On the Feminist Philosophy of Gillian Howie: Materialism and Mortality

Description

Over three decades, Gillian Howie wrote at the forefront of philosophy and critical theory, before her untimely death in 2013. This interdisciplinary collection uses her writings to explore the productive, yet often resistant, interrelationship between feminism and critical theory, examining the potential of Howie's particular form of materialism. The contributors also bring to this debate a serious engagement with Howie's late turn towards philosophies of mortality, therapy and 'living with dying'. The volume considers how differently embodied subjects are positioned within public institutions, discourses and spaces, and the role of philosophy, art, film, photography, and literature, in facing situations such as sexual oppression and life-limiting illness.

Victoria Browne is Lecturer in Politics at Oxford Brookes University, UK. She has published articles on feminist philosophy, temporality, and memory, and is the author of Feminism, Time and Nonlinear History (2014). Daniel Whistler is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Liverpool, UK, and Humboldt Research Fellow at the Westfalische-Wilhelms Universitat, Munster, Germany. He is the author of Schelling's Theory of Symbolic Language (2013) and co-author of The Right to Wear Religious Symbols (2013).

The volume's strongest point is its trajectory: earlier essays engage deeply with Howie's published and unpublished work, and later chapters move beyond her work into discussions inspired by her thoughts ... Browne and Whistler's volume takes Howie's philosophy into the future. * Hypatia Reviews * [A] rich and vibrant book of writings. * Radical Philosophy * This collection offers a fitting tribute to the variety of themes that formed the life's work of Gillian Howie. The very richness of the contributions allow for the kind of flourishing discourse Howie did so much to promote. A vital read. * Beverley Clack, Professor of Philosophy of Religion, Oxford Brookes University, UK * Gillian Howie's all too brief philosophical life was dominated by the struggle for emancipation, both personal and political. This distinguished and deeply engaged collection of essays covers with critical sympathy the remarkable scope of her work, and will be invaluable as an introduction to the alternative and feminist philosophical tradition Howie was living up to her death. * Michael McGhee, Honorary Senior Fellow, Department of Philosophy, University of Liverpool, UK *