Oxford University’s Philosophy Department Wants to “Feminize” Reading Lists to Attract More Female Students

I’m having a hard time thinking of a single good female philosopher right now.

I mean, I’m not ignorant on the subject. I’ve read books on philosophy – or at least I used to, before modern technology ruined my ability to focus on the printed page for longer than 30 seconds.

But this is tough.

Hmm… was Ayn Rand a philosopher? I guess she was, but it’ll be a hot day in Helheim before I recognize a nation-wrecking Jewess as a pillar of literary wisdom.

Oooooo: Hypatia! She was bretty gud. And super philosophical.

Yes, that’s definitely one for the women’s team. Well done, girls.

*continues thinking*

Okay, that’s all I’ve got for now. However, I can only assume that there are loads of other amazing female philosophers out there. After all, how else could Oxford University “feminize” its philosophy department’s reading list by a whopping 40%?

Daily Mail:

Oxford University will ‘feminise’ its philosophy curriculum in order to appeal to more female students and boost writers profiles.

The university’s Faculty of Philosophy requested that 40 per cent of the recommended authors on its reading lists are women.

Academic staff have also been asked to use writers’ first names when compiling reading lists instead of their initials, in order to highlight those that were written by women.

It aims to increase the appeal of philosophy to female students, according to the Daily Telegraph.

As part of the changes, the university is also introducing an undergraduate paper on feminist philosophy and has appointed new academics to teach it.

Professor Edward Harcourt, who was the chairman of Oxford University’s philosophy faculty board until recently, said the new course is being introduced ‘partly just because it’s interesting, and partly to raise the profile and status of feminist philosophy at Oxford’.

He told the newspaper that he hoped that it would ‘send the message to our female students that philosophy is for you’.

He added: ‘We are delighted to be raising the status of feminist philosophy at Oxford by our new appointments in the area.’ Professor Paul Lodge, the incoming director of undergraduate studies for philosophy, is said to have organised the reading list.

So, the philosophy department is doing this to bring in more female students.

It’s one thing to add more female philosophers to the reading lists. That’s stupid, of course, because those philosophers will be vastly inferior to the male ones, but it wouldn’t impact the success rate of a department whose students remain overwhelmingly white male.

But compromising the curriculum to fill the department with female students – feminists, basically – is insane. What could be the possible outcomes of that goal, other than to reduce the global rankings of the department and to tarnish the reputation of Britain’s second greatest university?

It’s all so dysgenic.

I blame the Hebrews.