Feminist Philosophy
Feminist Philosophy at UNC Charlotte: Connecting Theory to Action
The Department of Philosophy at UNC Charlotte has a unique strength in feminism, and is an ideal place to pursue your interest in feminist philosophy and theory at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Philosophical feminism addresses a range of questions and issues, including the nature of sex, gender, sexuality, and sexual difference; the fate of women in the history of Western philosophy; the question of women’s identity and its intersections with other forms of identity and oppression; and the specific perspectives and concerns of women in relation to various metaphysical, aesthetic, ethical, social and political issues.
We have no less than four specialists in feminist philosophy with wide-ranging interests spanning ethics/bioethics, aesthetics, French feminism, history of philosophy (especially ancient and 20th/21st c. continental), queer theory, feminist jurisprudence, and critical race/postcolonial theory: Dr. Emanuela Bianchi, Dr. Tina Botts, Dr. Robin James, and Dr. Rosemarie Tong (see bios below). In addition to the Department’s regular course offerings in feminism (Feminist Philosophy; Feminist Theory and its Applications), any course you take with one of these four will foreground feminist perspectives. Importantly, feminist themes are also thoroughly integrated into our wider curriculum. For undergraduate majors, required courses such as “Knowledge and Reality,” “Ethical Theory,” and “Social and Political Philosophy” incorporate feminist perspectives, as do electives such as “Aesthetics,” “Philosophy and Race,” “Healthcare Ethics,” “Philosophy of Body,” Philosophy of Law,” and “Philosophy of Technology.” Furthermore, there are ample opportunities for interdisciplinary feminist study through courses cross-listed in the Women’s and Gender Studies program. We recommend combining a Philosophy B.A. or M.A. with a Minor or Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies as an excellent and rigorous education at UNC Charlotte focused in feminist studies. The Center for Professional and Applied Ethics based in our department also fosters feminist inquiry, and we can boast that no other MA Program in Applied Philosophy and Ethics in the United States has four philosophers equally but differently equipped to address feminist theory and practice.
Undergraduate courses
Philosophy courses that encompass feminist perspectives include:
PHIL 2101/2102 Introduction to Philosophy
PHIL 3820 Feminist Philosophy
PHIL 3410 Knowledge and Reality
PHIL 3210 Ethical Theory
PHIL 3810 Social and Political Philosophy
PHIL 3010 Ancient Philosophy
PHIL 3020 Modern Philosophy
PHIL 3214 Contemporary Philosophy
PHIL 3220 Aesthetics
PHIL 3140 Existentialism
PHIL 3830 Philosophy and Race
PHIL 3230 Healthcare Ethics
PHIL 3930 Philosophy of Body
PHIL 3520 Philosophy of Science
PHIL 3420 Philosophy of Language
PHIL 3910 Philosophy of War and Peace
PHIL 3xxx Philosophy of Law
Recommended courses in Women’s and Gender Studies may include (others TBD):
WGST 3220 Feminist Thought
WGST 4140 African-American Feminism
WGST 4228 French Women Writers in Translation
WGST 4050/5050 Queer Theory
WGST 5050 Mysticism, Pornography, Subjectivity
WGST 3050 Religion & Sexuality
Graduate Study in Feminist Philosophy
Four of the nine members of the philosophy graduate faculty specialize in various aspects of feminist philosophy, including but not limited to: ethics/bioethics, aesthetics, French feminism, history of philosophy (especially ancient and 20th/21st century continental), queer theory, philosophy of law, and critical race/postcolonial theory. For students interested in feminist, gender, and queer theories, the MA in Ethics and Applied Philosophy can easily be combined with a graduate certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies. The WGST graduate certificate consists in 12 hours of coursework, three of which (PHIL/WGST 6627) can also count towards the philosophy MA. WGST requires that students take two core courses and two electives; we recommend that philosophy students earn their WGST certificate by taking all four core courses (and no “electives”), since the core courses are the most consistently theory-oriented courses in the WGST certificate program.
Philosophy graduate courses with a feminist component include:
PHIL/WGST 6320: Feminist Theory and its Applications (crosslisted with Women’s and Gender Studies)
PHIL 6310 Language and Violence
PHIL 6330 Race and Philosophy
PHIL 6220 Health Law and Ethics
PHIL 6230 Ethics, Biotechnology, and the New Genomics
PHIL 6240 Research Ethics in the Biomedical and Behavioral Sciences
PHIL 6250 Ethics of Public Policy
PHIL 6xxx Feminist Jurisprudence
PHIL 6xxx Law & Society
The remaining core courses in the WGST graduate certificate program are:
WGST 6601: Theoretical Approaches to Sexuality
WGST 6602: Theoretical Approaches to Gender
WGST 6603: Language, Gender and Power