In the received version of the Analects, it’s quite apparent that all of Confucius’s disciples were men. So one might wonder: is this an ethics built just for men? Today we are happy to be joined by Professor Erin Cline, Tagliabue Professor at Georgetown University, to discuss this timely issue, focusing on a controversial passage that features the only woman cited by name in the Analects, Nanzi 南子. Professor Cline argues that the conventional reading of this passage is wrong and that a more plausible understanding of it is important for addressing common criticisms of patriarchy and sexism in the Analects. We also explore various pedagogical themes and strategies for teaching the Analects to students. Continue reading →
Category Archives: Feminism
Two articles in Hypatia
Two articles related to Chinese philosophy have appeared over the last year in the journal Hypatia:
- Sor-hoon Tan, “Confucian Family Ideal and Same-Sex Marriage: A Feminist Confucian Perspective” (Hypatia , Volume 39 , Issue 3 , Summer 2024 , pp. 597 – 615; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/hyp.2023.100)
- Subin Lee, “Confucian Familialism and the Crisis of Care” (Hypatia , Volume 39 , Issue 3 , Summer 2024 , pp. 597 – 615; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/hyp.2024.50)
Click on the DOI links for abstracts and more information.
New Book: Korean Women Philosophers
The Oxford University Press has recently published a translation and study Korean Women Philosophers and the Ideal of a Female Sage: Essential Writings of Im Yungjidang and Gang Jeongildang, edited by Philip J. Ivanhoe and Hwa Yeong Wang. This work introduces the lives and ideas of two female Korean Confucian philosophers from the Joseon Dynasty. This edited edition provides translation and analysis of the writings of these philosophers. The editors also add in compared and contrast the philosophers’ thoughts with that of western thinkers.
New Book: Kim, Im Yunjidang
Cambridge University Press has recently published a new book titled Im Yunjidang by Sungmoon Kim. This short book in the Cambridge Elements series, looks at Im Yunjidang, an 18th-century Korean female Neo-Confucian philosopher, and is freely available to access online for the next two weeks. The book attempts to bring a new perspective on the relation between Confucianism and feminism. It critically examines the philosophical thought of Im Yunjidang and presents her as a feminist thinker in the time period. It shows how Im Yunjidang was able to reformulate Neo-Confucian metaphysics and ethics of moral self-cultivation.
CFP: Remapping the feminist global
We invite participants to this multi-location hybrid conference, ‘Remapping the feminist global’ co-convened by International Feminist Journal of Politics and Asian Center for Women’s Studies, Ewha Womans University.
Submission Date: 30 January 2022
Submission Type: Individual and co-authored papers, panels, roundtables, book launch proposals, and other creative proposals
Submission Method: Submit your 250-word abstracts by filling out the form here.
Please note: For panel or other multi-person submissions, you will need information of all your panelists/contributors including, individual contribution/paper abstracts, email addresses, location/institution information, and mode of participation
Notification Date: 19 February 2022
New Book: Feminisms with Chinese Characteristics
Ping Zhu and Hui Faye Xiao, eds. Feminisms with Chinese Characteristics.
Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2021. (Series: Gender and Globalization)
SAVE 50% now through December 31st with discount code 05Snow21.
New Book: Yuan, Confucian Ren and Feminist Ethics of Care
Lijun Yuan’s new book, Confucian Ren and Feminist Ethics of Care: Integrating Relational Self, Power, and Democracy, has been published by Rowman & Littlefield. For more information, see here.
Successful Conference on Women in the Ru Tradition
The first conference on Confucianism that I have attended in which men were in the minority: last weekend’s “Women as Exemplary Persons in The Ru (Confucian) Tradition”; program here.
Article of Interest: “Instructions to Women” by Olivia Milburn
Milburn, Olivia. “Instructions to Women: Admonitions Texts for a Female Readership in Early China”, NAN NÜ 20, 2: 169-197, doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/15685268-00202P01
The Issue is Not the Issue: A Podcast with Hans-Georg Moeller and Dan Sarafinas
Hans-Georg Moeller and Dan Sarafinas discuss contemporary debates on “political correctness” and related moral and social issues. They point to concepts such as virtue speech (“virtue signalling”), civil religion, and the role of critique to better understand their nature.
Episode 1–Virtue Speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pg8H-b87Cs;
The phenomenon of virtue speech (“virtue signalling”) has become a central feature in recent outrage movements pervasive throughout the West. Virtue speech, which is implicitly tied to accusations of hate speech, is a form of moralistic discourse setting speech examples that make it difficult to openly discuss elements of our culture without falling into the trap of moralizing.
Episode 2–Civil Religion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EDEuXCPHOQ
Civil religion plays a central role in the virtue speech, or political correctness, discourse. The history of the concept is discussed as well as the structure of the American form of civil religion and how tenets of civil religion are constantly being performed and re-enacted, particularly in current social media outrage movements.
