ipl-logo

Black Feminist Epistemology

1019 Words5 Pages

This essay will define Black feminist epistemology is the study of how the knowledge that is cultivated by black feminists is or can be proved or shown to be rational. This essay will then state that Black feminists will encounter epistemologies that are either Black feminist or White male and that the process of the verification of knowledge is dominated by homogenous groups and the opinions of minorities such as Black women are often ignored due to this. The essay will show that therefore Black feminist epistemology states that the criteria for the credibility of knowledge should be the use of lived experience, the use of dialogue to evaluate knowledge claims, the use of the ethics of caring and the ethic of personal accountability. Epistemology …show more content…

These differing epistemologies lead to the choice of which one should be believed, which one should be seen as false and which one should be trusted. (Collins, 1990: ) This also leads to the question of which groups of people define what knowledge is seen as and why these groups of people define knowledge more than others. It is often visible that Western or European interests are often the centre point of what is defined as true, good, knowledgeable or important. When knowledge is being verified there are two criteria that affect the process of this verification, the experts that are verifying this knowledge bring with them their own set of experiences and these experts must attempt to preserve their status or standing in the eyes of the group or groups from which they derive their base knowledge. (Collins, 1990: …show more content…

Lived experiences are the day to day life experiences of Black women that allow for subjectivity and for the consideration of things that are experienced directly. The use of dialogue to evaluate knowledge claims is important as Black women develop knowledge through discourse within their communities. The ethics of caring state that emotion is important to knowledge verification and consist of individual uniqueness, emotion within dialogue and the ability to be empathetic. Finally the ethic of personal accountability states that people should be held accountable for their knowledge claims due to the belief within Black feminist epistemology that knowledge claims are intrinsically tied to the beliefs and values of the individual making the knowledge claim. (Collins, 1990:

Show More
Related

Nathan Huggins Research Paper

361 Words | 2 Pages

Explain Nathan Huggins understanding of the historical development of Black Studies. Nathan Huggins describes the changes over several decades for the historical development of Black Studies. During these eras, there were three major objectives for Black Studies from scholars, administrators, and students alike, felt the need to address “the political need for turf and place, the psychological need for identity, and the academic need for recognition”. In the fifties, Afro-American Studies was called “Negro history” (p. 325) and was considered “a subfield of American history” (p. 325) because there was a lack of recognition for the scholars in the field.

Read More

Summary Of Prudence Crandall: Champion Of Negro Education

962 Words | 4 Pages

This article explained all aspects of the Black Women’s Educational Alliance and brought to my attention the main points and important points that were needed to grasp in order to get the full message of what the alliance stands for. The author, Lisa L. Richardson of this source is highly reputable, she is the president of the Black Women’s Educational Alliance and has been since 2012. This source is relevant to my topic because it demonstrates how in our present society there are now

Read More

Helms Womanist Model

163 Words | 1 Pages

In her article, Race and Women’s Identity Development: Distinguishing Between Feminism and Womanism Among Black and White Women, Boisnier focuses on the centralized idea of “comparing existing models of feminist identity development as they relate to women from different ethnic or racial groups,” to support her belief that Black women identify more with womanism and Black feminism (Boisnier, 211). Boisnier analyzes two widely known feminism models to validate her belief, the Downing and Roush feminist model and the Helms womanist model, in which she states that both models “share a basic pattern of evolution in women’s thinking about themselves,” (Boisnier, 212) However, the Helms womanist model suggests that Black women feel separated from

Read More

Lorde Ethos Pathos Logos

511 Words | 3 Pages

In September of 1979, Audre Lorde, poet, spoke about the impossibility of dismantling the patriarchy through oppressive means. The black feminist woman, Lorde, who has cancer at the point of this speech, uses ethos, pathos, and logos in order to guilt the audience into making a change of how black feminists are represented. Ethos is the building of the author's credibility in order to become more persuasive because people tend to believe people who they deem likable or respectable. “I agreed to take part in a New York University Institute for the Humanities conference a year ago, with the understanding that I would be commenting upon papers dealing with the role of difference within the lives of American women: difference of race, sexuality, class, and age. The absence of these considerations weakens any feminist discussion of the personal and the political.”

Read More

Summary Of 4: 44 By Anthony Boynton

984 Words | 4 Pages

The disregard for black women is an issue that is slowly becoming a topic of discussion. In addition to Malcolm X’s acknowledgement that “The most disrespected woman in America, is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America, is the black woman”, Crunktastic writes in the Crunk Feminist Collections about her experience being a black woman and being disrespected. Both Boynton and Crunktastic write pieces that encourage men to put aside their feelings of entitlement and begin to respect black women.

Read More

Summary Of Sister Citizen By Melissa Perry

583 Words | 3 Pages

Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes and Black Women in America, by Melissa Harris Perry is a collection of statistical data, narratives and African American literature to accurately portray the history of black women while also proving that politics is not only voting and public policy. It is also a struggle for recognition and how that recognition holds immense political power to create change. The book offers the unique experiences and explanations of African American women in the American society that consistently overlooks their hardships and achievements.. For three centuries, black women have been under the shadow of black men’s fight for equality. Black women have fought hard to achieved such a high feat, but have only ended up as less than second class citizens; citizens that are not easily recognized to receive fundamental rights. These misrecognitions stem from the Perry’s main argument that the four common stereotypes falsely define black women, and misrecognizes them so much that society doesn’t deem them fit or worthy enough to have equal rights.

Read More

Annotated Bibliography: The Tie That Binding

196 Words | 1 Pages

Davis, Angela Y. Women, Race, & Class. New York: Random House, 1981. Print. Kaba, Amadu Jacky. "Race, Gender And Progress: Are Black American Women

Read More

Summary Of The Black Woman In Contemporary America By Shirley Chisholm

760 Words | 4 Pages

In 1974 Shirley Chisholm was picked to be the keynote speaker at a national conference for black women at the University of Missouri. In her speech "The Black Woman in Contemporary America" Chisholm expresses to her audience that black women are not interested in being addressed as "Ms." or in gaining more control over things than males, but rather African American women's top priority is the well-being of their families and communities. Being that this speech was giving during the era of the Civil Rights movement, Chisholm criticized white feminist. While she went into depth of how important it is for black and white women to unite around issues such as equal treatment, women's rights, and better job opportunities. The main focus of this speech

Read More

Analysis Of Article By Anna Julia Cooper

460 Words | 2 Pages

The issue of maternal mortality rates has and continues to disproportionately affect Black women at an alarming rate. In the NPR article, Michelle Jokisch Polo examines Black birth workers, including doulas and midwives, who deliver black babies and prioritize Black mothers, noting how the social context exacerbates this health disparity. In class, we read and discussed the work and impact of Anna Julia Cooper, a revolutionary figure and early black feminist theorist. Cooper’s position as a Black woman and renowned educator shaped her ideas and applying these ideas to Polo’s article offers a unique perspective.

Read More

How The Combahee River Collective Display The Struggles Of Women

775 Words | 4 Pages

The black feminists are fighting against a deep-rooted history of the oppression of black people in the United States dating back centuries when their ancestors were stolen from their homelands in Africa to be used as slaves. The Asian women are fighting against racial oppression in work environments because of their immigrant status. The struggles of these two groups share some similarities and differences, both of these written pieces display courageous women organizing together to fight against oppression during a time when there

Read More

Angela Davis Term Papers

1902 Words | 8 Pages

In the white man’s world, the strongest antagonist is an educated black woman, conscious of her value and power in society. Angela Davis is one of these black women. She was educated not only formally through schooling, but through experiences as an oppressed member of society. Davis illustrates how necessary knowledge of self, a sense of community, drive, and organizing are in the Freedom Liberation Movement. Angela Davis’s purpose for writing her autobiography was to preserve and validate the struggles, efforts, and intentions of the many men and women, including herself, educating future generations on the past, in hopes that they will continue the fight towards freedom that is not yet won.

Read More

The Color Purple Rhetorical Analysis

1225 Words | 5 Pages

As black women always conform under patriarchal principles, women are generally silenced and deprived of rights because men are entitled to control everything. Women are silenced in a way that they lose their confidence and hesitate to speak up due to the norms present in the society they live in. Hence, even if women have the confidence to try to speak, men wouldn’t bother to listen since men ought to believe that they are superior to women. In addition to that, women often live in a life cycle of repetitions due to patriarchal principles since women are established to fulfill the roles the society had given them. It is evidenced by Celie as she struggles to survive and to define oneself apart from the controlling, manipulative, and abusive men in her life.

Read More

Gloria Steinem Intersectional Feminism

1090 Words | 5 Pages

It either includes all women, or it’s not feminism” (Makers). She frequently reminds individuals that it was disproportionately women of color, especially black women, who created the feminist movement. She contends that erasing black women’s integral contributions disgraces the founders of the movement and eradicates the efforts of feminism’s true founding

Read More

Critical Race Theory Essay

764 Words | 4 Pages

A further issue to consider when exploring the experiences of black women academics is the academic subject they specialise in and the curriculum of higher education institutions. For example, higher education institutions are often guilty of eurocentrism, the idea or practice of placing Europe at the centre of one’s world view and assuming supremacy of Europe and Europeans over other world cultures (Hall, 1992). This has a damaging effect of the curriculum because it perpetuates social inequity, as students and academics do not see themselves reflected in the curriculum. Critical Race Theory explains the view that race is not biologically grounded and natural but is socially constructed. One tenet of this is counter-storytelling (McCoy, 2006).

Read More

The Book Of Revelation

508 Words | 3 Pages

Biblical Scholar Madipoane Masenya builds upon the work of Black feminist Awa Thiam, a Senegalese writer and white feminists to illuminate the exploitation and oppression Black women in South Africa experiences. Canon, Junior, Sanders, and Weems all concentrate on the historical, socio-economical, religious and political contexts out of which Black women’s struggles emerge. Other scholars turn to the biblical text as sources of interrogation. Theologian Maxine Howell conducts an ethnographic study of six Black women engaging the Mary and Martha texts (Luke 10:38-42 and John 11:1-12:8) to highlight how Black women rely on experiential knowledge that reflects Black feminist epistemology and results in a Womanist Pneumatological Pedagogy. Philosopher Sarajini Nadar provides a literary and postmodern reading of Ruth, through reader-response criticism in order to illuminate Ruth as a model for women in her context struggling to survive and resist oppression and domination.

Read More

More about Black Feminist Epistemology

Related Topics

Open Document