African Philosophy and the Epistemic Marginalization of Women

Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
List of tables
Acknowledgements
List of contributors
Preface
Introduction
1. Addressing the epistemic marginalization of women in African philosophy and building a culture of conversations
	Introduction
	African philosophy in brief: what it is, what it is not
	How African philosophy marginalizes women: epistemic necessity as the last frontier
	Building a culture of conversations
	Conclusion
	Note
	References
2. Henry Odera Oruka and the female sage: Re-evaluating the nature of sagacity
	Introduction: philosophic sagacity and the marginalization of the African female
	Oruka on the nature and possibility of an African philosophy
	Odera Oruka’s method
	Distinguishing the philosophic sage from the folk sage
	The invisible and inferior female sage
	Peris Njuhi Muthoni: Oruka’s lone female sage
	The way forward: beyond male/female identity
	Broadening our sources of sagacity: sophia and phronesis
	Conclusion
	Notes
	References
3. Women and ubuntu: Does ubuntu condone the subordination of women?
	Introduction
	What is ubuntu?
	Ubuntu as oppressive to women?
	Response to Oyowe and Yurkivska: gender complementarity according to Nkiru Nzegwu
	Conclusion: some remaining issues with the ubuntu view
	Notes
	References
4. African philosophy, its questions, the place and the role of women and its disconnect with its world
	Introduction
	Debunking the assumption of the blanket process of evolution of African philosophy
	African philosophy and African world-view
	The Yoruba African world-view: a hermeneutic analysis
	Roadmap for inclusion
	Conclusion
	References
5. Dialogues and alliances: Positions of women in African philosophy
	Introduction
	Autonomous spaces for dialogue
	Possibilities and pitfalls of intercultural dialogue
	Intersectionality and alliances
	Beyond categories: allowing space for hybridity
	Conclusion
	Note
	References
6. Dealing with the trauma of a loss: Interrogating the feminine experience of coping with a spouse’s death in African traditions
	Introduction
	The spouse’s death as traumatic experience
	Understanding death in African traditions
	Coping with the loss of a spouse in African traditions: the woman’s experience
	A patriarchal epistemology of ignorance and the perpetuation of harmful ideologies
	Overcoming the epistemology of ignorance
	Conclusion
	Notes
	References
7. Human rights discourse: Friend or foe of African women’s sexual freedoms?
	Introduction
	Paradox keeps human rights alive
	Sexual freedom in the postcolony
	Notes
	References
8 African philosophy’s injustice against women
	Introduction
	The dominance of males in philosophy
	African philosophy as a site of counter-hegemony
	African philosophy’s injustice against women
	Conclusion
	Reference
9. Conceptual decolonization in African philosophy: Views on women
	Introduction: the meaning of African philosophy
	Colonization vs. decoloniation
	Colonialism and women’s image in contemporary Africa
	Decolonizing the concept of women: the Yoruba example
	Conclusion
	References
10. Women in the his-story of philosophy and the imperative for a ‘her-storical’ perspective in contemporary African philosophy
	Introduction
	The history of philosophy as his-storical
	The history of contemporary African philosophy project
	The importance of the her-storical perspective in African philosophy
	Conclusion
	References
11. Buffeted: Developing an afro feminist response to environmental questions
	Introduction
	Parsing the problem
	Our histories
	Colonial invasion – imperial power
	Struggle and resistance
	Into contemporary times
	Buffeted
	Indigenous feminist thinking – alternatives
	Notes
	References
12. Ecofeminism in Africa: The contribution of Wangari Maathai
	Introduction
	Wangari Maathai and the spiritual crisis of our world
	Ecofeminism: environmental protection and the empowerment of women
	Maathai and Shiva: similarities and differences
	Wangari Maathai and philosophy
	Acknowledgement
	Notes
	References
13. Women in the kitchen of philosophy: Re-asking the questions of African philosophy
	Introduction
	Who has the right to philosophize in the African place?
	Re-asking the questions of African philosophy
	Conclusion
	References
14. Are women marginalized in African philosophy?
	Introduction
	Marginalization of women in philosophy
	Implicit bias and stereotype threat
	The problematic of the question of women’s marginalization in African philosophy
	In lieu of a conclusion
	Note
	References
Index