Feminism and Liberalism

Liberalism stresses the importance of protecting individual people's right to live their lives however they see fit. Feminism strives to show that women are subject to a variety of injustices that prevent them from being able to live lives that are as good as men's. The aim of this course will be to consider whether liberalism and feminism are compatible, or whether the central ideals of liberalism--ideals like equality, automomy, and individual rights--actually function to entrench not just sexism but also racism, classism, and other kinds of oppression. Readings will include both historical and contemporary writers such as Isaiah Berlin, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Catherine MacKinnon, John Stuart Mill, Martha Nussbaum.