WOST 4402

Week Three - Feb. 07 - Discussion Questions

Feminisms and Internationalism 214-224

• On page 215, in the first full paragraph, Burton claims Western feminism has a tradition of "moral highground." What does she mean by this?
• In the Bolt article, the author discussed how women found opportunities in missionary work. Is this an example of the imperialist western feminism that Burton discusses, or is it simply an example of women carving out new opportunities for themselves?
• Burton repeatedly uses the phrases "Third World", "non-West", and "Western". Are these appropriate descriptions for feminism? Could she simply address feminism as singular, or should it be addressed as something other than a West: non-West binary?

Bolt

• On page 72, in the first full paragraph, Bolt observes, "While female activism can now be charted, it is far less easy to establish its connection to feminism." What are the differences between female activism and feminism, or are there any?
• On page 63, Bolt says, "Whereas men denied the analogy, and it had clear limitations, women could effectively compare the slavery of blacks the slavery of sex." Was this an accurate claim for women to be making, or were racial slavery and the cult of domesticity completely different?
• On pages 60-61, Bolt claims "Female activism in secular or broadly humanitarian reform efforts was more controversial, but difficult to oppose once women had proved their moral claims and practical worth in philanthropy." Were women doing a disservice to themselves by proving to be morally superior? Was it keeping them within their boundaries instead of serving to expand them?
• The first part of Bolt's article discusses women's increased access to education. Since women were mainly educated simply for "republican motherhood" ideas in order to teach their children, was increased access to education really a step forward?
• Bolt discusses divisions of class and race but rarely discusses the divides of urban/rural. Did she miss an important area of analysis?
• Can women's participation in missions be said to be a feminist act?
• Did religion play a positive or negative factor in women's lives? Women used it to claim a moral highground and to organize but did it constrict women more than aid them?