Queer theory is a field of post-structuralist critical theory that emerged in the early 1990s out of queer studies and women's studies. The term "queer theory" can have various meanings depending upon its usage,but has been broadly associated with the study and theorization of gender and sexual practices that exist outside of heterosexuality,and which challenge the notion that heterosexual desire is "normal". Following social constructivist developments in sociology,queer theorists are often critical of what they consider essentialist views of sexuality and gender. Instead,they study those concepts as social and cultural phenomena,often through an analysis of the categories,binaries,and language in which they are said to be portrayed.
International relations theory is the study of international relations (IR) from a theoretical perspective. It seeks to explain behaviors and outcomes in international politics. The four most prominent schools of thought are realism,liberalism,constructivism,and rational choice. Whereas realism and liberalism make broad and specific predictions about international relations,constructivism and rational choice are methodological approaches that focus on certain types of social explanation for phenomena.
Normative generally means relating to an evaluative standard. Normativity is the phenomenon in human societies of designating some actions or outcomes as good,desirable,or permissible,and others as bad,undesirable,or impermissible. A norm in this sense means a standard for evaluating or making judgments about behavior or outcomes. "Normative" is sometimes also used,somewhat confusingly,to mean relating to a descriptive standard:doing what is normally done or what most others are expected to do in practice. In this sense a norm is not evaluative,a basis for judging behavior or outcomes;it is simply a fact or observation about behavior or outcomes,without judgment. Many researchers in science,law,and philosophy try to restrict the use of the term "normative" to the evaluative sense and refer to the description of behavior and outcomes as positive,descriptive,predictive,or empirical.
Standpoint feminism is a theory that feminist social science should be practiced from the standpoint of women or particular groups of women,as some scholars say that they are better equipped to understand some aspects of the world. A feminist or women's standpoint epistemology proposes to make women's experiences the point of departure,in addition to,and sometimes instead of men's.
Reflectivism is an umbrella label used in International Relations theory for a range of theoretical approaches which oppose rational-choice accounts of social phenomena and positivism generally. The label was popularised by Robert Keohane in his presidential address to the International Studies Association in 1988. The address was entitled "International Institutions:Two Approaches",and contrasted two broad approaches to the study of international institutions. One was "rationalism",the other what Keohane referred to as "reflectivism". Rationalists —including realists,neo-realists,liberals,neo-liberals,and scholars using game-theoretic or expected-utility models —are theorists who adopt the broad theoretical and ontological commitments of rational-choice theory.
In epistemology,and more specifically,the sociology of knowledge,reflexivity refers to circular relationships between cause and effect,especially as embedded in human belief structures. A reflexive relationship is multi-directional when the causes and the effects affect the reflexive agent in a layered or complex sociological relationship. The complexity of this relationship can be furthered when epistemology includes religion.
The ethics of care is a normative ethical theory that holds that moral action centers on interpersonal relationships and care or benevolence as a virtue. EoC is one of a cluster of normative ethical theories that were developed by some feminists and environmentalists since the 1980s. While consequentialist and deontological ethical theories emphasize generalizable standards and impartiality,ethics of care emphasize the importance of response to the individual. The distinction between the general and the individual is reflected in their different moral questions:"what is just?" versus "how to respond?" Carol Gilligan,who is considered the originator of the ethics of care,criticized the application of generalized standards as "morally problematic,since it breeds moral blindness or indifference".
Iris Marion Young was an American political theorist and socialist feminist who focused on the nature of justice and social difference. She served as Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago and was affiliated with the Center for Gender Studies and the Human Rights program there. Her research covered contemporary political theory,feminist social theory,and normative analysis of public policy. She believed in the importance of political activism and encouraged her students to involve themselves in their communities.
Feminist philosophy is an approach to philosophy from a feminist perspective and also the employment of philosophical methods to feminist topics and questions. Feminist philosophy involves both reinterpreting philosophical texts and methods in order to supplement the feminist movement and attempts to criticise or re-evaluate the ideas of traditional philosophy from within a feminist framework.
Christian Reus-Smit is Professor of International Relations (IR) at the University of Queensland,in Brisbane Australia. He is an internationally renowned scholar in the field of IR. Reus-Smit's research focuses on the institutional nature and evolution of international orders,and he has published on widely on issues of international relations theory,international law,multilateralism,human rights,American power,and most recently,cultural diversity and international order. He is long-time editor of the Cambridge Studies in International Relations book series,and was a Founding Editor with Duncan Snidal and Alexander Wendt of the leading journal International Theory. His publications have been awarded many prizes,including the Susan Strange Best Book Prize (2014),the BISA Best Article Prize (2002),and the Northedge Prize (1992). In 2013-14 Professor Reus-Smit served as a Vice-President of the International Studies Association.
The International Feminist Journal of Politics is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering international relations and international political economy with a focus on gender issues in global politics. The journal was established by Jan Jindy Pettman in 1999. In 2020,the editors-in-chief are Brooke Ackerly,Elisabeth Jay Friedman,Krishna Menon,and Marysia Zalewski. Past editors include Heidi Hudson,Laura Sjoberg,and Cynthia Weber. The journal is published by Taylor and Francis.
Feminist epistemology is an examination of epistemology from a feminist standpoint.
Feminist constructivism is an international relations theory which builds upon the theory of constructivism. Feminist constructivism focuses upon the study of how ideas about gender influence global politics. It is the communication between two postcolonial theories;feminism and constructivism,and how they both share similar key ideas in creating gender equality globally.
Feminist political theory is an area of philosophy that focuses on understanding and critiquing the way political philosophy is usually construed and on articulating how political theory might be reconstructed in a way that advances feminist concerns. Feminist political theory combines aspects of both feminist theory and political theory in order to take a feminist approach to traditional questions within political philosophy.
Feminist ethics is an approach to ethics that builds on the belief that traditionally ethical theorizing has undervalued and/or underappreciated women's moral experience,which is largely male-dominated,and it therefore chooses to reimagine ethics through a holistic feminist approach to transform it.
Feminist security studies is a subdiscipline of security studies that draws attention to gendered dimensions of security.
Feminist empiricism is a perspective within feminist research that combines the objectives and observations of feminism with the research methods and empiricism. Feminist empiricism is typically connected to mainstream notions of positivism. Feminist empiricism critiques what it perceives to be inadequacies and biases within mainstream research methods,including positivism.
Carol C. Gould is an American philosopher and feminist theorist. Since 2009,she has taught at City University of New York,where she is currently Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Hunter College,and in the Doctoral Programs of Philosophy and Political Science at the CUNY Graduate Center,where she is Director of the Center for Global Ethics and Politics at the Ralph Bunche Institute. Gould is also editor-in-chief of the Journal of Social Philosophy. Her 2004 book Globalizing Democracy and Human Rights received the 2009 David Easton Award which is given by the American Political Science Association "for a book that broadens the horizons of contemporary political science." Her 2014 book Interactive Democracy:The Social Roots of Global Justice received the 2015 Joseph B. Gittler Award from the American Philosophical Association for "an outstanding scholarly contribution in the field of the philosophy of one or more of the social sciences."
Jacqui True is a political scientist and expert in gender studies. She is a professor of international relations at Monash University,where she is also Director of the Centre for Gender,Peace and Security. She studies international relations,gender mainstreaming,violence against women and its connections to political economy,and the methodology of feminist social science.
