Questions on Belenky

Questions on Belenky

Vocabulary:

deaf and dumb (98)
epistemology (98)
silent woman (98)
introspection (98)
representational thought (99)

Suggestions for group leaders:

Writing in class
Important passages
Connection between Belenky on authority and Gilligan on "giants" (85)
Develop a metaphor: words are weapons
How do silent women relate to the 5 stages of knowing?
Other things for possible discussion: authorities, sex role stereotypes
Men:__________::women:__________; see men as "giants" in Gilligan
What beliefs have you inherited but not thought about critically (see Mill 34).
Ask the questions on page 102 (start of the new section).
What connections can you forge to Dr. Sankofa's talk?
Can you find a questionnaire or a video to augment your presentation?

Basic Questions:

1. If you know any "silent women," please share something about her experience.

2. How does Belenky's text relate to our previous readings, particularly Lakoff & Johnson and Emerson?

3. Does not talking in class mean that one is a "silent woman"?

4. What does Belenky mean by "representational thought"?

5. What stands out for you in this text and why?

6. What does Belenky say about language?

Questions from Professor Jennifer Solomon's handout:

6. Does the experience of silence only apply to women? In what situations might men feel silenced?

7. [Belenky] suggests that the experience of silence represents a "denial of self." The subjects described...were women from social service agencies[,] not college students. In what ways might college students feel silenced? What part of the self is silenced or denied?

8. Where, how[,] and why might people feel "silenced" today? What aspects of the self are denied?

9. The reading states that the women perceived words "as weapons" [page 98]. Describe examples of how words are used as weapons. What is the target of the weapons? For example, what characteristics of a person might be targeted? What part of the self might be targeted?

10. Does [the silent woman model] apply today? If not, why? Does it apply to men as well as women?

Information on Women's Ways of Knowing:

by Mary Belenky, Blythe Clinchy, Nancy Goldberger, Jill Tarule

The Five Stages of Knowing

Silence: total dependence on whims of external authority
Received Knowledge: receive and reproduce knowledge
Subjective Knowledge: truth and knowledge are conceived of as personal, private, and intuited
Procedural Knowledge: rely on objective procedures for obtaining and communicating knowledge
Constructed Knowledge: view all knowledge as contextual; value subjective and objective strategies

Source: http://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/academics/center/Teaching_and_Learning_Tips/Gender/SummaryofWomensWaysofKnowing.htm

This document also lists the characteristics of the five stages.

Can you now take your definition of feminism a step further?

Most important of all, how do you understand your "self" or your "human condition" better as a result of reading Belenky?