Feminist Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art: The Power of Critical Visions and Creative Engagement

While much feminist philosophy is enjoying third- and fourth-wave developments building on its scholarly roots forged in the 1960's and 1970's, feminist theoretical work has taken what seems an exceptionally long time to break into the stubborn areas of aesthetics and philosophy of art. Aesthetics may seem like a back-burner issue generally, if we understand feminism mainly as a social justice movement seeking equality and solutions to socioeconomic, political, and cultural inequities. Framed this way, theories and practices concerning artistic production and/or engagement may seem less pressing or useful than, say, work in the sister area of feminist social and political theory.
The truth, however, is that aesthetic value, political value, ethical value (ven scientific value and religious value) intersect in meaningful and complex ways, both in oppressive practices and liberatory strategies. The essays in Feminist Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art: Critical Visions, Creative Engagements address this dearth in the field, and explore connections between these too-often-separated value spheres while drawing on and offering critiques of work in traditional philosophical aesthetics. Accessible for graduates and advanced undergraduates, the collection is especially relevant in areas of sociopolitical philosophy, ethics, phenomenology, epistemology, critical social theory and cultural studies. It is a rich resource for feminist scholars across all disciplines, and will also interest a general educated popular audience curious about art, feminism, practices of creative engagement, and with ways these interact or contrast with daily life.