Class 9 (Prof. dr. Joz Motmans) Intersectionality as a Method
MacKinnon: Intersectionality as Method: A Note
legal cases
Choo& Ferree: Practicing Intersectionality in Sociological Research
(Hancock)
political science
qualitative
qualitative
qualitative
practical examples for (quantitative) research on SOGIES
I " beginsin the concrete experiencesof the race an gender togetherin the livesof real people" >> not just theory
law cases - missed intersectional opportunities
an analysis which is greater than a sum of racism + sexism
both a normative theoretical argument and an approach to conducting empirical research + role of paradigms
3 conceptual approaches
UNITARY approach. examines/privileges a single category (race OR gender), universalizing (one explanation fits all members of the group), categories as stable, no within-group differences
MULTIPLE approach. multiple categories as isolated phenomena (race AND gender). Categories as static. Homogenity of cases.Certain groups fall between intersections
INTERSECTIONAL approach. intersecting categories (race INTERACTS with gender). Within-category differences. "Fuzzy" concepts.
IDENTITY POLITICS For standard identity politics supporters, a unitary category serves to bind ppl into a political group based on a uniform set of experiences"
CRITIQUE OF I 1) ever-exponentially incresing sub-categories 2) mostly - case-studies >> assumption that I - "mere description"
3 defining aspects of I
inclusion ("giving voice to the oppressed")
analytical interactions, analytical shift
institutional primacy
Weldon (2008) Intersectionality only OR intersectionality plus
3 styles of understanding I
group-centered (inclusion). multiply-marginalized groups at the center of research BUT no one is ever just privileged or oppressed + ly including ‘difference’ often substitutes an implicit norm of whiteness or heterosexuality
process centered (interactions). Highlights power as relational. Core - comparative analysis. Context. Explicit comparison
system centered (institutions). I as shaping the entire social system. Historically determined.
research design
importance of language