WGST 1F90 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Harriet Taylor Mill, Mary Wollstonecraft, John Stuart Mill

• School: Brock University
• Department: Women's and Gender Studies
• Course: WGST 1F90
• Professor: Jenny Janke

Document Summary

Theory is a blueprint a way to explain how and why the world functions. Theories are developed discourse (developed, general account; a way to have a conversation). General accounts of how a range of phenomena are connected. Discourse: historically variable ways of specifying knowledge that links concepts into ideas we write, speak, think and act within discourses. We need theoretical framework to address both the nuances of social/economic/political life and larger systems. Theoretical frameworks tend to focus on larger systems of power and privilege (who"s benefitting?) Example: marxist theory examines capitalism the economic mode of production (in the. Some focus on the individual generalized to larger populations (eg. freudian theory) Feminist theory seeks to explain women"s oppression. Feminist theory seeks to provide solutions for how to end (or improve) women"s oppression offer long-ranging, large-scale changes. Solutions may be far reaching, politically/economically focused, or immediate and instantly accessible.