A Companion to Simone de Beauvoir (Blackwell Companions to Philosophy)

Winner of the 2018 Choice award for Outstanding Academic Title! The work of Simone de Beauvoir has endured and flowered in the last two decades, thanks primarily to the lasting influence of The Second Sex on the rise of academic discussions of gender, sexuality, and old age. Now, in this new Companion dedicated to her life and writings, an international assembly of prominent scholars, essayists, and leading interpreters reflect upon the range of Beauvoir’s contribution to philosophy as one of the great authors, thinkers, and public intellectuals of the twentieth century. The Companion examines Beauvoir’s rich intellectual life from a variety of angles―including literary, historical, and anthropological perspectives―and situates her in relation to her forbears and contemporaries in the philosophical canon. Essays in each of four thematic sections reveal the breadth and acuity of her insight, from the significance of The Second Sex and her work on the metaphysics of gender to her plentiful contributions in ethics and political philosophy. Later chapters trace the relationship between Beauvoir’s philosophical and literary work and open up her scholarship to global issues, questions of race, and the legacy of colonialism and sexism. The volume concludes by considering her impact on contemporary feminist thought writ large, and features pioneering work from a new generation of Beauvoir scholars. Ambitious and unprecedented in scope, A Companion to Simone de Beauvoir is an accessible and interdisciplinary resource for students, teachers, and researchers across the humanities and social sciences. The work of Simone de Beauvoir has endured and flowered in the last two decades, thanks primarily to the lasting influence of The Second Sex on the rise of academic discourse around issues of gender, sexuality, and old age. Now, in this new Companion dedicated to her life and writing, an international assembly of prominent scholars, essayists, and leading interpreters reflect upon the range of Beauvoir's contribution to philosophy as one of the great authors, thinkers, and public intellectuals of the twentieth century. The Companion examines Beauvoir's rich intellectual life from a variety of angles - including literary, historical, and anthropological perspectives - and situates her in relation to her forebears and contemporaries in the philosophical canon. Essays in each of four thematic sections reveal the breadth and acuity of her insight, from the significance of The Second Sex and her work on the metaphysics of gender to her plentiful contributions in ethics and political philosophy. Later chapters trace the relationship between Beauvoir's philosophical and literary work, and open up her scholarship to global issues, questions of race, and the legacy of colonialism and sexism. The volume concludes by considering her impact on contemporary feminist thought writ large, and features pioneering work from a new generation of Beauvoir scholars. Ambitious and unprecedented in scope, A Companion to Simone de Beauvoir is an accessible and interdisciplinary resource for students, teachers, and researchers across the humanities and social sciences. Laura Hengehold is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Philosophy at Case Western Reserve University. She is a prolific author. Nancy Bauer is Professor of Philosophy, Dean of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and Dean of Academic Affairs for the Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences. --Book Jacket. Re-reading The second sex. Reception and Scholarship. Beauvoir's Transdisciplinarity : From Philosophy to Gender Theory / Stella Sandford -- Intellectual and Social Context of The Second Sex / Sandra Reineke -- The Limits of the Abject. The Reception of Le Deuxième Sexe in 1949 / Ingrid Galster -- Simone de Beauvoir and the Race/Gender Analogy in The Second Sex Revisited / Kathryn T. Gines -- Two English Translations of Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex / Emily R. Grosholz -- Central Themes. Beauvoir and the Biological Body / Ruth Groenhout -- Becoming Bodies / Emily Anne Parker -- Drama of Independence: Narcissism, Childhood, and the Family Complexes / Emily Zakin -- Second Sexuality : Training in the Work of Simone de Beauvoir and Michel Foucault / Mary Beth Mader -- Beauvoir and the Ambiguities of Motherhood / Alison Stone -- Labouring with Beauvoir : In Search of the Embodied Subject in Childbirth / Sara Cohen Shabot -- Simone de Beauvoir on Motherhood and Destiny / Nancy Bauer -- Love -- According to Simone de Beauvoir / Tove Pettersen -- Why is Woman the Other? / Tanella Boni -- Beauvoir's intellectual engagements. Beauvoir and Hegel / Kimberly Hutchings -- Simone de Beauvoir's Relation to Hegel's Absolute / Zeynep Direk -- Beauvoir and Merleau-Ponty / Jennifer McWeeny -- Beauvoir and Merleau-Ponty on Freedom and Authenticity / William Wilkerson -- Beauvoir and the Marxism Question / Sonia Kruks -- Beauvoir Between Structuralism and 'Aleatory Materialism / Eva D. Bahovec -- Unweaving the Threads of Influence : Beauvoir and Sartre / Christine Daigle -- Beyond the Second sex. Beauvoir's Ethics and Political Philosophy. Pyrrhus and Cineas : The Conditions of a Meaningful Life / Kristana Arp -- Separation and Queer Connection in The Ethics of Ambiguity / Laura Hengehold -- Simone de Beauvoir on Violence and Politics / Lori J. Marso -- Why Rape? Lessons from The Second Sex / Debra Bergoffen -- Simone de Beauvoir, Women's Oppression and Existential Freedom / Patricia Hill Collins -- Beauvoir and the Art of Philosophical Fiction. Beauvoir as Literary Writer / Meryl Altman -- Simone de Beauvoir and the Dialectic of Desire in L'Invitèe / Anee van Leeuwen -- Failure of Female Identity in Simone de Beauvoir's Fiction / Shannon M. Mussett -- Power of Literature : Simone de Beauvoir's Les Mandarins and the Metaphysical Novel / Sally J. Scholz -- Beauvoir's Scope : Memory, History, and Age. Beauvoir, Philosophy, and Autobiography / Margaret A. Simons -- Witnessing Self, Witnessing Other in Beauvoir's Life Writings / Ursula Tidd -- Simone de Beauvoir: Women and Philosophy of History / Michel Kail -- Post-War World According to Beauvoir / William McBride -- Afterlives : Beauvoir's Old Age and the Intersections of The Second Sex / Penelope Deutscher -- Beauvoir and contemporary feminism. Race After Beauvoir / Shannon Sullivan -- Who Is the Subject of The Second Sex? Life, Science, and Transmasculine Embodiment in Beauvoir's Chapter on Biology / A. Alexander Antonopoulos -- Misunderstanding in Paris / Karen Vintges -- Beauvoir's Legacy to the Quartiers : The Changing Face of French Feminism / Diane Perpich -- Second Languaging The Second Sex, Its Conceptual Genius : A Translingual Contemporization of On ne nait pas femme: on le devient. / Kyoo Lee. edited by Laura Hengehold and Nancy Bauer. Includes bibliographical references and index. Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Notes on Contributors -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- Note -- References -- Part I Re-reading The Second Sex -- A. Reception and Scholarship -- Chapter 1 Beauvoir's Transdisciplinarity: From Philosophy to Gender Theory -- 1. Beauvoir's Philosophy -- 2. The Shock of the New -- 3. From Philosophy ... -- 4. ... To Gender Theory -- Notes -- References -- Further Reading -- Chapter 2 The Intellectual and Social Context of The Second Sex -- 1. Political and Socioeconomic Citizenship Rights -- 2. Writing for Social Change -- References -- Chapter 3 "The Limits of the Abject." The Reception of Le Deuxième Sexe in 19491 -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 4 Simone de Beauvoir and the Race/Gender Analogy in The Second Sex Revisited -- 1. Introduction -- 2. The Race/Gender Analogy Revisited -- 3. Critiques of the Race Gender Analogy -- 4. Black Feminist Readings of Beauvoir -- 5. Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 5 Two English Translations of Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex -- 1. Debates over H.M. Parshley's English Translation of The Second Sex -- 2. Replacing Parshley's Translation -- 3. Debates over Borde and Malovany-Chevallier's English Translation of The Second Sex -- 4. Support for the New Translation -- 5. Proposal of a Digital Edition of The Second Sex -- Acknowledgement -- References -- B. Central Themes -- Chapter 6 Beauvoir and the Biological Body -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Beauvoir's Biology -- 3. Fausto-Sterling and the Biology of Sex -- 4. Conclusion: Why Theories of Sexuality Matter -- Notes -- References -- Chapter 7 Becoming Bodies -- 1. Immanence as Transcendence -- 2. Gatens' "Second Look"--3. Denaturalized Bodies -- 4. Irreducibly Different Bodies -- Note -- References -- Chapter 8 The Drama of Independence: Narcissism, Childhood, and the Family Complexes