Judith Butler
American gender studies philosopher (born 1956) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Judith Pamela Butler (pronouns are they/them),[1] born February 24, 1956 is an American philosopher and gender studies scholar whose work has influenced political philosophy, ethics, and the fields of third-wave feminism,[2] queer theory,[3] and literary theory.[4]
Judith Butler | |
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Born | Judith Pamela Butler (1956-02-24) February 24, 1956 (age 68) Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
Education | |
Partner | Wendy Brown |
Children | 1 |
Era | 20th-/21st-century philosophy |
Region | Western philosophy |
School | |
Institutions | University of California, Berkeley The European Graduate School |
Doctoral advisor | Maurice Natanson |
Main interests | |
Notable ideas | |
In 1993, Butler began teaching at the University of California, Berkeley, where they[lower-alpha 1] have served, beginning in 1998, as the Maxine Elliot Professor in the Department of Comparative Literature and the Program of Critical Theory. They are also the Hannah Arendt Chair at the European Graduate School (EGS).[7]
Butler is best known for their books Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (1990) and Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of Sex (1993), in which they challenge conventional, heteronormative notions of gender and develop their theory of gender performativity. This theory has had a major influence on feminist and queer scholarship.[8] Their work is often studied and debated in film studies courses emphasizing gender studies and performativity.
Butler has spoken on many contemporary political questions, including Israeli politics and in support of LGBT rights.[9][10][11]