City College of San Francisco Feminist Equity Questions

Please provide a brief explanation – in your own words – of what the concept means.

• Positivism
• Dualism/Dichotomies
• (Structural) Functionalism
• Epistemology
• Androcentrism
• Relativism

Answer (Approximate length: 2 paragraphs for each prompt)

Prompt # 1: Both feminist equity studies and feminist analyses of the uses of language/rhetoric and imagery identify gendered disparities in science. In their own ways, both equity studies and studies of language and imagery contend that science has been and continues to be gendered.

Q. Briefly describe the field of feminist equity studies: what gets studied, what are typical findings etc. What are some of the potential sources/reasons of the typical findings in feminist equity studies in relation to STEM? Then, briefly describe the role that gendered language and imagery have played historically and currently in relation to science, technology, medicine, etc. Why do Harding and Martin argue that ‘science is gendered’ in terms of language and imagery? Please provide at least two separate examples that speak to this issue.

Prompt # 2: Feminist standpoint theories contend that paying explicit attention to various social locations/positions (gender, ethnicity, class etc.) as well as politics and ethics can potentially help us obtain more and better knowledge.

Q: Please briefly explain the logic behind feminist standpoint theories. What assumptions do these theories make and what punchlines or tentative conclusions do they arrive at? What critiques have been made of standpoint theories by traditional approaches? Why? What critiques have been made of standpoint theory by intersectional approaches? Why?