Looking within : postmodern reflections on feminism and development

Abstract

The last twenty years have borne witness to a crisis of momentous proportions -- a crisis of knowledge. Debates have raged throughout the academic world, bringing into question the theoretical foundations of Western tradition. The international development industry and discipline have been central in these debates. No group of critics have been more fierce than women, who have pointed out the androcentric economism which systematically exclude women from the equation.

In order to understand the impact the recent crisis of knowledge has had on development discourse specifically, I will look at some of the major debates within postmodern theory. The overt purpose of this thesis therefore, is twofold: it aims to provide a clearer understanding of postmodernism. Secondly, it attempts to contribute to a framework which may be helpful for students in the development industry. The secret hope of this thesis is to look at the discourse which has shaped women's political and theoretical understanding of themselves. Leading to a deconstruction of how the assumed political, economic and intellectual inferiority of women has come to be understood by men and women alike as natural. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)