INSPIRE

The Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Women in the History of Philosophy explores women's thought and gender conceptualizations from multiple perspectives. By rethinking the history of Western thought, we aim to inspire critical and diverse avenues for future thought and research.

Mission

INSPIRE is committed to fostering the understanding of women’s contributions to the history of philosophy. Our mission is to retrieve women’s philosophical thought, reassess gender conceptualizations, question traditional narratives, and to advance gender equality within the field of philosophy and in academia.

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Research projects

Women in the Nordic Enlightenment (WHENCE)

The overall objective of WHENCE is to uncover and critically assess women’s intellectual contribution to the Nordic Enlightenment.

How to be Happy in Times of Turmoil?

The project provides the first edition of Birgitte Thott’s (1610-1662) Neo-stoic treatise ‘On the path to a happy life’.

Archeology of the Female Intellectual Identity (AFII)

The project investigates the formation of the female intellectual identity during the Early Modern period.

Funding

ERCAugustinus Fonden

Independent Research Fund Denmark

Period: 2024 - 2029

Head of center: Sabrina Ebbersmeyer

Reading Group Sessions – Spring 2025

12/2. Sabrina Ebbersmeyer
Text: Karen Detlefsen and Lisa Shapiro ‘Introduction’ + Karen Detlefsen ‘Method, Genre, and the Scope of Philosophy’. The Routledge Handbook of Women and Early Modern European Philosophy, edited by Karen Detlefsen and Lisa Shapiro. Routledge, pp. 1-9 + 41-56.

12/3. Martin Arndal
Text: ‘Richard Rorty – ‘The Historiography of Philosophy: Four Genres’. Philosophy in History, edited by Richard Rorty, Jerome Schneewind, and Quintin Skinner. Cambridge University Press, 1984, pp. 49-76.

2/4. Irina Hron
Text: Beatrijs Vanacker and Lieke van Deinsen – ‘Portraying Female Intellectual Authority: An Introduction’. Portraits and Poses: Female Intellectual Authority, Agency and Authorship in Early Modern Europe, edited by Beatrijs Vanacker and Lieke van Deinsen. Leuven University Press, 2022, pp. 7-26.

7/5. Bodil Hvass Kjems
Text: Penelope Deutscher – ‘Introduction: Feminist Philosophy and Constitutive Instability’ + Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the Inconstancy of Woman’. Yielding Gender: Feminism, Deconstruction, and the History of Philosophy. Routledge, pp. 1-10 + 89-111.