Gender Studies 333RC - The Philosophy of Recognition

Since the 1960s, many social movements for justice, equality, and inclusion in our world have taken the form of struggles for recognition (e.g., antiracism, feminism, multiculturalism, LGBT activism, etc.). What is recognition in this sense and conversely misrecognition, i.e., the sort of harm or injustice done to someone or certain populations of people by failing or choosing not to recognize them? How can (mis)recognition show up and be theorized both as a matter of how people are (unjustly) socially constituted and how they should (not) treat one another? We will discuss readings (among others) from Rousseau, Hegel, Marx, Hannah Arendt, Iris Young, Charles Taylor, Axel Honneth, Nancy Fraser, and Patchen Markell.

Course limited to sophomores, juniors and seniors; Prereq: One prior course at the 200 level in philosophy, politics, sociology, critical social thought, or gender studies.