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Knocking Down Walls in Political Science: In Defense of an Expansionist Feminist Agenda

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2017

Fiona MacDonald
Fiona MacDonald*
Affiliation:
University of the Fraser Valley
*
Department of Political Science, University of the Fraser Valley, 33844 King Road, Abbotsford BC, V2S 7M8, email: Fiona.macdonald@ufv.ca
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Abstract

This article offers one possible answer to the question “What is the future of feminist political science?” by outlining and defending an expansionist agenda that is centred on challenging the male-female binary that has been upheld and replicated in the discipline to date. Such an approach draws heavily on the insights of intersectional analyses, transgender, queer and gender-fluid articulations of identity and requires that the field of political science investigate the varied and complex gendered experiences of “men.” Overall, this article argues that such as expansionist agenda is key to responding to the interrelated challenges presented by the perceived “crisis” of feminism and the ongoing “masculinity” of the discipline of political science.

Résumé

Cet article offre une réponse possible à la question « Quel est l'avenir de la science politique féministe? » en esquissant et en défendant un plan expansionniste axé sur la remise en cause du modèle binaire masculin-féminin qui s'est maintenu et a été reproduit dans la discipline jusqu’à ce jour. Une telle approche s'inspire largement des éclairages des analyses entrecroisées, de la fluidité identitaire transgenre, allosexuelle et de genre et exige que le domaine de la science politique examine les expériences genrées complexes et variées des « hommes ». Dans l'ensemble, cet article avance qu'un tel plan expansionniste est un élément clé de la réponse aux défis interreliés que présente la « crise » du féminisme perçue comme telle et la « masculinité » continue de la discipline de la science politique.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 50 , Special Issue 2: Finding Feminism , June 2017 , pp. 411 - 426
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association (l'Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 2017 

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