SOCI 325: Sociology of Science

Agenda

Feminist epistemologies

  1. Administrative
  2. Today’s readings in context
  3. Haraway on objectivity
  4. Reading discussion

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Administrative

Discussion question assignments

  • You should only submit one prompt
    (i.e. one of the numbered prompts on the discussion worksheet)
  • Please include your name and student ID number in the document.

Thursday, Oct 15

  • I erroniously scheduled next Thursday as part of Fall reading break
  • This class period will be used for a brief review ahead of the midterm exam, after which I will be available for questions

No class this Thursday, Oct 8

Today’s readings in context

Three perspectives on epistemology:

(i.e. “is knowledge social?”)

Oct 5

Bloor (1976)

  • Strong programme
  • Staunchly constructivist

Oct 12

Haraway (1988)

  • Standpoint thoery
  • Reclaiming objectivity

Martin (1991)

  • Application of feminist empiricism

Oct 17

Hacking (1983)

  • Scientific realism
  • Incorporating ideas from constructivism

Feminist epistemology

A brief note on the term feminist

  • Contemporary feminist epistemology is concerned with much more than just gender
  • Describes a critical approach to epistemology that focuses on power and structures of oppression
  • Includes, e.g., critical race theory, postcolonial theory, critical disability theory, …

Haraway on objectivity

Situated knowledge

Haraway is a response to feminist (and other critical) critiques of “objectivity”

  • Historically, objectivity has consistently been used to justify exploitation and oppression
  • Modern ideal of objectivity as impartial and ‘perspectiveless’ (god trick) is inherently oppressive
  • “Perspectiveless” objectivity is in fact the persepctive of whoever is in power
  • Haraway addresses two opposing critical responses to the problems of objectivity:
Scooby-Doo unmasking meme. Top panel: The Scooby-Doo gang standing in front of a tied up person in a ghost costume whose head is labeled 'Objectivity.' The caption reads 'Ok objectivity, let's see who you really are. Bottom panel: Frid pulling the mask off the tied up person, whose face is now covered with the word 'subjectivity.' The caption reads 'Oh! It was subjectivity all along!

Radical constructivism

  • Scientific knowledge is nothing more than rhetoric, power, and jockeying over control of the dominant narrative
  • Complete rejection of objectivity

Feminist empiricsim

  • Marginalized voices are necessary in science to counteract the cultural contingency of experience (e.g. Martin 1991)
  • Fundamentally subscribes to the modern ideal of objectivity

Situated knowledge

Standpoint theory (a la Haraway)

A third choice

  • Don’t reject objectivity entirely, reject the impartiality of objectivity
  • There is no such thing as knowledge without a perspective
  • For Haraway, feminist standpoint theory offers the groundedness of objectivity while acknowledging the inherent contingency of knowledge

“Feminist objectivity is about limited location and situated knowledge, not about transcendence and splitting of subject and object. It allows us to become answerable for what we learn how to see.” (583)

Top panel: two hands outstretched, one offering a red pill and the other offering a blue pill. The red pill is labeled 'radical constructivism' and the blue pill is labeled 'feminist empiricsm.' Bottom panel: a man (Zizek) standing in front of a chair with a completely white background, pointing at the camera. This panel is labeled 'I want a third pill (standpoint theory)'

Next class (Oct 20)

Scientific Realism

  • Hacking (1983)
    What is scientific realism?

Image credit

Scooby-Doo unmasking meme. Top panel: The Scooby-Doo gang standing in front of a tied up person in a ghost costume whose head is labeled 'Objectivity.' The caption reads 'Ok objectivity, let's see who you really are. Bottom panel: Frid pulling the mask off the tied up person, whose face is now covered with the word 'subjectivity.' The caption reads 'Oh! It was subjectivity all along!

Stills from Scooby-Doo

two hands outstretched, one offering a red pill and the other offering a blue pill

Still from The Matrix (1999)

a man (Zizek) standing in front of a chair with a completely white background, pointing at the camera.

Still from The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema (2006)

harway: good explanation of standpoint theory also: good framing within other feminist epistemologies Martin: good example of feminist empiricism also: nice to have an applied example among all of this heavy theory

modern ideal of objectivity: free of context accessible to some but not dependent on them impartial perspective