| Periodical Title | APA Newsletter on Feminism and Philosophy |
| Author(s) | Anonymous |
| Editor(s) | Margaret A. Crouch |
| Abstract | This first-person narrative reflects on the experiences of a first-year graduate student from a working-class, lesbian background in a philosophy PhD program. It highlights feelings of alienation stemming from the lack of diversity in the department and the adversarial and critical style of philosophy valorized by the program. Despite efforts to increase student diversity, the author describes difficulty finding faculty mentors attuned to her interests and a prevailing atmosphere of exclusivity among male graduate students. She also depicts a clash between expectations to embrace an impersonal, combative philosophical approach and criticism when women students exhibit this very approach. Overall, the piece illustrates ongoing issues leading to philosophy’s lack of diversity, even in a program actively seeking to address its “cold climate.” It calls for greater attention to the standpoints of newcomers to provide insight into persisting problems. The creation of affinity spaces like a Feminist Reading Group is noted as crucial to navigating and transforming disciplinary norms. This content was generated by artificial intelligence using the text of the original work. |
| Pages | 31–32 |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Published Keywords | philosophy climate/culture, graduate students, women in philosophy, lesbian philosophers, working-class philosophers, feminist philosophy This content was generated by artificial intelligence using the text of the original work. |
| Date Published | Spring 2012 |
| ISBN/ISSN | 2155-9708 |
| URL | https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.apaonline.org/resource/collection/D03EBDAB-82D7-4B28-B897-C050FDC1ACB4/v11n2_Feminism.pdf |
| Open Access? | Yes |
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