POL 3102 Study Guide - Fall 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Ottawa, God, Christianity
12 Oct 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
POL 3102
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
POL3102 Modern Political Thought II
University of Ottawa
Lecture I: Mary Wollstonecraft – A
Vidicatio of the Rights of Woe
14 September 2016
Biography of Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-97)
"Liberal Feminist" text
• Treated as a straightforward liberal who spoke about women
o She is a little bit more than that
• Limited description:
o She was a champion of liberal rights
o But also has a proposal of radical education
o Sounded civic republicanism
• Liberalisms opposite
o "The deo of propert … the las that wars of justice."
• Attacking property rights
• Opposed liberalism in this sense
Made a powerful argument about oppression against women.
Was controversial during her time but is often regarded as not going far enough by today's standards.
Provides a foundation.
Read her in 2 ways:
• B/c of her contribution to feminism
• But also as a thinker of her own
Was a highly unconventional person.
• Husband (William Godwin) wrote a book about her after her death
o Memoirs of the Author of a Vindication of the Rights of Woman
• Biography often overshadows her work
• Celebrate her unconventional life
o Problematic in and of itself
Died in childbirth.
• "Died of being a woman."
Again and again #defyingtheconventional.
Father
• Squandered his money
• Abusive
• Stole her inheritance
• Gave her an early understanding of the patriarchy
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
POL3102 Modern Political Thought II
University of Ottawa
Knew a lot about caring for people.
• Cared for her dying mother
• Tried opening a school with her sisters and best friend
• Worked as a governess
Encouraged her sister to leave her husband.
• Leaving her baby behind as well
• Not customary at the time
Weren't a lot of jobs open for women at the time.
Was extremely critical of marriage as it existed at the time.
18th C Marriage:
• Blackstone: "legal existence of the woman is suspended during the marriage"
• Divorce:
o Needed an act of parliament
o Men had to seek it first
o Unless the woman could prove adultery and poor well-being
• Wife sale:
o Not legal, but customary in some areas
• Power imbalance b/w the husband and wife
Used language of slavery when talking about the condition of the wife in a marriage.
• Was written at the height of the slave trade
• Using it in a classical republican sense
• Juxtaposing the free man and the slave
Reviewed an anti-slavery text The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, of Gustavus
Vassa the African
• Problematic due to her racist language
"Is oe half of the hua speies … ol to seete the up of a." 62
• Discussing the slave trade
Other relationships:
• Fuseli
o An artist
o Was a married man
• Imlay
o An American
o Pretended to be married to him
o Did really love him but he didn't want to be tied down
o Became pregnant with his child
o Cheated on her
o She tried to commit suicide on two separate occasions
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
