Compassionate Authority: Democracy and the Representation of Women

by Kathleen B. Jones

Kathleen Jones takes up some of the most central debates in contemporary feminist analysis: the nature of the categories of feminist theory; the development of alternative interpretative strategies; and the position of authority in feminist theory and practice. She engages with postmodernist feminism, the writings of feminists of colour, and textual strategies of film theory, to challenge conventional formulations of authority in modern political theory.

Paperback

First published November 10, 1992

About the author

Born and educated in New York, Kathleen B. Jones taught Women’s Studies for twenty-four years at San Diego State University.

Her academic writing includes Compassionate Authority: Democracy and the Representation of Women, (Routledge, 1993), The Political Interests of Gender, (Sage, 1988), and The Political Interests of Gender Revisited, (Manchester University Press, 2009) both edited with Anna G. Jónasdóttir, and Women Transforming Politics (New York University Press, 1997) edited with Cathy Cohen and Joan Tronto, She was founding co-editor of the International Feminist Journal of Politics from 1997-2005.

Her creative non-fiction includes Living Between Danger and Love, (Rutgers University Press, 2000), a memoir about the difficult choices we make in the face of violence, and Diving for Pearls: A thinking Journey with Hannah Arendt, (Thinking Women Books, 2015) a memoir about her thirty year long fasciantion with the life and work of the philosopher Hannah Arendt.

Her essays and short fiction have appeared in Fiction International, Mr. Bellar’s Neighborhood, and The Briar Cliff Review l. Kathy was managing director of Laterthanever Productions, a non-profit regional theater in San Diego. Her first play, Acts of Faith, a world premiere based on the short stories of Grace Paley, was written in collaboration with Sharyn C. Blumenthal, and produced in March 2009 by Laterthanever Productions.

Among her numerous awards, she is a recipient of multiple grants from the National Endowment of the Humanities, writers’ grants to the Vermont Studio Center, and an honorary doctorate from Örebro University, Sweden.

Reviews

[Reader Jay Eh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this book a few times and enjoyed each reading. Jones is such a colorful and insightful writer. She writes like she speaks with energy and thoughtfulness. The array of chapters paint the picture about identity and authority and the complex ways that we think about these topics.