Caught In-Between: Diversifying Tamil Women’s Voices From the Sri Lankan Civil War

2021 ◽  
pp. 153270862110503
Author(s):  
V. Michelle Michael
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Standpoint Theory ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Feminist Standpoint Theory ◽  
Art And Science ◽  
Feminist Standpoint ◽  
Women's Voices ◽  
Tamil Women

This is an autoethnographic invitation to make space for different standpoints of women caught in war. This multi-genre project reflects on the standpoint of the author’s family as a female-led, female-only household in the capital of Sri Lanka amid the civil war. Grounded on the concept of ethnicity without groups and feminist standpoint theory, this piece adds to the often-homogenized voices of Tamil women. Using integrated crystallization to challenge the dichotomy of art and science, this layered piece weaves together storytelling and theory-based critique to open conversations about wholesome representation. The stories reveal the multichrome nature of ethnicities that often get painted as monochromes. The analyses highlight the intersectionality of women’s position and sound the alarm for possible marginalization within the marginalized through a unidimensional expression. The author invites more voices to diversify the standpoints of women caught in the Sri Lankan civil war and contribute to a more comprehensive reality of their experiences.

scholarly journals The application of Feminist Standpoint Theory in social research

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-318
Author(s):  
María Silvestre Cabrera ◽  
María López Belloso ◽  
Raquel Royo Prieto
Keyword(s):  
Social Research ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Standpoint Theory ◽  
Feminist Epistemology ◽  
Feminist Standpoint Theory ◽  
Social Construction Of Reality ◽  
Feminist Standpoint ◽  
Women's Voices ◽  
The Social ◽  
Situated Perspective

This article assumes a priori that feminist epistemology must necessarily imply the definition and application of a methodology that is capable of analysing knowledge from a situated perspective, making visible the restrictions of gender, class, ethnicity, and in summary, of the social location.  Feminist Standpoint Theory (FST) set out by authors such as Sandra Harding, calls on those who have not had access to power and areas of decision-making to participate in the construction of knowledge and in the social construction of reality. In this article, we will claim for a need of a sociological investigation based on FST and provide some examples and evidence of the knowledge generated by women's voices building on the analysis of 10 doctoral theses. The methodology used is based on the analysis of the topics chosen by the thesis, the formulation of its objectives and the bibliography used. Likewise, we have developed a so-called “Harding test” grounded on her postulates, which has allowed us to assess the doctoral theses analysed and to reflect about the empirical contributions of the research, the feminist commitment and what the subject / object relationship should be in feminist epistemology.

scholarly journals Not your mother’s culture : second generation Tamil women negotiating trauma and identity through art

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Satkunam
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Key Words ◽  
Young Women ◽  
Second Generation ◽  
Research Paper ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Tamil Diaspora ◽  
Tamil Women

This research paper focuses on the Tamil diaspora community in Canada that developed in the aftermath of the Civil War in Sri Lanka. This paper explores the impact of trauma on children of survivors, and how daughters in particular navigate these traumas. Furthermore, this paper analyzes how young women bear the trauma differently from their male counterparts, as women tend to be seen as carriers of culture. These ideas of women as carriers of culture do not afford Tamil women agency—instead they are left without choice in certain situations. Ultimately, this paper explores if art can be used as a mechanism to release the burden women feel. It uses the interview of eight Tamil women to understand their complex narratives, and to see if they use art as a means to reclaim agency. Key words: Diaspora, Sri Lankan, Art, Second-Generation Tamil Women, Identity, Cultural Purity

scholarly journals Not your mother’s culture : second generation Tamil women negotiating trauma and identity through art

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Satkunam
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Key Words ◽  
Young Women ◽  
Second Generation ◽  
Research Paper ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Tamil Diaspora ◽  
Tamil Women

This research paper focuses on the Tamil diaspora community in Canada that developed in the aftermath of the Civil War in Sri Lanka. This paper explores the impact of trauma on children of survivors, and how daughters in particular navigate these traumas. Furthermore, this paper analyzes how young women bear the trauma differently from their male counterparts, as women tend to be seen as carriers of culture. These ideas of women as carriers of culture do not afford Tamil women agency—instead they are left without choice in certain situations. Ultimately, this paper explores if art can be used as a mechanism to release the burden women feel. It uses the interview of eight Tamil women to understand their complex narratives, and to see if they use art as a means to reclaim agency. Key words: Diaspora, Sri Lankan, Art, Second-Generation Tamil Women, Identity, Cultural Purity

Who Knows? Reflexivity in Feminist Standpoint Theory and Bourdieu

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 922-950
Author(s):  
Paige L. Sweet
Keyword(s):  
Social Power ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Relational Theory ◽  
Standpoint Theory ◽  
Feminist Standpoint Theory ◽  
Research Subjects ◽  
Feminist Standpoint ◽  
Reflexive Sociology ◽  
Object Of Study

Though the invocation to be “reflexive” is widespread in feminist sociology, many questions remain about what it means to “turn back” and resituate our work—about how to engage with research subjects’ visions of the world and with our own theoretical models. Rather than a superficial rehearsal of researcher and interlocutor standpoints, I argue that “reflexivity” should help researchers theorize the social world in relational ways. To make this claim, I draw together the insights of feminist standpoint theory and Bourdieu’s reflexive sociology to lay the foundation for a renewed reflexive project that centers epistemic privilege, the idea that positions of structural exclusion provide the best resources for theorizing social power. Reflexive sociology should consider interlocutors’ experiences of exclusion and contradiction, engaging with sites of alternative knowledge and incorporating them into the object of study. This type of reflexivity provides improved resources for relational theory building. I offer support for these theoretical arguments with a historical analysis of knowledge production in the feminist anti-violence movement.

A Socially Relevant Philosophy of Science? Resources from Standpoint Theory's Controversiality

Hypatia ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Harding
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Science ◽  
Standpoint Theory ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Feminist Standpoint Theory ◽  
Feminist Standpoint ◽  
Western Intellectual ◽  
Socially Relevant

Feminist standpoint theory remains highly controversial: it is widely advocated, used to guide research and justify its results, and yet is also vigorously denounced. This essay argues that three such sites of controversy reveal the value of engaging with standpoint theory as a way of reflecting on and debating some of the most anxiety-producing issues in contemporary Western intellectual and political life. Engaging with standpoint theory enables a socially relevant philosophy of science.

Standpoint Epistemology Without the “Standpoint”?: An Examination of Epistemic Privilege and Epistemic Authority

Hypatia ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne Janack
Keyword(s):  
Standpoint Theory ◽  
Epistemic Authority ◽  
Feminist Standpoint Theory ◽  
Feminist Standpoint ◽  
Standpoint Epistemology

In this paper I argue that the distinction between epistemic privilege and epistemic authority is an important one for feminist epistemologists who are sympathetic to feminist standpoint theory, I argue that, while the first concept is elusive, the second is really the important one for a successful feminist standpoint project.

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