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Feminist Social Research: Epistemological And Methodological Implications, Molly Moloney

Honors Papers

In this paper I examine some of the primary debates in feminist epistemology, with a particular emphasis on postmodern epistemological positions, asking what these mean for doing research. One central question I ask is 'what role should the concept of objectivity have in feminist sociological research?' I argue for a reformulation of the concept of objectivity that, sympathetic with feminist postmodernism, rejects the ideal of value-neutrality in research, but that also rejects relativism and subjectivism. Keeping these debates in mind, I will examine debates regarding feminist methodology and the question of whether or not there is a specific feminist method …