Exam 32: Standpoint Theory

A perspective achieved through critical reflection on power relations and their consequences that opposes the status quo is known as a(n) ________.

How has postmodern theory influenced standpoint theorists? Where do postmodernists and standpoint theorists part company? Why?

Standpoint theorists believe that people in dominant positions in society have more motivation to understand the perspective of those who are marginalized than vice versa.

Wood's in-depth study of caregiving in the United States demonstrated that women are naturally suited for caregiving because of their maternal instincts.

Benhabib believes that a new breed of universal ethic is possible.

How might Harding and Wood critique the work of theorists such as Berger or Hirokawa and Gouran? How might they respond?

Julia Wood maintains that gender is:

According to Sandra Harding, the strategy of starting research from the lives of women and other marginalized groups, which upon critical reflection and resistance provides them with a less false view of reality, is referred to as ________.

German philosopher Georg Hegel analyzed the master-slave relationship to show that what people "know" about themselves depends on which group they are in.

Discuss how the powerful in society are likely to define concerns or experiences of marginalized groups when compared to the marginalized group members' perception of the same issue. Provide an example.

Some critics dismiss the concept of strong objectivity:

Standpoint theorists believe that people's view of the world depends on their social location, which is shaped by their demographic characteristics, including sex, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and economic status.

Wood suggests that the standpoints of women and other marginalized groups should be less partial, less distorted, or less false than the perspectives of men who are in dominant positions because these groups: