A Working Partnership?

Abstract

This chapter explores two of the building blocks of feminist post-structuralist discourse analysis (FPDA) — feminism and post-structuralism. It asks whether and how two such independently powerful and theoretically diverse traditions, with their associated research methodologies, can be connected conceptually and pragmatically under the umbrella of FPDA. I will seek to question the view (e.g. Francis, 1999) that the emancipatory stance of feminism and the deconstructive purpose of post-structuralism should necessarily be viewed as dichotomous. In my view, such a perspective — that feminist post-structuralism is effectively ‘a contradiction in terms’ - appears to be premised on modernist rather than post-modernist presuppositions. This chapter will therefore begin by exploring some of the key principles of modernist feminism, and then move on to examine the principles linking the diverse movement of post-structuralism. I shall conclude by suggesting that a clearer understanding of the possibilities of feminist post-structuralism should provide a bridge for a productive working relationship between these two theoretical traditions. Definitions of the more technical terms used in this chapter can be found in the Introduction.

The price for giving in to [Foucault’s] powerful discourse is nothing less than the depoliticisation of feminism.

(Moi, 1985)