Standpoint theory
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Standpoint theory is a postmodern method for analyzing inter-subjective discourses. "Developed primarily by social scientists, especially sociologists & political theorists. It extends some of the early insights about consciousness that emerged from Marxist/socialist feminist theories and the wider conversations about identity politics. It endeavors to develop a feminist epistemology, or theory of knowledge, that delineates a method for constructing effective knowledge from the insights of women's experience."[1] It arose amongst feminist theorists, such as Dorothy Smith, Nancy Hartsock, Donna Haraway, Sandra Harding, Alison Wylie, and Patricia Hill Collins.
According to this approach:
- A standpoint is a place from which human beings view the world.
- A standpoint influences how the people adopting it socially construct the world.
- Social group membership affects people's standpoints.
- The inequalities of different social groups create differences in their standpoints.
- All standpoints are partial; so (for example) Standpoint feminism coexists with other standpoints.
Standpoint theory supports what Harding calls strong objectivity, or the notion that the perspectives of marginalized and/or oppressed individuals can help to create more objective accounts of the world.
The predominant culture in which all groups exist is not experienced in the same way by all persons or groups. The views of those who belong to groups with more social power are validated more than those in marginalized groups. Those in marginalized groups must learn to be bicultural, or to "pass" in the dominant culture to survive, even though that perspective is not their own.[2]
[edit] History
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel created the theory to explore social institution of slavery in 1807. The theory plays off the idea that the belonging of an individual to a certain group affects the views of daily occurrences. People associate themselves with different social groups based on similarities to discover oneself.
Tina Campt uses standpoint theory to examine the narrative of the Afro-German Hans Hauck in her book Other Germans.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ McCann and Kim Feminist Theory Reader:Local and global perspectives 2003
- ^ DeFrancisco, Victoria P. Communicating Gender Diversity: A Critical Approach. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, INC., 2007
DeFrancisco, Victoria P. Communicating Gender Diversity: A Critical Approach. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, INC., 2007.
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