Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Women in the History of Philosophy (INSPIRE)

Copenhagen Summer School in Women’s History of Philosophy

The Summer School on Women’s History of Philosophy offers is a new summer school organized by Women in the Nordic Enlightenment (WHENCE) which is an ERC Horizon Europe project under The Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Women in the History of Philosophy (INSPIRE) and the summer school is co-funded by the PhD School at the Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen.

The Summer School on Women’s History of Philosophy offers an in-depth exploration of the contributions of women philosophers primarily from Early Modern Europe. While the first wave of feminism erupted in the middle of the 19th century, the main concerns behind it were already central in earlier stages of European philosophy. Through a series of keynote lectures, seminars, field trips, and collaborative discussions, participants will engage with primary texts and critically reassess the philosophical canon across Europe in order to better understand the intricacies of what is commonly known as the querelle des femmes.

The program provides a rigorous academic environment for students and researchers interested in integrating feminist historiography into philosophical studies. By examining both well-known and overlooked figures, the Summer School fosters a more inclusive understanding of philosophy’s intellectual heritage that explicitly considers women’s writings and agency.

Learning objectives

The general aim of the course is to provide students with deeper knowledge of women’s writing within the history of philosophy as well as gaining methodological insights necessary to understand these.

Knowledge of relevant methodologies developed to understand questions related to gender in history.
Knowledge of reading strategies and assessments of manuscript works.
Through lectures and readings, the student’s will be equipped with knowledge of the recent strands within philosophical historiography and feminist theory.
Knowledge of women philosophers and critical canon-assessment.

Keynote speakers

Sabrina Ebbersmeyer (KU).
Irina Hron (KU)
Christian Benne (KU)
Kristin Gjesdal (Temple University)
Lucie Duggan (SDU & Linköping University)
Nicolai von Eggers (KU)
Cecilie Rosengreen (Göteborg)
Martin Fog Arndal (KU)

Preliminary programme

18 August

Keynote: Introductory Lecture – Sabrina Ebbersmeyer (KU).

Keynote: Irina Hron (KU) – Reading Philosophical Texts.

Group Work: Close-reading philosophical texts.

Keynote: Christian Benne (KU) – Genres of Philosophy.

19 August

Theme: European Women in the Long Nineteenth Century.

Keynote: Kristin Gjesdal (Temple University) – Women in the Romantic Philosophical Tradition.

Workshop with Gjesdal the entire day.

20 August

Theme: Reading Early Modern Manuscripts.

Lecture: Lucie Duggan (SDU & Linköping University) and Sabrina Ebbersmeyer (KU).

Excursion: Karen Brahe’s Library, Roskilde.

21 August

Theme: Liberty in a European Context.

Lecture I: Nicolai von Eggers (KU) – Liberté and Égalité of All Genders.

Group work

Lecture II: TBC

Presentations by students.

Feedback sessions.

22 August

Theme: Equality in Early Modern Scandinavia.

Keynote: Cecilie Rosengreen (Göteborg).

Discussion
Discussion

Lecture: Martin Fog Arndal (KU) – Equality in Early Modern Scandinavian Women.

Group Work: Close-reading and discussion.

Presentations by students.

Feedback sessions.

Literature

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.
Karen Detlefsen and Lisa Shapiro ‘Introduction’ - The Routledge Handbook of Women and Early Modern European Philosophy, edited by Karen Detlefsen and Lisa Shapiro. Routledge, 2023, pp. 1-9.
Eileen O’Neill – ‘Disappearing Ink’. Philosophy in a Feminist Voice : Critiques and Reconstructions, edited by Janet A. Kourany. Princeton 1997, pp. 17-62.
Sarah Tyson – ‘Reclamation Strategies’. Where are the Women?. Columbia, 2018, pp. 1-52.

Target group

The target group is first and foremost students who work within the field of history of European philosophy and more particularly those who work with women from that period.