Gender and Knowledge

The author explores the connection between two perspectives that have had a profound effect upon contemporary thought: post-modernism and feminism. Systematically analyzing, the relations between these perspectives, Hekman attempts to make an intervention into current debates in social theory and philosophy. The critique of Enlightenment knowledge, she argues, is at the core of both postmodernism and feminism. Each also offers a basis for critical reflections about the other. In particular, postmodern philosophy provides a means of criticizing aspects of contemporary feminism and thus contributing to the development of a more sophisticated approach to current feminist issues.