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Gender, Class, and Freedom in Modern Political Theory

by Nancy J. Hirschmann

Gender, Class, and Freedom in Modern Political Theory Cover

ISBN13: 9780691129891
ISBN10: 0691129894
Condition: Standard
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

In Gender, Class, and Freedom in Modern Political Theory, Nancy Hirschmann demonstrates not merely that modern theories of freedom are susceptible to gender and class analysis but that they must be analyzed in terms of gender and class in order to be understood at all. Through rigorous close readings of major and minor works of Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, and Mill, Hirschmann establishes and examines the gender and class foundations of the modern understanding of freedom. Building on a social constructivist model of freedom that she developed in her award-winning book The Subject of Liberty: Toward a Feminist Theory of Freedom, she makes in her new book another original and important contribution to political and feminist theory.

Despite the prominence of state of nature ideas in modern political theory, Hirschmann argues, theories of freedom actually advance a social constructivist understanding of humanity. By rereading human nature in light of this insight, Hirschmann uncovers theories of freedom that are both more historically accurate and more relevant to contemporary politics. Pigeonholing canonical theorists as proponents of either positive or negative liberty is historically inaccurate, she demonstrates, because theorists deploy both conceptions of freedom simultaneously throughout their work.

Review:

This is a great book. Hirschmann's thorough discussion of freedom--though based on a close reading of only five theorists--will, in my opinion, change how we think about freedom. Hirschmann also demonstrates why all good political theory needs to be feminist--not ideologically, but methodologically feminist. Historians of political thought and theorists of freedom and feminism will find much to challenge and provoke their thinking.

Review:

This book is bound to have a wide audience among both political theorists and feminists. One of its strengths is its analysis of the way in which the theories of freedom of Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, and Mill are gendered. Hirschmann argues pointedly with other feminist interpretations of these theories and she provides an unusually sophisticated feminist analysis of the canon.

About the Author

Nancy J. Hirschmann is the R. Jean Brownlee Endowed Term Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania. Her book "The Subject of Liberty: Toward a Feminist Theory of Freedom" (Princeton) won the 2004 Victoria Schuck Award for the best book on women and politics from the American Political Science Association.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Product Details

ISBN:
9780691129891
Author:
Hirschmann, Nancy J.
Publisher:
Princeton University Press
Author:
Hirschmann, Nancy
Location:
Princeton
Subject:
Political
Subject:
Philosophy
Subject:
Feminism & Feminist Theory
Subject:
Sex role
Subject:
Government - State & Provincial
Subject:
Political philosophy
Subject:
Gender Studies
Subject:
History & Theory - General
Subject:
Feminist theory
Subject:
Women's rights
Copyright:
Edition Description:
Trade paper
Publication Date:
November 2007
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
College/higher education:
Language:
English
Pages:
342
Dimensions:
9 x 6 in

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