World Philosophy Day Lecture 2020 (Robin Dembroff, Yale)

In celebration of UNESCO World Philosophy Day, we are pleased to announce Robin Dembroff as our speaker for 2020. Dr. Dembroff is an assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy at Yale University, working primarily in feminist philosophy, metaphysics, and epistemology, with a particular emphasis on relationships between social categories, concepts, and language. Professor Dembroff earned their PhD in Philosophy from Princeton University in 2017. They are currently writing a book about the metaphysics of patriarchy.

Zoom link: https://utoronto.zoom.us/s/83411683066

Meeting ID: 834 1168 3066

Passcode:  704475

Talk Title

Putting “Real Men” on Top

Talk Abstract

The term patriarchy is part of the common lexicon, appearing everywhere from The Simpsons and Ani DiFranco lyrics to academic tomes behind paywalls. Patriarchy typically is characterized by a binary hierarchy in which men are dominant and women are subordinated. This binary picture has shaped not only how we understand patriarchy but also how we understand sexism, misogyny, feminism, and gender itself. I’ll argue that the binary picture is fundamentally flawed, and motivate a new model of patriarchy: the dynamic model. I’ll focus my discussion on a central feature of this model, namely, the idea that patriarchy should not be understood in terms of male dominance, but rather, in terms of “real men” dominance.