Description

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Phenomenology, the philosophical method that seeks to uncover the taken-for-granted presuppositions, habits, and norms that structure everyday experience, is increasingly framed by ethical and political concerns. Critical phenomenology foregrounds experiences of marginalization, oppression, and power in order to identify and transform common experiences of injustice that render “the familiar” a site of oppression for many. In Fifty Concepts for a Critical Phenomenology, leading scholars present fresh readings of classic phenomenological topics and introduce newer concepts developed by feminist theorists, critical race theorists, disability theorists, and queer and trans theorists that capture aspects of lived experience that have traditionally been neglected. By centering historically marginalized perspectives, the chapters in this book breathe new life into the phenomenological tradition and reveal its ethical, social, and political promise. This volume will be an invaluable resource for teaching and research in continental philosophy; feminist, gender, and sexuality studies; critical race theory; disability studies; cultural studies; and critical theory more generally.

About the Author

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GAIL WEISS is a professor of philosophy at George Washington University.

ANN V. MURPHY is an associate professor of philosophy at the University of New Mexico.

GAYLE SALAMON is a professor of English and gender and sexuality studies at Princeton University.

Praise For…

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"Anyone who questions the vitality of contemporary phenomenology as a site of radical questioning will find the perfect antidote in Fifty Concepts for a Critical Phenomenology. The rich variety of marginalized perspectives represented here is a valuable corrective to so many works of philosophy that have gone before." —Robert Bernasconi, author of How to Read Sartre
 

"An invaluable resource. Not only does it offer a clear overview of key texts and figures both within the center and the periphery of the phenomenological tradition, but it also stands as a crucial critical intervention in the practice of phenomenology itself. It challenges us take seriously the ‘infinite task’ of better understanding the very ways and means whereby we understand the world and our role in it. It shows, in other words, that rigorous phenomenology must be ‘critical,’ and that critical phenomenology demands that we leave behind the comfort of tradition.” —Michael J. Monahan, author of The Creolizing Subject: Race, Reason, and the Politics of Purity

“Fifty Concepts may just be the best introductory text I’ve read. Clearly written essays by some of the best minds around articulate compelling connections between phenomenology’s traditional concerns (embodiment, experience, perception, e.g.) and crucial contemporary issues (immigration, disability, race, gender identity, queerness, e.g.). Individually and together, the essays demonstrate just how critical phenomenology is to philosophy and to our contemporary world. Highly recommended!” —Ellen T. Armour, author of Signs and Wonders: Theology After Modernity