Women, Philosophy, and Academia in Early Modern Europe
Place: Copenhagen, Denmark
During the early modern period, women’s intellectual identity was a contested matter. While it is true that for the first time in history women entered the intellectual sphere in large numbers, still women’s access to formal education, professions, and the public sphere was restricted and conditioned by certain gender roles and expectations. In particular, it was difficult for women to become recognised as philosophers. Indeed, a female philosopher was often understood as a contradiction in terms.
With the conference Archaeology of the Female Intellectual Identity: Women, Philosophy, and Academia in Early Modern Europe, Archeology of the Female Intellectual Identity and Department of Communication at University of Copenhagen intend to explore early modern female intellectual identities and their impact on the understanding of intellectual virtues and on the development of academic philosophy.