Beyond the Margins

Linda A. Bell

Description

Presenting essays rich with her own personal experiences, philosopher Linda A. Bell examines not only her own life but also problems arising from ways that living affects thinking. She reflects on her own experience in order to challenge a variety of provocative claims, including: that affirmative action harms those it is designed to help; that suicide, while perhaps acceptable for some with fatal diseases, is otherwise a manifestation of mental illness; that women are to blame for male violence toward them if they don't leave the relationships; that a low profile is the best path to success for women in academe; that women are treated fairly in academe, perhaps even better than men; and that "political correctness" is a recent and aberrant move away from respect for freedom of speech. Although drawing from experience as she creates and critiques theory, Bell argues against the view that it is the bedrock of theory.

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part I: REMEMBERING A LIFE

1. Philosophy—A Lifeline

2. Within Some Not-So-Hallowed Halls of Ivy: Mid to Late 1960s

3. Unwrapping Anger

4. A Chinese Fortune Cookie

5. No, I Didn't Leave: A Cautionary Tale

6. An Affirmative Action Poster Professor

7. A Sketchy History of "Political Incorrectness" as Experienced by a Survivor

8. Do You, or Does Someone You Know, Have Vaginal Fortitude?

9. Individual Need and Societal Change: A Balancing Act Inspired by Virginia Woolf

10. Can Men Really Not Control Themselves? A Response to Camille Paglia, 1991

11. Focusing on Violence While Empowering Its Victims

12. Two Days in the Life of an Academic Feminist: Mid 1990s

13. An Aunt's Death: 1997

Part II: HOW THEORY EMERGES FROM, INCORPORATES, AND CHALLENGES SUCH EXPERIENCES

14. Different Oppressions: A Feminist Exploration of Sartre's Anti-Semite and Jew

15. Friendship, Love, and Experience

16. I'm Sort of White and Mostly Middle Class—Want to Make Something of It?

17. Identity Politics, Standpoint Theory, and Objectivity: An Ongoing Argument with My Friend Diane L. Fowlkes

18. Calvin Hears a Who: Calvin O. Schrag and Postmodern Selves

Navigating Treacherous Waters: A Tentative Conclusion

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Index

Sujets

• Philosophie
• Épistémologie
• Métaphysique
• Éthique et morale
• Ethique et morale
• Epistémologie
• Epistémologie
• Epistémologie
• Metaphysics

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 01 février 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780791486016
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

beyond the margins Reflections of a Feminist Philosopher

LINDA A. BELL

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beyond the margins

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SUNY series, F E M I N I S T P H I L O S O P H Y

Jeffner Allen, editor

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beyond the margins

Reflections of

a Feminist Philosopher

Linda A. Bell

STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS

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Published by S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y O F N E W Y O R K P R E S S A LBANY

© 2003 State University of New York

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

For information, address, State University of New York Press 90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany, NY 12207

Production, Laurie Searl Marketing, Fran Keneston

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bell, Linda A. Beyond the margins : reflections of a feminist philosopher / Linda A. Bell p. cm. — (SUNY series, feminist philosophy) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7914-5903-9 (alk. paper) — ISBN 0-7914-5904-7 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Feminism and education—United States. 2. Women in higher education—Social aspects—United States. 3. Bell, Linda A. 4. Philosophers—United States—Biography. 5. Women philosophers— United States—Biography. I. Title. II. Series.

LC197.B45 2003 378.1'982—dc21

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A CKNOWLEDGMENTS

I NTRODUCTION

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Contents

PART I R E M E M B E R I N G A L I F E

P —A L HILOSOPHY IFELINE

W S N -S -H H I : ITHIN OME OT O ALLOWED ALLS OF VY M L ATE 1960 ID TO S

U A NWRAPPING NGER

A C HINESE F ORTUNE C OOKIE

N O , I D IDN ’ T L EAVE : A C AUTIONARY T AL E

A A A P P N FFIRMATIVE CTION OSTER ROFESSOR

A S H “P I ” KETCHY ISTORY OF OLITICAL NCORRECTNESS E S AS XPERIENCED BY A URVIVOR

D O Y OU , OR D OES S OMEONE Y OU K NOW , H AVE V AGINAL F ORTITUDE ?

I NDIVIDUAL N EED AND S OCIETAL C HANGE : A B ALANCING A CT I NSPIRED BY V IRGINIA W OOLF

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C O N T E N T S

C M R N C T ? AN EN EALLY OT ONTROL HEMSELVES A R C P , 1991 ESPONSE TO AMILLE AGLIA

F OCUSING ON V IOLENCE W HILE E MPOWERING I V TS ICTIMS

T WO D AYS IN THE L IFE OF AN A CADEMIC F EMINIST : M 1990 ID S

A A ’ D : 1997 N UNT S EATH

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PART II H O W T H E O R Y E M E R G E S F R O M , I N C O R P O R A T E S , A N D C H A L L E N G E S S U C H E X P E R I E N C E S

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D FFERENT O PPRESSIONS : A F EMINIS I T E XPLORATION OF S ARTRE ’ S A NTI -S EMITE AND J EW

F , L , E RIENDSHIP OVE AND XPERIENCE

I’ S W M M C — M ORT OF HITE AND OSTLY IDDLE LASS W M S I ? ANT TO AKE OMETHING OF T

I P , S T , DENTITY OLITICS TANDPOINT HEORY AND O : A O A BJECTIVITY N NGOING RGUMENT M F D L. F WITH Y RIEND IANE OWLKES

C H W : ALVIN EARS A HO C O. S P S ALVIN CHRAG AND OSTMODERN ELVES

N AVIGATING T REACHEROUS W ATERS T: A ENTATIVE C ONCLUSION

N OTES

S B ELECTED IBLIOGRAPHY

I NDEX

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Acknowledgments

This book began in 1990 when John Eskridge invited Margaret A. Simons and me to Pittsburgh to address a Women’s History Month celebration. Our as- signment was to discuss how we became feminist philosophers. Although I was excited about the prospect of sharing some of my academic story, I was also rather scared of doing so in such a public forum. After all, some aspects of my story—some of what I thought were the most important ones—had been for so many years secrets I had carefully guarded from prying academic eyes, espe- cially of those who might be looking for something to be used against me. My closest friends and my sisters knew most of these “secrets” and had helped me survive those particularly trying times. In general, though, these were not things I went out of my way to share with people and certainly not with aca- demic colleagues. Nonetheless, I told or at least alluded to most of these the day Peg and I shared the stage. I remember the gathering, quite a large one, being very quiet and attentive. I remember, too, feeling a lot of encouragement from the audi- ence as I recounted events that were still for me quite painful. In addition to that encouragement, I have had a lot of help in getting through and, in some cases at least, triumphing over the events discussed in these essays. After my failure at Northwestern, my father’s suicide, and the de- mise of my marriage, I went through a period of despair and obsessive suicidal thoughts. When those thoughts cleared just enough so I realized that I wanted to live, I began seeing a therapist, Bernhard Kempler, who helped me survive and thrive. I have no idea what I would have done had I not discovered him at this crucial point. I do know I owe him much or all of my happiness, if not my life. My sister Mary didn’t always understand what was happening and why I chose to fight to stay in academe instead of just using the rejection as a very good reason to move on to more lucrative employment elsewhere. She did, though, support me in numerous ways that meant a lot, even offering to let me borrow her fancy little Mercedes, hoping it would intimidate those who were trying to get rid of me, and calling regularly to make sure my situation was not getting me down.

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A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S

Friends I made as I got back into graduate school and after became life- long parts of my support network, sometimes reading and critiquing my pa- pers, sometimes just hugging me with words or arms when I was down, sometimes offering me other sorts of support that were more dangerous for them, as did the newly promoted and tenured member of the department who wrote the only letter supporting my promotion and tenure. Convinced no one ever triumphs without a lot of support and assistance from others, I can cer- tainly say this has been true for me. Consequently, I must thank the following for their important and sometimes innumerable contributions, to my life, to my career, and to my writing: Hazel E. Barnes, Margaret C. Bell, Ellen Irene Beversluis, John Beversluis, Nathaniel Fox Beversluis, Susan Fox Beversluis, Liberty Bostwick, James E. Caraway, Edward Casey, Lanier Clance, Marymal Dryden, Charles Frady, Binker Glock, Judith Allen Ingram, Willoughby Jar- rell, Bill Lewis, Jeri Lewis, Miriam Lewis, C. Grant Luckhardt, William L. McBride, Margaret McLaren, Marsha Mitchiner, Sister Margaret Niemeyer, Karen Okenica, Calvin O. Schrag, Albert C. Skaggs, Dieter Turck, and John T. Wilcox. In terms of the essays themselves, I have had a great deal of help in edit- ing and rewriting, including from my writers’ group, Charlene Ball, Valerie Fennell, Diane Fowlkes, Elizabeth Knowlton, and Libby Ware, and am par- ticularly grateful to them not only for their editorial assistance as we went through draft after draft of most of the essays but also for resisting some of my ideas, thereby making me work harder to hone my arguments, and for encour- aging me to develop the earlier paper on Sartre’sAnti-Semite and Jewby adding an analysis of homophobia to those I had already written of sexism and anti-black racism. Others have read various essays. Their comments, too, have been enor- mously useful and have encouraged me to refine many points and clarify oth- ers. For their time and generosity, I thank Linda Martín Alcoff, Robert L. Arrington, Harold W. Baldwin, Shirlene Holmes, Lucina Kathmann, Brenda V. Lloyd, Ruth Barcan Marcus, Lucius T. Outlaw, Robert C. Scharff, and David Weberman. In some cases, my writing tapped into their anger as they re- membered similar events and, in a couple of instances, some of the same ones. That anger was a reality check for me and helped me to persist. To John Bell I am particularly grateful, not just for the important role he has played in my life, but also for his reading some of the manuscript and, even more, for encouraging me to put in writing the way I saw events and experi- ences that involved him and that were exceedingly painful for him as well as for me. Similarly, my sisters endured an early reading of what became my essay on our father’s suicide. I knew listening to what I had written was uncomfortable for them and suspected they might have preferred not only to be somewhere else but also for me not to write my account. But listen they did, carefully and sympathetically, even at those points when they had no memory of what I de-

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scribed and even when what they did remember differed. And never did I hear any grumbling from either to the effect that I should not be airing our family’s dirty laundry. Since we had all heard that admonition time and again as we were growing up, I am particularly grateful to them for leaving it behind, pos- sibly for my sake, recognizing as they must have how important my rethinking our family and the events surrounding Dad’s death was to me. Finally, I am enormously grateful to a very careful editor, Rosemary Wellner, for her conscientious work that saved me from some serious gaffes and consider- able embarrassment. I also thank Jere Recob for her indexing, Jane Bunker for her initial encouragement, and Laurie Searl for seeing the manuscript through. Since I always love the way writers hasten to claim all the mistakes as their own, perhaps I should add that what meant the most to me in all of this gener- ous assistance was how these individuals were, for the most part, able to suspend their own ideas and views and help me improve the presentation of my own ar- guments, ideas, and memories. I recognize that this is difficult for most of us and certainly wasn’t always easy for them. Occasionally, some got into wrangles with me, apparently seeing me as having gone too far and finding themselves simply unable for the moment to resist the temptation to try to rein me in. Usually, though, we managed eventually to turn those struggles into something positive, with my arguments strengthened as a result of the opposition. The following essays have been published in similar though usually not exact form elsewhere and their revisions are reprinted here with permission:

“Philosophy—A Lifeline,”Falling in Love with Wisdom: American Philoso- phers Talk About Their Calling, ed. David D. Karnos and Robert Shoe- maker (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), pp. 233–35. (Copyright 1993 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Used by permission of Oxford University Press, Inc.) “Do You, Or Does Someone You Know, Have Vaginal Fortitude?”Trivia, No. 22 (1995), pp. 90–93. “Different Oppressions: A Feminist Exploration of Sartre’sAnti-Semite and Jew,”Sartre Studies International, Vol. 3, No. 2 (1997), pp. 1–20, and in Feminist Interpretations of Jean-Paul Sartre, ed. Julien S. Murphy (Uni- versity Park: The Pennsylvania State Press, 1999), pp. 123–48. (Copy- right 1999 by the Pennsylvania State University. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.) “Friendship, Love, and Experience,”Feminist Phenomenology, ed. Linda Fisher and Lester Embree (Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2000), pp. 195–211. (Copyright 2000, used with kind permission of Kluwer Academic Publishers.) “Calvin Hears a Who: Calvin O. Schrag and Postmodern Selves,”Calvin O. Schrag and the Task of Philosophy after Postmodernity, ed. Martin