A new york times notable book of the year 1989 philosopher, mother, and feminist sara ruddick examines the discipline of mothering, showing for the first time how the daytoday work of raising children gives rise to. Alison bailey 1994 journal of social philosophy 26 1. However, the author notes that ruddick absolves fathers in. In the early 1990s, sara ruddick s maternal thinking was criticized for harboring a latent ethnocentrism. A new york times notable book of the year 1989 philosopher, mother, and feminist sara ruddick examines the discipline of mothering, showing for the first time how the daytoday work of raising children gives rise to distinctive ways of thinking. However, the author notes that ruddick absolves fathers in not assuming they have an innate responsibility. This paper uses sara ruddicks theory of maternal thinking to explain patterns of irish mothering that developed in ireland following the great famine of. Ruddick attempted to respond to these critiques in the 1995 edition of maternal thinking, but how successfully she was able to enter fully into an interactive engagement with them remains an open question. Minnich shows how ruddick, along with arendt and weil, unfreeze concepts to challenge hegemonic thinking. On maternal thinking by ruddick, sara womens studies. This paper uses sara ruddicks theory of maternal thinking to explain patterns of irish mothering that developed in ireland following the great famine of 18451852. A critical analysis of sara ruddicks maternal thinking. Maternal thinking and the the authors 20 concept of. The year 2009 marks twenty years since the publication of sara ruddicks monumental text maternal thinking.
Sara ruddick author of maternal thinking goodreads. Demeter press maternal thinking philosophy, politics, practice. Sara ruddick 19352011 was an influential philosopher and feminist, best known for her analysis and research on the care of children. The concept of maternal thinking was put forward in philosopher sara ruddick s 1989 book maternal thinking. What madematernal thinking so lifechanging and groundbreaking was.
Ruddick s discussion of the critical power of maternal thinking. Towards a politics of peace paperback january 1, 1990 by sara ruddick author visit amazons sara ruddick page. Alison bailey 1994 journal of social philosophy 26. The concept of maternal thinking was put forward in philosopher sara ruddicks 1989 book maternal thinking. Maternal thinking and the concept of vulnerability in security paradigms, policies, and practices carol cohn university of massachusetts boston, usa abstract this article takes as its starting point sara ruddicks discussion of vulnerability in her 1989 groundbreaking book maternal thinking. Theorising about maternal thinking sara ruddick redefines the concept of mother. But here she outunes major organizing themes of my account of maternal practices, more clearly and energeticauy than i. A new york times notable book of the year 1989philosopher, mother, and feminist sara ruddick examines the discipline of mothering, showing for the first time how the daytoday work of raising children gives rise to distinctive ways of thinking. Toward a politics of peace, a book that is regarded, along. Toward a politics of peace, laid the groundwork for a feminist approach to understanding and analyzing the practices and. Ruddick then proposes, using far more passion than reason, that mothering be seen. My assimilation of olsens and lordes work in no way denies the differences which separate us nor the biases that those differences may introduce into my account.
Il pensiero materno nella vita e nellopera di sara ruddick. Maternal thinking andrea oreilly and sara ruddick a word about this interview. Pdf maternal thinking download full pdf book download. New york sara ruddick, whose 1989 book, maternal thinking. Rumsey sara ruddick s maternal thinking represents a great contribution to moral philosophyin particular, by bringing womens private virtues into the public sphere. Maternal thinking is characterized by deliberation about how to achieve the ends of the preservation. Toward a politics of peace, laid the groundwork for a feminist approach to. I am determined to tell one story of maternal thinking that is ready to be turned into a story of peace. This paper proposes to revisit sara ruddicks maternal thinking ruddick, 1990 in order to explore whether ruddicks insights can be extended by conceptualizing work as constitutive of subjectivity, as articulated by christophe dejours and others associated with his research including jeanphillipe deranty and nicholas h. Jan 26, 2010 mothering, diversity and peace politics. I argue if maternal arguments do not address the variety of relationships different races and classes of mothers have to institutional violence andor the military, then the resulting peace politics can only draw incomplete conclusions about the relationships between maternal work thinking and. Rethinking ruddick and the ethnocentrism critique of.
A practice, rather than a mere adjective, that could only be applied on a biological basis. Toward a politics of peace remains a strange work in terms of genre some twenty years after its initial publication. Ruddick, 1992 for ruddick, mothering and feminism are not immune to the attractions of militarist thinking. A critical analysis of sara ruddick s maternal thinking. Our initial conversation took place in my apartment in december 2006. Philosopher, mother, and feminist sara ruddick examines the discipline of mothering, showing for the first time how daytoday work of raising children gives rise. Ruddicks work on maternal thinking has often been used, misused, and mischarac. Ruddicks discussion of the critical power of maternal thinking. It ex plores maternal beliefs, sentiments, and practices bearing on child. However, this did open the way to what we might describe as a fourth wave of maternal scholarship that attempts that interactive engagement. Thirty years ago, in the late 1970s, i spent some time hovering over a pos sibility suggested by adrienne rich in of.
We prepared a transcript, made two copies, and planned for each of us to work on our sections. Motherhood to mothering and beyond semantic scholar. This article takes as its starting point sara ruddicks discussion of vulnerability in her. February 17, 1935 march 20, 2011 was a feminist philosopher and the author of maternal thinking. Il maternal thinking di sara ruddick rivendica tale carattere. Our maternal stories teu us who we are as weu as what we do.
Feminist solidarity, according to ruddick, forms through struggles to work. This book is useful not only for feminist thinkers but for anyone interested in the development of another perspective on the militaristic consciousness that is rampant in todays industrialized and militarized societies. It is troubling that the very demands of maternal practice often inspire a militarist politics. In some ways it could be classified as part of an outlaw genre, not belonging to the genre of academic philosophical writing or to autobiography or to political theory. In maternal thinking 1989, ruddick defines mothering as a kind of work, involving protection, nurturance, and training, and argues that maternal activity gives rise to a specific mode of cognition. This paper uses sara ruddick s theory of maternal thinking to explain patterns of irish mothering that developed in ireland following the great famine of 18451852. Comments on sara ruddick s feminist maternal peace politics. Project muse reflections on sara ruddicks maternal thinking. Our initial conversation took place in my apart ment in december. Feminism, nonviolence and pacifism i am obsessed with deliberate, organized legitimate violence. Sara ruddick, notes toward a feminist maternal peace politics.
Sara ruddicks theory of maternal thinking applied to. My assimilation of olsens and lordes work in no way denies the differences which separate us nor the biases. Alannah ireland franklin community school, vancouver, bc doi. Maternal practices begin in love, a love which for most mothers is as intense, confusing, ambivalent, poignantly sweet as any they will experience. This paper revisits sara ruddicks maternal thinking thesis, in order to explore whether ruddicks insights into the character of maternal work can be extended with the conceptualisation of work as constitutive of subjectivity. Toward a politics of peace, a book that is regarded, along with adrienne richs of woman. Peacebuilding as mothering does one have to be a mother. Rumsey sara ruddicks maternal thinking represents a great contribution to moral philosophyin particular, by bringing womens private virtues into the public sphere. Rethinking ruddick and the ethnocentrism critique of maternal. Ruddick responded to these critiques in the 1995 edition of her book, but her response has not yet been addressed in the feminist philosophical literature. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Maternal thinking and the concept of vulnerability in security paradigms, policies, and practices carol cohn university of massachusetts boston, usa abstract this article takes as its starting point sara ruddick s discussion of vulnerability in her 1989 groundbreaking book maternal thinking. I argue if maternal arguments do not address the variety of relationships different races and classes of mothers have to institutional violence andor the military, then the resulting peace politics can only draw incomplete conclusions about the relationships between maternal.
The most popular uniting theme in feminist peace literature grounds womens peace work in mothering. Hirsch cites positively the work of the philosopher sara ruddick. Maternal thinking as a feminist standpoint mothers and mens wars maternal nonviolence. It is important to realize just how strange her ideas seemed to many peopleincluding many feministsat that time. She was among the female philosophers became a part of the oral history project in. Toward a politics of peace, a book that is regarded, along with adrienne richs of woman born, as the most significant work in maternal scholarship and the new field of motherhood studies. It was organized by andreas questions and lasted close to two hours. But what she means by work has not been fully appreciated in the literature on ruddick. Raising children righteously up a marvelous phrase left us by grace paley signals relationship, identities, and.
Comments on sara ruddicks feminist maternal peace politics. She passed away on 20 march 2011, after a long debilitating illness. Ruddick argues that the practice of mothering engenders a certain style of thought maternal thinking. Towards a politics of peace in maternal thinking, towards a politics of peace 1989, sarah ruddick uses her considerable experience and skill as a philosopher to explicate an analysis of mothering as a practice. Sara ruddick s theory of maternal thinking applied to traditional irish mothering. Maternal thinking the consortium on gender, security and human. Maternal detachment and infant survival in a brazilian. Finally, sara sally ruddick responds to each of these thinking friends in a thoughtful, gracious manner that also highlights the interconnections between the four. Sara ruddicks theory of maternal thinking applied to traditional irish mothering. Toward a politics of peace sara ruddick a new york times notable book of the year 1989philosopher, mother, and feminist sara ruddick examines the discipline of mothering, showing for the first time how the daytoday work of raising children gives rise to distinctive ways of thinking. Not only did she dare to suggest that the practices of mothering may give rise to a certain kind of moral thinking, she sought to turn that thinking to political use. In the early 1990s, sara ruddicks maternal thinking was criticized for harboring a latent ethnocentrism. Reconceptualizing work and building ruddicks feminist. This essay addresses this lacuna in the scholarship on ruddick.
However, there remain problems in the analysis which need to be addressed. Maternal thinking as a feminist standpoint mothers and mens wars. Likewise, her antimilitarism led from early reflections on maternal practice to the larger political ambitions of maternal thinking ruddick, 2011. Toward a politics of peace persists in its relevance these many years after is first publication. While individually the practicalist conception of truth and feminist stand point theory each furthers ruddicks overall project. Sara ruddicks influence on the field of feminist ethics can hardly be underestimated. The author thinks that ruddick provides a platform to empower mothers with their own terminology. Scholars who focus solely on maternal thinking or even the work of mothering obscure the fact that such work is just her prime example of the reconceptualized notion of work she. She earned her undergraduate degree at vassar college in 1957, and her ph. Sara ruddicks 1980 first work on maternal thinking was published in 1980. While individually the practicalist conception of truth and feminist stand point theory each furthers ruddick s overall project.