A History of Women's Political Thought in Europe, 1700–1800
A History of Women's Political Thought in Europe, 1700–1800
During the eighteenth century, elite women participated in the philosophical, scientific, and political controversies that resulted in the overthrow of monarchy, the reconceptualisation of marriage, and the emergence of modern, democratic institutions. In this comprehensive study, Karen Green outlines and discusses the ideas and arguments of these women, exploring the development of their distinctive and contrasting political positions, and their engagement with the works of political thinkers such as Hobbes, Locke, Mandeville and Rousseau. Her exploration ranges across Europe from England through France, Italy, Germany and Russia, and discusses thinkers including Mary Astell, Emilie Du Châtelet, Luise Kulmus-Gottsched and Elisabetta Caminer Turra. This study demonstrates the depth of women's contributions to eighteenth-century political debates, recovering their historical significance and deepening our understanding of this period in intellectual history. It will provide an essential resource for readers in political philosophy, political theory, intellectual history, and women's studies.
- The first comprehensive overview of women's contributions to enlightenment political thought in Europe, from England and France, to Germany, Italy and Russia
- Sheds new light on the ideas and arguments of women thinkers and their engagement with the philosophy of Hobbes, Locke, Mandeville and Rousseau
- Offers new perspectives on the central aspects of enlightenment thought by demonstrating the integral influence of women's contributions
Reviews & endorsements
'Karen Green's bold survey of women writers on politics and society across Europe and England convincingly demonstrates the presence and profound centrality of women of letters to Enlightenment argument. A must-read for those committed to understanding the diversity and authority of women's intellectual history.' Wendy Gunther-Canada, University of Alabama, Birmingham
Product details
March 2018Paperback
9781107450028
314 pages
230 × 153 × 18 mm
0.49kg
Available
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- 1. Early eighteenth-century debates: from Anne Dacier to Catharine Trotter Cockburn
- 2. Mary Delariviere Manley, Mary Wortley Montagu and Eliza Haywood: sexuality and politics in the works of Whig and Tory women
- 3. From the marquise de Lambert to Françoise de Graffigny: the ideology of the salons
- 4. Enlightenment women in Italy
- 5. From Hanover and Leipzig to Russia
- 6. Women's moral mission and the Bluestocking circle
- 7. Responses to Jean-Jacques Rousseau: from Octavie Belot to Germaine de Staël
- 8. Radical English women: from Catharine Macaulay to Helen Maria Williams
- 9. Anticipating and experiencing the revolution in France
- 10. Women and revolution in Italy, Germany, and Holland
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index.
