The question of feminist critique

Bibliographic Data

ID4367333
AuthorsRachelle Chadwick (0000-0002-7526-8592, University of Pretoria, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume25
Issue3
Pages376-395
Publication date2024-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFeminist Theory (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1464-7001 • E-ISSN: 1741-2773
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/14647001231186526
OpenAlexW4385634076
LanguageFR
Citations received9
References cited30

This article engages the contested question of feminist critique, suggesting that reflecting on how we 'do' critique as feminist scholars is integral to the work of examining the broader politics of feminist worldmaking and knowledge production. Building on the work of Rosalyn Diprose and Audre Lorde, I suggest that the concept of 'epistemic generosity' opens space for the development of a lexicon in which the nuances of an open and receptive attitude to feminist critique can be explored. As a stance of open receptivity, epistemic generosity is associated with waiting, slowness and listening, rather than pursuit, suspicion, vigilance and self-affirmation. Furthermore, as a non-directive mode of relating, epistemic generosity does not presume to know. Open to surprise, wonder and connection, it is fundamentally an orientation to thinking and knowing rooted in hopefulness. At the same time, epistemic generosity is not without risks. What thinking generously means, its risks and its costs, differs according to social positioning. For those located in privileged positions, epistemic generosity is only possible in conjunction with constant practices of self-critique that involve attending to friction, discomfort, difference and difficulty

Epistemology · Generosity · Sociology · Surprise · Theology · Wonder · Feminism, Gender, and Sexuality Studies · Feminist Epistemology and Gender Studies · Foucault, Power, and Ethics · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology

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