Zoom: https://umac.zoom.us/j/94306394241

Password: 113021

Abstract

This talk examines Kang Youwei’s view of sexual equality based on the study of his The Book of the Great Unity (Da Tong Shu 《大同書》). In the existing literature Kang’s feminism has rarely been discussed in depth, even though the volume on women’s oppression and liberation is one of the most significant parts of The Book of the Great Unity. In the talk I argue that Kang’s critique of the subjection of women is the most systematic, profound, and fierce in the history of modern Chinese philosophy. Although his theory of sexual equality is essentially the combination of liberalism, utilitarianism, and socialism, his work on the subject should be given a special place in modern feminist philosophy. Unlike Western feminist thinkers, Kang understood the suffering of oppressed women in non-Western countries, especially in China, and spoke out for them in a way that no one did before. His work on sexual equality remains very relevance today, especially to women’s liberation in developing countries.

Bio

Xinyan Jiang is Professor and Chair of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Redlands. She received her B.A. and M.A. in philosophy from Peking University, and her Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati. She was a faculty member of the Department of Philosophy at Peking University before leaving China. She has taught and published in both Chinese and Western philosophy. Besides publishing numerous scholarly articles and several book chapters, she is also the author of two books and the editor of two anthologies. She was the founding chair of the Committee on Asian/Asian American Philosophers and Philosophies of the American Philosophical Association (1998-2002), Currently she is Deputy Executive Director for North America of the International Society for Chinese Philosophy.