IPA and Feminist Theory: Unknown Neighbours ?
Panel Chairs:
Helen Schwenken, Kassel University, Helena.Schwenken@uni-kassel.de
Abstract:
Feminist perspectives have not been very prominent in the IPA network yet, although they share the epistemological grounds of anti-foundationalism and often refer to similar theories. Methodological approaches such as framing or different varieties of discourse analysis are widely used in gender studies. The role of knowledge in policy-making and in shaping powerful discourses has been an important issue as well. At last year's IPA conference Mary Hawkesworth posed questions why feminist scholarship is not well received in mainstream policy studies and also in IPA: Is it incompatibility? Rigorous definitions of what constitutes a discipline? Epistemic factors on the role of evidence and knowledge production? Ann Tickner (2006, International Studies Review 8, 3) contextualized the sidelining of feminist scholarship in a general conservative backlash at (US based) universities and in the decreasing influence of academic social sciences in policy making. Noting this, Tickner emphasises the historical strength of academic feminism in keeping "morally engaged at a time when, under the conservative attacks of the 1970s and 1980s, many social scientists were retreating from public life into more narrowly defined disciplines" (ibid.: 386). A related strength is its capacity of building explanations and understandings from practice (Enloe 2004, The Curious Feminist). Knowledge has been conceptualized as "theoretically constituted human practice" which "provides an alternate account and a richer resource for understanding evidence blindness" (Hawkesworth).
The panel aims at discussing the relation between feminist scholarship, IPA and policy-making. Questions may be: Why is it that there is not much exchange and borrowing of concepts, even an ignorance of feminist scholarship? What are the strengths of feminist Interpretative Policy Analysis?
This panel welcomes contributions on:
- the relation between IPA and feminist theory;
- further developing theoretical and methodological approaches;
- case studies from policy issue arenas of relevance for feminist and gender studies.
