Having It All: Naturalized Normativity in Feminist Science Studies

The relationship between facts and values—in particular, naturalism and normativity—poses an ongoing challenge for feminist science studies. Some have argued that the fact/value holism of W.V. Quine's naturalized epistemology holds promise. I argue that Quinean epistemology, while appropriately naturalized, might weaken the normative force of feminist claims. I then show that Quinean epistemic themes are unnecessary for feminist science studies. The empirical nature of our work provides us with all the naturalized normativity we need.

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Post-truths, Common Worlds, and Critical Politics

Cultural Politics an International Journal ◽

10.1215/17432197-8017200 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 1-13 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Eva Haifa Giraud ◽

Sarah-Nicole Aghassi-Isfahani

Keyword(s):

Knowledge Production ◽

Science And Technology Studies ◽

Postcolonial Theory ◽

Political Action ◽

Science Studies ◽

Environmental Politics ◽

Feminist Science Studies ◽

Feminist Science ◽

The Relationship ◽

Contemporary Context

The emergence of so-called post-truth politics has seen popular calls to return to the “facts,” accompanied by frequent attacks on gender studies, postcolonial theory, and science and technology studies, all of which have been portrayed as somehow responsible for destabilizing truth. This article intervenes in debates arising in response to these developments, with a focus on a promising “third path” proposed by Bruno Latour. In a proposal framed as a departure from his previous work, Latour argues for the importance of centralizing climate change as a common concern that can orient knowledge production and political action. This stance has gained purchase in both academic and wider popular commentaries. The article argues, however, that Latour’s stance does not mark a break from his previous arguments but is instead a continuation of his long-standing condemnation of critique. Building on work within feminist science studies, the article elucidates how, in the contemporary context, this renewed “critique of critique” marginalizes precisely the perspectives that are most under attack in the current political moment. The article ultimately argues that although Latour’s examination of the relationship between populism and environmental politics is critically important, space needs to be maintained for divergent voices that are currently in danger of being excluded in calls to reclaim “common worlds.”

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Troubling Figures

Catalyst Feminism Theory Technoscience ◽

10.28968/cftt.v6i1.32350 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Logan Natalie O'Laughlin

Keyword(s):

Critical Discourse Analysis ◽

Science Studies ◽

Critical Discourse ◽

People Of Color ◽

Careful Examination ◽

Environmental Toxicants ◽

Environmental Racism ◽

Feminist Science Studies ◽

Feminist Science ◽

Do So

This essay examines the figure of the pesticide-exposed intersex frog, a canary in the coal mine for public endocrinological health. Through feminist science studies and critical discourse analysis, I explore the fields that bring this figure into being (endocrinology, toxicology, and pest science) and the colonial and racial logics that shape these fields. In so doing, I attend to the multiple nonhuman actors shaping this figure, including the pesky weeds and insects who prompt pesticides’ very existence, “male” frogs who function as test subjects, and systemic environmental racism that disproportionately exposes people of color to environmental toxicants. I encourage careful examination of galvanizing environmental figures like this toxic intersex frog and I offer a method to do so.

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