Deck 32: Standpoint Theory

Question 1

Julia Wood maintains that gender is:

A) an essential category.
B) a cultural construction.
C) a metanarrative about which we should be skeptical.
D) None of the answers is correct.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Standpoint theorists see important differences between men and women. Unlike the masculine community, the feminine community uses speech to:

A) develop strategies.
B) gain power.
C) show responsiveness.
D) assert self.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Wood suggests that the standpoints of women and other marginalized groups should be less partial, less distorted, or less false than the perspectives of men who are in dominant positions because these groups:

A) have little reason to defend the status quo.
B) view truth as value-free and accessible to any objective observer.
C) dismiss any relationship between the knower and the known.
D) are unfamiliar with the perspectives of those who are in power.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

According to Sandra Harding, the strategy of starting research from the lives of women and other marginalized groups, which upon critical reflection and resistance provides them with a less false view of reality, is referred to as ________.

A) passive strategy
B) extractive strategy
C) categorical imperative
D) strong objectivity

Question 5

In her book Black Feminist Thought, Patricia Hill Collins says that black women collectively validate what they know. She states that:

A) "lived experience as a criterion of meaning."
B) "the use of monologues in assessing knowledge claims."
C) "the ethic of apathy."
D) "the ethic of corporate accountability."

Question 6

As an unapologetic feminist committed to the equal value of all human life, Wood understands that:

A) men cannot be feminists.
B) a sense of solidarity among women is politically useful if women are to effectively critique a male-centered world.
C) we need to discover the "essence of women" that motivates their communication.
D) All of the answers are correct.

Question 7

In the context of ethical reflection, identify a true statement about Seyla Benhabib's interactive universalism.

A) Benhabib insists that any panhuman ethic be achieved through imposition by a rational elite rather than through interaction with collective concrete others.
B) Benhabib appreciates the postmodern insistence that a moral point of view is an accomplishment rather than a discovery.
C) Benhabib suggests that individuals should reach a consensus on how everyone "should act."
D) Benhabib is "content with singing the swan-song of normative thinking in general."

Question 8

All aspects of a person's identity are intertwined, mutually constituting each other. This statement best describes the concept of ________.

A) reciprocity
B) relative simplicity
C) intersectionality
D) reflexivity

Question 9

Some critics dismiss the concept of strong objectivity:

A) as contradictory.
B) for not being clearly defined.
C) as unrealistic.
D) for being too firmly rooted in postmodern theory.

Question 10

Standpoint theorists believe that people in dominant positions in society have more motivation to understand the perspective of those who are marginalized than vice versa.

Question 11

Standpoint theorists believe that people's view of the world depends on their social location, which is shaped by their demographic characteristics, including sex, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and economic status.

Question 12

Standpoint theorists maintain that the perspectives of privileged groups are more complete and thus, better than those of subordinate groups in a society.

Question 13

Benhabib believes that a new breed of universal ethic is possible.

Question 14

Wood's in-depth study of caregiving in the United States demonstrated that women are naturally suited for caregiving because of their maternal instincts.

Question 15

Sandra Harding's insistence on local knowledge is based upon the claim of traditional Western science that it can discover "Truth" that is value-free and accessible to any objective observer.

Question 16

German philosopher Georg Hegel analyzed the master-slave relationship to show that what people "know" about themselves depends on which group they are in.

Question 17

Standpoint theorists emphasize the importance of social location because they are convinced that people at the top of the societal hierarchy are the ones privileged to define what it means to be female, male, or anything else in a given culture.

Question 18

A perspective achieved through critical reflection on power relations and their consequences that opposes the status quo is known as a(n) ________.

Question 19

________ knowledge is defined as knowledge that is situated in time, place, experience, and relative power.

Question 20

What are the social groups to which you belong that shape your standpoint? Are some more influential than the others? How do they affect your view of the world? How is it possible for you to answer these questions objectively?

Question 21

Harding and Wood claim that the perspectives of those who are marginalized is more "objective," more "complete," and "better" than members of dominant groups. Discuss what they mean by each of these terms and the challenges that are posed by critics. Who do you find more persuasive?

Question 22

How has postmodern theory influenced standpoint theorists? Where do postmodernists and standpoint theorists part company? Why?

Question 23

Discuss how the powerful in society are likely to define concerns or experiences of marginalized groups when compared to the marginalized group members' perception of the same issue. Provide an example.

Question 24

Wood offers two explanations to explain why the standpoints of women and other marginalized groups should be less partial, distorted, or less false than the perspectives of men who are in dominant positions. Outline and discuss the explanations.

Question 25

Define "strong objectivity" and give an example of communication research based on this strategy. How might the critique of strong objectivity influence communication research?

Question 26

Discuss Wood's efforts to maintain group solidarity. Why is it important? Is it possible, as Wood suggests, to value differences while emphasizing overarching feminist concerns? What might be lost when group solidarity is stressed in this way?

Question 27

How might Harding and Wood respond to Tannen's views of gender and communication?

Question 28

How might standpoint theorists critique the various theories in the Media and Culture and the Media Effects sections?

Question 29

Compare standpoint theory with the approach of performance ethnography (Chapter 33).

Question 30

Compare Patricia Hill Collin's four ways in which black women collectively validate what they know with Walter Fisher's two criteria of coherence and fidelity.

Question 31

How might Harding and Wood critique the work of theorists such as Berger or Hirokawa and Gouran? How might they respond?

Question 32

How might standpoint theory sharpen rhetorical analysis, particularly the kind suggested by Aristotle? How do concepts from rhetorical theory help expand and modify standpoint theory?

Question 33

How are the ideas proposed by Deetz and Harding and Wood compatible? Clearly, they share a critical edge, but how do the concepts that are put forth become similar?