Page 65 - Šolsko polje, XXIX, 2018, št. 3-4: K paradigmam raziskovanja vzgoje in izobraževanja, ur. Valerija Vendramin
P. 65
Conceptualising postfeminism:
Transtemporal interaction as a bridge
between history and ethics
Ana Mladenović
One way of approaching the various philosophical, political, episte
mological and methodological implications of the grand project
that is feminism is through a historical lens.1 This does not nec
essarily bring us closer to a unitary definition (and we could argue that is
not the goal), but it does provide us with certain tools for achieving what
Christina Hughes refers to as a “conceptual literacy” (2002: p. 3), sensitis
ing us “to the political implications of contestation over the diversity of
conceptual meanings” (ibid.; see also Kohli and Burbules, 2013: p. 19). This
paper argues that the essence of feminism lies in the complexity of the
many voices, stances and often even opposing ideas stemming from a pro
visional commonality. A historical outlook allows us to explore the trans
formations of what could broadly be defined as feminist thought in dif
ferent social, cultural and economic contexts. However, this paper tackles
some of the arguments why analysing the history of feminism exclusively
as a linear progression of different phases does not suffice. In examining
the history of feminism, even the famous wave analogy has its downsides,
namely excluding certain activities, places and social groups and assum
ing inevitable declines leading up to crests.2 The temporality of feminism
is thus a great starting point to outline the complexities of the movement,
but going forward, it is the feminist substance, core values and ethics that
should be the main focus.
1 An early draft of this article was presented at the Gender and Education Association Con
ference at Middlesex University, London, in June 2017, under a slightly different title.
2 For a more comprehensive critique of the wave theory, see Kohli and Burbules (2013: p.
23–24).
63
Transtemporal interaction as a bridge
between history and ethics
Ana Mladenović
One way of approaching the various philosophical, political, episte
mological and methodological implications of the grand project
that is feminism is through a historical lens.1 This does not nec
essarily bring us closer to a unitary definition (and we could argue that is
not the goal), but it does provide us with certain tools for achieving what
Christina Hughes refers to as a “conceptual literacy” (2002: p. 3), sensitis
ing us “to the political implications of contestation over the diversity of
conceptual meanings” (ibid.; see also Kohli and Burbules, 2013: p. 19). This
paper argues that the essence of feminism lies in the complexity of the
many voices, stances and often even opposing ideas stemming from a pro
visional commonality. A historical outlook allows us to explore the trans
formations of what could broadly be defined as feminist thought in dif
ferent social, cultural and economic contexts. However, this paper tackles
some of the arguments why analysing the history of feminism exclusively
as a linear progression of different phases does not suffice. In examining
the history of feminism, even the famous wave analogy has its downsides,
namely excluding certain activities, places and social groups and assum
ing inevitable declines leading up to crests.2 The temporality of feminism
is thus a great starting point to outline the complexities of the movement,
but going forward, it is the feminist substance, core values and ethics that
should be the main focus.
1 An early draft of this article was presented at the Gender and Education Association Con
ference at Middlesex University, London, in June 2017, under a slightly different title.
2 For a more comprehensive critique of the wave theory, see Kohli and Burbules (2013: p.
23–24).
63
