Centennial Honors College
Western Illinois University
Undergraduate Research Day 2014
Poster Presentation
Feminist Epistemologies
Abby Beck
Faculty Mentor: Holly Stovall
Sociology
The purpose of my research is to examine pieces of feminist writing that critique
dominant forms of knowledge. The feminist authors I examine have created new forms
of knowledge to add to the canon of feminist epistemologies. Feminist epistemologies
work to deconstruct the dominant forms of knowledge, while offering new insights into
how we produce knowledge. The way in which knowledge is produced in our culture
has enormous significance on what we know and how we behave. My research
consists of examining various feminist authors who critique cultural androcentric
perceptions. For example, my work focuses on theorists such as Carol Gilligan who
critiques Kholberg’s six stages of moral development. In addition, I examine the works
of theorists such as Mary Wollstonecraft, Elaine Pagels, and Luce Irigaray. Overall
these women offer epistemological insights that critique male centered knowledge
development. In conclusion, I found that these feminist theorists have developed ways
to conceptualize issues of gender that ultimately lead us to epistemological insight.