Slide 1Slide 2Slide 3Slide 4Slide 5Slide 6Slide 7Slide 8Slide 9Slide 10Slide 11WOMEN AND THE ENLIGHTENMENTWOMEN AND THE ENLIGHTENMENTDUAL EFFECT ON WOMEN & VIEWS OF WOMEN Some promotion of women’s rights Liberty & equality should apply to women as well as men Laid foundations of modern feminism Persistence of ideas of inferiority & subjugation Women mostly excluded from discussions of liberty & equality Rise of ideology of domesticityWOMEN AND THE ENLIGHTENMENTBACKGROUND Foundations of potential equality found in 17th century thinkers Descartes: All women had ability to be educated Locke: Women equally independent in state of natureWOMEN AND THE ENLIGHTENMENTTHE PHILOSOPHES ON WOMEN The positive views Some blamed society for women’s inequality MARQUIS DE CONDORCET: proclaimed women’s right to equal citizenship & education• Believed in women’s intellectual potentialWOMEN AND THE ENLIGHTENMENTTHE PHILOSOPHES ON WOMEN The negative views Promotion of old notions of women’s inferiority & weakness Women continually linked with irrationality & emotion Excluded from discussions of liberty, equality, reason, scienceWOMEN AND THE ENLIGHTENMENTTHE PHILOSOPHES ON WOMEN ROUSSEAU Social contract included one between men & women•men protect women women serve men Emile: articulation of idea of SEPARATE SPHERES•men = public women = private• glorified domesticityWOMEN AND THE ENLIGHTENMENTWOMEN OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT Many women greatly affected by ideas of Enlightenment Women influence Enlightenment as salonnieres & sponsors Women began to demand greater role in intellectual lifeMADAME DE GEOFRINWOMEN AND THE ENLIGHTENMENTWOMEN OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT MARY ASTELL (1666-1731) Challenged notion of separate spheres Criticized failure to extend notions of liberty to womenWOMEN AND THE ENLIGHTENMENTWOMEN OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT (1759-1797) A Vindication of the Rights of Woman• advocated equality of sexes• formulated main doctrines of modern women’s movement• education was key to equality & independenceWOMEN AND THE ENLIGHTENMENTWOMEN OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT OYMPE DE GOUGES (1745-1793) Declaration of the Rights of Woman• asserted women’s ability to reason & make moral decisions•women not same as men, but equal• women had right to free speechWOMEN AND THE ENLIGHTENMENTCONCLUSIONS Did not result in advances for most women in 18th c. Education extended, but became gender specific & women excluded from many fields Economic setbacks due to rise of capitalism Separation of public & private & ideology of domesticity largely restricted women But gave birth to new feminist consciousness & advocacy of rights & opportunities for
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