Description:
In the late 1980s, Women's Ways of Knowing blew through academia and psychology like a stiff wind. Based on a demographically diverse study of women, it shouldered aside theories crafted around men that often cast a dubious light on how women know and learn. This scholarly book sparked angry debate in many fields, from women's studies to philosophy, law, and culture studies. The four original collaborators have convened with other contributors to revisit their theory, fill in some holes, and raise (or, in some cases, respond to) fierce challenges. Rather than reflexively defending the quartet's brainchild, lead author Nancy Goldberger paves the way toward expansion, stating that "theories are stories and authors of theories are storytellers." Coauthor Blythe McVicker Clinchy underscores this observation by taking the opportunity to clarify key distinctions between the twinned orientations of connected (empathic, receptive) and separate (critical, judgmental) ways of knowing. Also among the 14 essays is an incisive piece on how color and class differences that were routinely ignored by feminists and theorists might better be taken into account. --Francesca Coltrera
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