2015)

She has helped us to see the world in new ways and to think critically about the relationships between gender, sexuality, and power.

Gender trouble 1990 and Bodies That Matter 1993
She doubted the category of a woman in itself and continues on Foucault’s conception
The traditional feminism creates the artificial word “woman” because this requires certain requests
This construction excludes certain types of women
She does not agree with Catherine MacKinnon who criticises pornography. It is only disguised puritanism

Butler vs Freud

The heterosexual model is an “ideological system”
She sees a child primarily homosexual
It takes an oidipian order just to avoid being psychotic
Homosexual desire is evoked by culture but immediately is suppressed
Heterosexual pressure is necessary because of the survival of the kin – but we keep our melancholy about a homo-sexual object of lost desire

Object of lost desire

we all keep it – it lives in culture, fashion and subcultures
The apṕlication of this thesis is meritorious
The general definition of cultural power is given by tools on the periphery which are placed there by the centre (of cultural power)
It looks like they (subcultures) undermine the mainstream culture but they have to accept some rules given by the centre and that is why the subcultures empower the centre (mainstream culture)
Her theory is close to the theory of Hegemony of Antonio Gramsci
B. emphasies that this inconspicious opression is not political but it is established by the pressure of shaping a body (style, fashion)
Pressure in Intimate zones – she calls it performativity
Gender is a discoursive and cultural category – it is a regulative ideal – not conditioned by biology
Her claims lead to the effort of creating gender on their own device
She says that is a misunderstanding because any “gender” must be created by a culture.
No essential SELF which can create own gender does not exist

Butler vs Lacan

LACAN – The introduction to language requires acceptance of one gender
Otherwise the child becomes psychotic and it is no sense to become a social being
The most important is a falus – acceptance a gender is about having it or not
The only option how a woman can have a falus is to identify herself with a figure of a terryfying falic mother

Concept of Gender

Establishment of gender is by language
Gender is a concept which is created
It can’t be divided from the language
Initiative act of socialisation process – a birth “claim of being a boy”
Femininity and Masculinity are ideals of being a man or a woman
The normative form of performative rituals is similar to the coercive form of gender

Nancy Fraser

Nancy Fraser is an American philosopher and feminist theorist whose work has had a major impact on contemporary social and political thought. She is best known for her work on justice, social movements, and the relationship between capitalism and feminism.

Fraser argues that there are two dimensions of justice: distributive and recognitive. Distributive justice is concerned with the fair distribution of resources, while recognitive justice is concerned with the recognition of different social identities and groups. She argues that both dimensions of justice are essential for a just society.

Fraser has also written extensively on the relationship between capitalism and feminism. She argues that capitalism is a gendered system that privileges men and subordinates women. She also argues that feminism has become too focused on individual empowerment and has lost sight of its collective roots. She calls for a return to a more radical and transformative feminist politics.

Fraser’s work is highly influential in a wide range of fields, including social philosophy, political science, feminist studies, and sociology. She is one of the most important thinkers in the field of critical social theory.

Here are some of Nancy Fraser’s key contributions to social and political thought:

She developed a theory of justice that includes both distributive and recognitive dimensions.
She argued that capitalism is a gendered system and that feminism needs to challenge the system’s deep structures.
She called for a return to a more radical and transformative feminist politics.

Fraser’s work is still highly relevant today, as we grapple with the challenges of inequality, injustice, and climate change. She continues to be a leading voice in the fight for a more just and equitable world.

Here are some of Nancy Fraser’s most important works:

Justice Interruptus: Critical Reflections on the “Postsocialist” Condition (1997)
Fortunes of Feminism: From State-Managed Capitalism to Neoliberal Crisis (2013)
Cannibal Capitalism: A Critique of Creative Destruction (2016)
The Will to Change: Hope and Strategy for Left Populism (2018)

Fraser’s work is complex and challenging, but it is also deeply insightful and thought-provoking. She has helped us to see the world in new ways and to think critically about the relationship between justice, capitalism, and feminism.

Critical theory – politics of identities
Concept of justice (equity)
- 1 distributive equity
- 2 approval equity
Coincidencing forms of inequity
- Maldistribution
- Misrecognition
The persisting problem of “maldistribution”
Politics of identities – the difference between rich and poor – liberal feminism – “handmaiden” of capitalism
Feminism is not improving a position of a woman inside existing social hierarchy
It is more about overcoming of such hierarchies
The structural sources of gender domination in a capitalist society – should be questioned
Types of work:
- Productive – joined with men – paid
- Reproductive – joined with women – unpaid
A deep source of a gender asymmetry
No emancipation can be if these structures persist

Seyla Benhabib

Seyla Benhabib is a Turkish-American philosopher and political theorist whose work has influenced a wide range of fields, including feminist theory, critical social theory, and democratic theory. She is best known for her work on the relationship between gender, justice, and democracy.

Benhabib is a proponent of deliberative democracy, which is a form of democracy that emphasizes the importance of public debate and deliberation in decision-making. She argues that deliberative democracy is the best form of government for promoting gender equality and other forms of social justice.

Benhabib has also written extensively on the topic of feminism. She is a critic of poststructuralist and postmodern feminist theories, which she argues undermine the possibility of universal moral claims. Instead, she advocates for a feminist theory that is grounded in the Enlightenment values of reason, freedom, and equality.

Benhabib’s work is highly influential in a wide range of fields, and she is considered to be one of the most important thinkers in the field of feminist theory. She is also a leading advocate for deliberative democracy and other forms of participatory governance.

Here are some of Seyla Benhabib’s key contributions to feminist theory and critical social theory:

She developed a theory of deliberative democracy that emphasizes the importance of public debate and deliberation in decision-making.
She argued that deliberative democracy is the best form of government for promoting gender equality and other forms of social justice.
She criticized poststructuralist and postmodern feminist theories for undermining the possibility of universal moral claims.
She advocated for a feminist theory that is grounded in the Enlightenment values of reason, freedom, and equality.

Benhabib’s work is still highly relevant today, as we grapple with the challenges of inequality, injustice, and climate change. She continues to be a leading voice in the fight for a more just and equitable world.

Here are some of Seyla Benhabib’s most important works:

Critique, Norm and Utopia: A Study in the Foundations of Critical Theory (1986)
Situated Rationalities: Science and Society in the Transition to Postmodernity (1991)
The Claims of Culture: Equality and the Difference Between Cultures (2002)
Another Philosophy of Human Rights: Otherness, Difference and the Universal Capability Approach (2011)
Dignity in Adversity: Human Rights in Turbulent Times (2011)

She has helped us to see the world in new ways and to think critically about the relationship between gender, justice, democracy, and human rights.

Charles Taylor

Charles Taylor is a Canadian philosopher who has made significant contributions to a wide range of fields, including political philosophy, the philosophy of social science, the history of philosophy, and intellectual history. He is best known for his work on the modern self, multiculturalism, and the relationship between religion and secularism.

Taylor’s most famous work is his 1989 book Sources of the Self: The Making of the Modern Identity, in which he argues that the modern self is characterized by a tension between two competing ideals: the autonomous self and the relational self. The autonomous self is a self that is independent and self-sufficient, while the relational self is a self that is defined by its relationships with others. Taylor argues that both ideals are important, but that the modern self is often torn between them.

Taylor has also written extensively on the topic of multiculturalism. He argues that multiculturalism is not simply a matter of tolerating different cultures, but rather of actively promoting and supporting the flourishing of different cultural groups. He sees multiculturalism as an essential part of a just and democratic society.

In recent years, Taylor has focused on the relationship between religion and secularism. He argues that both religion and secularism are important parts of a modern society, and that they can coexist peacefully and productively. He sees secularism as a way of protecting religious freedom and pluralism, while also seeing religion as a source of important moral and spiritual values.

Taylor’s work has been highly influential in a wide range of fields, and he is considered to be one of the most important philosophers of our time. He is a recipient of the Kyoto Prize, the Templeton Prize, the Berggruen Prize for Philosophy, and the John W. Kluge Prize.

Here are some of Charles Taylor’s key contributions to philosophy:

He developed a new understanding of the modern self, one that is characterized by a tension between the autonomous self and the relational self.
He argued that multiculturalism is an essential part of a just and democratic society.
He defended the importance of religion in a modern society, while also arguing that secularism is necessary to protect religious freedom and pluralism.

Taylor’s work is still highly relevant today, as we grapple with the challenges of multiculturalism, religious pluralism, and the relationship between religion and secularism. He continues to be a leading voice in the fight for a more just and equitable world.

Raewyn Connell

Raewyn Connell is an Australian sociologist and Professor Emerita at the University of Sydney. She is best known for her work on gender studies, masculinity, and globalization. She is considered to be one of the most influential scholars in the field of gender studies.

Connell is best known for her concept of hegemonic masculinity, which refers to the dominant form of masculinity in a society. Hegemonic masculinity is not simply the most common form of masculinity, but rather the form of masculinity that is most valued and rewarded. Connell argues that hegemonic masculinity is oppressive to both men and women, as it reinforces traditional gender roles and hierarchies.

Connell has also written extensively on the topic of masculinity. She argues that masculinity is not something that is fixed or innate, but rather something that is socially constructed. She also argues that there are multiple forms of masculinity, and that not all forms of masculinity are oppressive.

Here are some of Raewyn Connell’s key contributions to gender studies and sociology:

She developed the concept of hegemonic masculinity, which is now one of the most widely used concepts in gender studies.
She argued that masculinity is socially constructed and that there are multiple forms of masculinity.
She examined the relationship between gender, class, and power.
She explored the ways in which gender is globalized and how different forms of masculinity are exported around the world.

Connell’s work is still highly relevant today, as we grapple with the challenges of gender inequality and the changing nature of masculinity. She continues to be a leading voice in the fight for a more just and equitable world.

Here are some of Raewyn Connell’s most important works:

Gender and Power: Society, the Person and Sexual Politics (1987)
Masculinities (1995)
The Men and the Boys (2000)
Southern Theory: The Global Dynamics of Knowledge, Culture, and Power (2007)
Gender: In World Perspective (2009)

Edward Said

Edward Said (1935-2003) was a Palestinian-American literary critic, public intellectual, and activist. He was a professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University for over 30 years. Said is best known for his seminal work of postcolonial studies, Orientalism (1978), in which he argues that Western representations of the Orient (the Middle East and Asia) are not neutral or objective, but rather are shaped by Western power and interests.

Said’s work has had a profound impact on a wide range of fields, including literary criticism, postcolonial studies, cultural studies, and international relations. He is considered to be one of the most important thinkers of the late 20th century.

In addition to his work on Orientalism, Said also wrote extensively on a wide range of other topics, including Palestinian rights, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the role of the intellectual in public life. He was a vocal critic of US foreign policy in the Middle East and a passionate advocate for Palestinian self-determination.

Said was a prolific writer and public speaker. He published over 20 books and hundreds of articles and essays. He was also a regular contributor to newspapers and magazines such as The New York Times, The Nation, and Harper’s Magazine.

Said’s work has been praised for its brilliance, originality, and courage. He was a fearless critic of power and injustice, and his work continues to inspire and challenge readers around the world.

Here are some of Edward Said’s key contributions to literary criticism, postcolonial studies, and public life:

He developed the concept of Orientalism, which has become a central concept in postcolonial studies.
He argued that the intellectual has a responsibility to speak out against injustice and oppression.
He was a passionate advocate for Palestinian rights and self-determination.
He was a prolific writer and speaker, and his work has had a profound impact on a wide range of fields.

Said’s work is still highly relevant today, as we grapple with the challenges of imperialism, colonialism, and racism. He continues to be a leading voice in the fight for a more just and equitable world.

Here are some of Edward Said’s most important works:

Orientalism (1978)
Covering Islam: How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World (1981)
The Question of Palestine (1979)
Culture and Imperialism (1993)
Representations of the Intellectual: The 1993 Reith Lectures (1994)
Out of Place: A Memoir (1999)

He has helped us to see the world in new ways and to think critically about the relationship between power, knowledge, and culture.