The project investigates early feminist arguments and their place in the history of philosophy and political thought. It examines a wide range of writings by, for, and about women, offering a comprehensive study of debates on gender from the Renaissance through the Enlightenment.
We explore whether—and to what extent—there is a coherent tradition of feminist thought, tracing its development from early critiques of male dominance in the fifteenth century to the explicit political demands for social change in the early nineteenth century. Our research highlights patterns that persist across differences: recurring arguments that continue even as particular ideas evolve over time. These continuities and variations are analysed in relation to key questions, including women’s access to education and its connection to innate capacities; the equality of the sexes and claims of female superiority; the relationship between body and mind; and the links between virtue, citizenship, and political authority.
Among our cases are a variety of thinkers from different periods and countries, including some hitherto lesser-studied figures, such as Christine de Pizan (c. 1364–c. 1430), Lucrezia Marinella (1571–1653), and François Poulain de la Barre (1647–1723). We also pay particular attention to the relationship between early feminist ideas and questions of race, slavery, and colonialism, for example in the thought of writers such as Aphra Behn (1640–1689), Olympe de Gouges (1748–1793), and Mary Hays (1759–1843).
The project culminates in the forthcoming volume Philosophical Continuities in the History of Feminist Thought, edited by Marguerite Deslauriers and Martina Reuter (under contract with Oxford University Press). The volume brings together contributions from project members and invited scholars, exploring shared research questions and themes through a variety of case studies and approaches.
