Women's Studies and Feminist Research Publications

Pursuing Freedom: Simone de Beauvoir and Hannah Arendt

Rita A. Gardiner — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 06:50:10 PDT

How do we judge what is right while, at the same time, respect the freedom of others? In considering this question, I bring Simone de Beauvoir and Hannah Arendt into dialogue to better understand how the pursuit of freedom necessitates a willingness to judge others. In my discussion, I explore how these writers treat the themes of ambiguity, oppression, and revolution. By comparing how they relates these themes to freedom, we see how liberty is interconnected with personal, accountability and a willingness to question our beliefs

Critique of the discourse of authentic leadership

Rita A. Gardiner Ms — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 10:38:11 PST

This article considers the new management discourse of authentic leadership is deeply problematic because it fails to take into account how social and historical circumstances affect a person’s ability to be a leader. It examines some of the arguments made by proponents of authentic leadership theory, and contrasts these claims about authenticity with Hannah Arendt’s concept of uniqueness, as well as considering Heidegger’s notion of authenticity as resoluteness. It also looks at the ways in which authentic leadership fails to address issues related to power and privilege by looking specifically at how silence operates. The author argues that it is vital to consider how authenticity manifests itself differently depending upon a person’s place in the world, and looks at how silence influences notions of autonomy, and a person’s ability to take up space within the public sphere.

Feminism and Agency

Tracy Isaacs — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:44:54 PST