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

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FEMINIST INTERPRETATIONS OF theodor adorno .................15857$ $$FM 05-09-0611:57:55 PS PAGEi 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) .................15857$ $$FM 05-09-0611:57:56 PS PAGEii 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 .................15857$ $$FM 05-09-0611:57:56 PS PAGEiii Disclaimer: Some images in the printed version of this book are not available for inclusion in the eBook. Chapters3and4wereoriginallypublishedinthejournalNewGermanCritique. ‘‘Adorno’sSirenSong’’byRebeccaComayappearedinNewGermanCritique81(2000): 21–48.‘‘AFeminineDialecticofEnlightenment?AdornoandHorkheimerRevisited’’by AndrewHewittappearedinNewGermanCritique56(1992):143–70.Reprintedwith permission. LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData FeministinterpretationsofTheodorAdorno/editedbyRene´eHeberle. p. cm.—(Re-readingthecanon) Includesbibliographicalreferences(p. )andindex. ISBN0-271-02879-3(cloth:alk.paper) ISBN0-271-02880-7(pbk.:alk.paper) 1. Adorno,TheodorW.,1903–1969. 2. Feministtheory. I. Heberle,Rene´e,1962–. II. Series. B3199.A34F46 2006 193—dc22 2006001243 Copyright(cid:2)2006ThePennsylvaniaStateUniversity Allrightsreserved PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica PublishedbyThePennsylvaniaStateUniversityPress, UniversityPark,PA16802-1003 ThePennsylvaniaStateUniversityPressisamemberoftheAssociationofAmerican UniversityPresses. ItisthepolicyofThePennsylvaniaStateUniversityPresstouseacid-freepaper.This bookisprintedonNaturesNatural,containing50%post-consumerwaste,andmeets theminimumrequirementsofAmericanNationalStandardforInformation Sciences—PermanenceofPaperforPrintedLibraryMaterial,ANSIZ39.48–1992. .................15857$ $$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 .................15857$ CNTS 05-09-0611:57:59 PS PAGEv 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 .................15857$ CNTS 05-09-0611:58:00 PS PAGEvi 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 .................15857$ PREF 05-09-0611:58:03 PS PAGEvii 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 .................15857$ PREF 05-09-0611:58:03 PS PAGEviii 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. .................15857$ PREF 05-09-0611:58:04 PS PAGEix

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Adorno is often left out of the 'canon' of influences on contemporary feminist theory, but these essays show that his work can provide valuable material for feminist thinking about a wide range of issues. Theodor Adorno was a leading scholar of the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt, Germany
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