Decolonizing Universalism: A Transnational Feminist Ethic

by Serene J. Khader

Overview

Decolonizing Universalism argues that feminism can respect cultural and religious differences and acknowledge the legacy of imperialism without surrendering its core ethical commitments. Transcending relativism/ universalism debates that reduce feminism to a Western notion, Serene J. Khader proposes a feminist vision that is sensitive to postcolonial and antiracist concerns. Khader criticizes the false universalism of what she calls 'Enlightenment liberalism,' a worldview according to which the West is the one true exemplar of gender justice and moral progress is best achieved through economic independence and the abandonment of tradition. She argues that anti-imperialist feminists must rediscover the normative core of feminism and rethink the role of moral ideals in transnational feminist praxis. What emerges is a nonideal universalism that rejects missionary feminisms that treat Western intervention and the spread of Enlightenment liberalism as the path to global gender injustice.

The book draws on evidence from transnational women's movements and development practice in addition to arguments from political philosophy and postcolonial and decolonial theory, offering a rich moral vision for twenty-first century feminism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190664206
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	12/04/2018
Series:	Studies in Feminist Philosophy
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	200
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Serene J. Khader is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Women's and Gender Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center and Jay Newman Chair in Philosophy of Culture at Brooklyn College. She is the also the author of Adaptive Preferences and Women's Empowerment and co-editor, with Ann Garry and Alison Stone, of The Routledge Companion to Feminist Philosophy.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Imperialism in the Name of Feminism
Chapter 1. Towards a Decolonial Feminist Universalism
Chapter 2. Individualism: Beyond Okin's Ultimatum
Chapter 3. Autonomy and the Secular: Do Muslim Women Need Freedom?
Chapter 4. Gender Role Eliminativism: Compelementarian Challenges to Feminism
Chapter 5. Gender Role Eliminativism: Feminized Power and the Public

Editorial Reviews

"In this book, Serene Khader masterfully argues for a transnational feminist ethic that retains moral universalism. ... Khader's book will be particularly helpful to Western feminists and a wake-up call to white feminists whose vision of feminism is a vehicle for implicitly imperialist values. By raising explicit questions about the harms of missionary feminism, addressing values as they impact public life, and considering empirical evidence about normative claims made by feminists, Khader has made a meaningful contribution to the field." — American Philosophical Association Newsletter

"The book will serve students seeking an in-depth overview of the key debates in feminism that have endured since the emergence of second-wave feminism. It serves also as a springboard for anyone interested in the key understandings of postcolonialism and how they interweave with feminism and the legacies of the Enlightenment. At a time when many Western scholars continue to overlook the multitude of non-Western thinkers in mainstream academia, Khader's book is timely in encouraging an interrogation of frameworks utilised by people when looking at 'the West' and 'the Rest'. Lastly, because of the clear succinct guidelines and prescriptions Khader provides in her rejection of imperialism, Decolonizing Universalism would function well as a toolkit for NGOs engaging with marginalised women and communities not only in the Global South but in the Global North as well." — London School of Economics Review of Books

"I think this book makes great strides in approaching decolonization within feminist philosophy. I feel as if all readers who are interested in political philosophy, whether in a global context or not, would greatly benefit from reading Khader's book since she provides useful insights into how to be critical of the practical and epistemic habits of Western philosophy." — Shay Welch, Human Studies

"Khader's timely and ambitious book... may serve the valuable purpose of bringing attention to and fostering constructive debates on critical and urgent feminist mandates of anti-imperialism, universal feminism, and transnational feminist solidarity in an unprecedentedly globalized world." — Ranjoo S. Herr, Bentley University, Hypatia

"Khader demonstrates that if Western liberals are to have something to offer the women of the Global South, they must acknowledge a higher burden of justification than is typically supposed. Khader's book also illuminates an important general lesson about injustice, namely that piecemeal attempts to fix some part of an oppressive structure will fail unless attention is paid to the rest of that structure, the explanations for its existence, and which of its parts might need to be preserved even if other cultures find them hard to swallow. As Khader notes, 'the tragedy — is that feminist change is typically going to require changes to relationships women are genuinely self-interestedly invested in'. In bringing these complexities to light and showing how they might change our approach, Khader has produced a pioneering work." — Daniel Halliday, Australian Book Review

"The book draws on evidence from transnational women's movements and development practice in addition to arguments from political philosophy and postcolonial and decolonial theory, offering a rich moral vision for twenty-first century feminism." — Allegra Lab

"scholarly and conceptually rigorous, this work of theoretical feminist philosophy shines ... Highly recommended." — P. W. Wakefield, CHOICE

"This is the book that we have been waiting for. Serene Khader explains how to be an anti-imperialist feminist without retreating from judgment or attempting to stay 'local.' Careful and balanced but powerfully argued, this is an absolute must for everyone concerned about gender-based oppression around the world."—Linda Martín Alcoff, Hunter College and the Graduate Center, CUNY

"This is an important and timely book. Khader argues that we can identify what is wrong in sexist oppression without thereby committing ourselves to a singular blueprint for what is right. In doing so, she offers a compelling way out of a current feminist impasse, one that has been particularly pressing for a transnational feminism seeking to avoid the universalising imposition of one cultural narrative. Her argument about the transition costs of challenging oppression is especially persuasive, as is her critique of 'independence individualism,' and the book combines rigorous philosophical argument with carefully contextualised examples."—Anne Phillips, London School of Economics and Political Science

"Khader's incisive analysis of the dark side of Western values long associated with feminism individualism, secularism, and 'gender role eliminativism' provides an utterly compelling roadmap for decolonizing feminist thinking and practice. Reconceiving feminism as opposition to sexist oppression, Khader shows that a transnational feminist praxis with normative and political bite is possible, but must respectfully engage the diverse values, roles, and arrangements of women around the world. This is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand why the global feminist revolution didn't happen, but might yet."—Monique Deveaux, University of Guelph

From the Publisher