Feminist Interpretations of Theodor Adorno (Re-Reading the Canon)

373 Pages·2006·3.24 MB·English

by  Renee Heberle

FEMINIST
INTERPRETATIONS
OF
theodor adorno
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r e - r e a d i n g t h e c a n o n
NANCYTUANA,GENERALEDITOR
Thisseriesconsistsofeditedcollectionsofessays,someoriginalandsomepreviously
published,offeringfeministre-interpretationsofthewritingsofmajorfiguresinthe
Westernphilosophicaltradition.Devotedtotheworkofasinglephilosopher,each
volumecontainsessayscoveringthefullrangeofthephilosopher’sthoughtand
representingthediversityofapproachesnowbeingusedbyfeministcritics.
Alreadypublished:
NancyTuana,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofPlato(1994)
MargaretSimons,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofSimonedeBeauvoir(1995)
BonnieHonig,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofHannahArendt(1995)
PatriciaJagentowiczMills,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofG.W.F.Hegel(1996)
MariaJ.Falco,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofMaryWollstonecraft(1996)
SusanJ.Hekman,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofMichelFoucault(1996)
NancyJ.Holland,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofJacquesDerrida(1997)
RobinMaySchott,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofImmanuelKant(1997)
CeleineLeonandSylviaWalsh,eds.,FeministInterpretationsofSørenKierkegaard(1997)
CynthiaFreeland,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofAristotle(1998)
KellyOliverandMarilynPearsall,eds.,FeministInterpretationsofFriedrichNietzsche
(1998)
MimiReiselGladsteinandChrisMatthewSciabarra,eds.,FeministInterpretationsofAyn
Rand(1999)
SusanBordo,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofRene´Descartes(1999)
JulienS.Murphy,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofJean-PaulSartre(1999)
AnneJaapJacobson,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofDavidHume(2000)
SarahLuciaHoaglandandMarilynFrye,eds.,FeministInterpretationsofMaryDaly(2000)
TinaChanter,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofEmmanuelLevinas(2001)
NancyJ.HollandandPatriciaHuntington,eds.,FeministInterpretationsofMartin
Heidegger(2001)
CharleneHaddockSeigfried,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofJohnDewey(2001)
NaomiSchemanandPegO’Connor,eds.,FeministInterpretationsofLudwigWittgenstein
(2002)
LyndaLange,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofJean-JacquesRousseau(2002)
LorraineCode,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofHans-GeorgGadamer(2002)
LynnHankinsonNelsonandJackNelson,eds.,FeministInterpretationsofW.V.Quine
(2003)
MariaJ.Falco,ed.,FeministInterpretationsofNiccolo`Machiavelli(2004)
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F E M I N I ST
I N T E R P R E TAT I O N S
O F
theodor Adorno
EDITED BY Renée heberle
The Pennsylvania State University Press
University Park, Pennsylvania
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Disclaimer: Some images in the printed version of this book are not available for
inclusion in the eBook.
Chapters3and4wereoriginallypublishedinthejournalNewGermanCritique.
‘‘Adorno’sSirenSong’’byRebeccaComayappearedinNewGermanCritique81(2000):
21–48.‘‘AFeminineDialecticofEnlightenment?AdornoandHorkheimerRevisited’’by
AndrewHewittappearedinNewGermanCritique56(1992):143–70.Reprintedwith
permission.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
FeministinterpretationsofTheodorAdorno/editedbyRene´eHeberle.
p. cm.—(Re-readingthecanon)
Includesbibliographicalreferences(p. )andindex.
ISBN0-271-02879-3(cloth:alk.paper)
ISBN0-271-02880-7(pbk.:alk.paper)
1. Adorno,TheodorW.,1903–1969.
2. Feministtheory.
I. Heberle,Rene´e,1962–.
II. Series.
B3199.A34F46 2006
193—dc22
2006001243
Copyright(cid:2)2006ThePennsylvaniaStateUniversity
Allrightsreserved
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
PublishedbyThePennsylvaniaStateUniversityPress,
UniversityPark,PA16802-1003
ThePennsylvaniaStateUniversityPressisamemberoftheAssociationofAmerican
UniversityPresses.
ItisthepolicyofThePennsylvaniaStateUniversityPresstouseacid-freepaper.This
bookisprintedonNaturesNatural,containing50%post-consumerwaste,andmeets
theminimumrequirementsofAmericanNationalStandardforInformation
Sciences—PermanenceofPaperforPrintedLibraryMaterial,ANSIZ39.48–1992.
.................15857$ $$FM 05-09-0611:57:56 PS PAGEiv
Contents
PrefacebyNancyTuana vii
Acknowledgments xi
1 Introduction:FeminismandNegative Dialectics 1
Rene´e Heberle
2 AnInterviewwithDrucillaCornell 21
QuestionsbyRene´eHeberle
3 Adorno’sSirenSong 41
RebeccaComay
4 AFeminineDialecticofEnlightenment? Horkheimerand
AdornoRevisited 69
AndrewHewitt
5 ‘‘NoHappinessWithoutFetishism’’:Minima MoraliaasArs
Amandi 97
Eva Geulen
6 TheBared-BreastsIncident 113
LisaYunLee
7 MimeticMoments:AdornoandEcofeminism 141
D.BruceMartin
8 IntersectionalSensibilityandtheShudder 173
SoraY.Han
9 An-aestheticTheory:Adorno,Sexuality,andMemory 193
MaryAnneFranks
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vi Contents
10 LivingwithNegative Dialectics:FeminismandthePolitics
ofSuffering 217
Rene´eHeberle
11 NegativeDialecticsandInclusiveCommunication 233
PaulApostolidis
12 FeministPoliticsandtheCultureIndustry:Adorno’s
CritiqueRevisited 257
LambertZuidervaart
13 Unfreedom,Suffering, andtheCultureIndustry:What
AdornoCanContributetoaFeministEthics 277
JenniferL.Eagan
14 UnmarkedandUnrehearsed:TheodorAdornoandthe
PerformanceArtofCindy Sherman 301
MaryCaputi
15 TheEconomyoftheSame:Identity,Equivalence,and
Exploitation 321
GillianHowie
SelectedBibliography 343
Contributors 345
Index 349
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Preface
Nancy Tuana
Take into your hands any history of philosophy text. You will find com-
piled therein the ‘‘classics’’ of modern philosophy. Since these texts are
oftendesignedforuseinundergraduateclasses,theeditorislikelytooffer
an introduction in which the reader is informed that these selections
representtheperennialquestionsofphilosophy.Thestudentistoassume
that she or he is about to explore the timeless wisdom of the greatest
mindsofWesternphilosophy.Noonecallsattentiontothefactthatthe
philosophersareallmen.
Although women are omitted from the canons of philosophy, these
texts inscribe the nature of woman. Sometimes the philosopher speaks
directly about woman, delineating her proper role, her abilities and in-
abilities, her desires. Other times the message is indirect—a passing re-
markhintingatwomen’semotionality,irrationality,unreliability.
This process of definition occurs in far more subtle ways when the
central concepts of philosophy—reason and justice, those characteristics
that are taken to define us as human—are associated with traits histori-
cally identified with masculinity. If the ‘‘man’’ of reason must learn to
control or overcome traits identified as feminine—the body, the emo-
tions, the passions—then the realm of rationality will be one reserved
primarily for men,1 with grudging entrance to those few women who are
capable oftranscendingtheirfemininity.
Feminist philosophers have begun to look critically at the canonized
textsofphilosophyandhaveconcludedthatthediscoursesofphilosophy
are not gender-neutral. Philosophical narratives do not offer a universal
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viii Preface
perspective,butratherprivilegesomeexperiencesandbeliefsoverothers.
These experiences and beliefs permeate all philosophical theories
whether theybe aestheticor epistemological,moral or metaphysical.Yet
this fact has often been neglected by those studying the traditions of
philosophy.GiventhehistoryofcanonformationinWesternphilosophy,
the perspective most likely to be privileged is that of upper-class white
males.Thus,tobefullyawareoftheimpactofgenderbiases,itisimpera-
tivethatwere-readthecanonwithattentiontothewaysinwhichphilos-
ophers’assumptionsconcerninggenderareembeddedwithintheirtheories.
Thisnewseries,Re-ReadingtheCanon,isdesignedtofosterthisprocess
of reevaluation. Each volume will offer feminist analyses of the theories
ofaselectedphilosopher.Sincefeministphilosophyisnotmonolithicin
method orcontent,theessaysarealsoselectedto illustratethevarietyof
perspectives within feminist criticism and highlight some of the contro-
versieswithinfeministscholarship.
In this series, feminist lenses will be focused on the canonical texts of
Westernphilosophy,boththoseauthorswhohavebeenpartofthetradi-
tional canon, and those philosophers whose writings have more recently
gained attention within the philosophical community. A glance at the
list of volumes in the series will reveal an immediate gender bias of the
canon: Arendt, Aristotle, Beauvoir, Derrida, Descartes, Foucault, Hegel,
Hume, Kant, Locke, Marx, Mill, Nietzsche, Plato, Rousseau, Wittgen-
stein, Wollstonecraft. There are all too few women included, and those
fewwhodoappearhavebeenaddedonlyrecently.Increatingthisseries,
it is not my intention to rectify the current canon of philosophical
thought.What is andisnotincluded withinthe canon duringaparticu-
larhistoricalperiodisaresultofmanyfactors.Althoughnocanonization
of texts will include all philosophers, no canonization of texts that ex-
cludes all but a few women can offer an accurate representation of the
history of the discipline, as women have been philosophers since the
ancientperiod.2
I share with many feminist philosophers and other philosophers writ-
ing from the margins of philosophy the concern that the current canon-
ization of philosophy be transformed. Although I do not accept the
position that the current canon has been formed exclusively by power
relations, I do believe that this canon represents only a selective history
of the tradition. I share the view of Michael Be´rube´ that ‘‘canons are at
once the location, the index, and the record of the struggle for cultural
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Preface ix
representation; like any other hegemonic formation, they must be con-
tinuallyreproduced anewandarecontinuallycontested.’’3
Theprocessofcanontransformationwillrequiretherecoveryof‘‘lost’’
texts and a careful examination of the reasons such voices have been
silenced. Along with the process of uncovering women’s philosophical
history, we must also begin to analyze the impact of gender ideologies
upon theprocessofcanonization. This processofrecovery andexamina-
tion must occur in conjunction with careful attention to the concept of
a canon of authorized texts. Are we to dispense with the notion of a
tradition of excellence embodied in a canon of authorized texts? Or,
ratherthanabandonthewholeideaofacanon,doweinsteadencourage
areconstructionofacanonofthosetextsthatinformacommonculture?
This series is designed to contribute to this process of canon transfor-
mationbyofferingare-reading ofthecurrentphilosophicalcanon.Such
a re-reading shifts our attention to the ways in which woman and the
role of the feminine are constructed within the texts of philosophy. A
question we must keep in front of us during this process of re-reading is
whetheraphilosopher’ssociallyinheritedprejudicesconcerningwoman’s
natureandroleareindependentofherorhislargerphilosophicalframe-
work.Inaskingthisquestionattentionmustbepaidtothewaysinwhich
the definitions of central philosophical concepts implicitly include or
excludegenderedtraits.
This type of reading strategy is not limited to the canon, but can be
applied to all texts. It is my desire that this series reveal the importance
ofthistypeofcriticalreading.Payingattentiontotheworkingsofgender
within the texts of philosophy will make visible the complexities of the
inscription ofgenderideologies.
Notes
1. More properly, it is a realm reserved for a group of privileged males, since the texts also
inscriberaceandclassbiasesthattherebyomitcertainmalesfromparticipation.
2. MaryEllenWaithe’smultivolumeseries,AHistoryofWomenPhilosophers(Boston:M.Nijoff,
1987),atteststothispresenceofwomen.
3. MichaelBe´rube´,MarginalForces/CulturalCenters:Tolson,Pynchon,andthePoliticsoftheCanon
(Ithaca,N.Y.:CornellUniversityPress,1992),4–5.
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