Women Philosophers in the Long Nineteenth Century: The German Tradition is a 2021 anthology book edited by philosophers Dalia Nassar and Kristin Gjesdal, with translations by Anna C. Ezekiel. The book includes the works of nine women of the German tradition of philosophy during the long nineteenth century—a term referring to the 125-year period between the French Revolution in 1789 and the Great War in 1914. Each chapter introduces one philosopher and provides a selection of their works, including essays, letters, books, or speeches. Women Philosophers was the first published English translation of many of the works. Nassar and Gjesdal first conceived of the work in reaction to the lack of 19th-century women philosophers within the philosophical canon, despite their popularity and influence during the time period. The book is aimed primarily as an introductory work and covers a broad variety of topics, including German Romanticism, Marxism, phenomenology, nihilism, and feminism. Upon publication, Women Philosophers received generally positive reviews, with critics describing its aim of expanding the canon as important and effectively done. The book's selection of authors and works were praised as nuanced and well-rounded by some reviewers, though others critiqued its omission of non-traditional philosophical works and certain philosophers. Ezekiel's translations garnered praise as clear and readable.
Background After observing successes in the inclusion of women within the field of early modern philosophy, Kristin Gjesdal and Dalia Nassar wanted to challenge the inadequate representation of women in the field of nineteenth century philosophy. Both Gjesdal and Nassar's research interests lie within German and historical philosophy, and the two first met while Nassar was teaching at Villanova University in Philadelphia. Gjesdal compared the book to efforts to include the works of Friedrich Nietzsche and Johann Gottfried Herder within the anglophone philosophical canon during the twentieth century. Despite the popularity and influence of many women philosophers at the time, Gjesdal noted that they had been forgotten or excluded from the philosophical canon as a result of their exclusion from tertiary education and publication. The book consists of nine chapters, each dedicated to one female philosopher from the long nineteenth century, a term referring to the 125-year period beginning with the French Revolution in 1789 and ending with the outbreak of the Great War in 1914. Each chapter begins with an introduction which includes a short biography of the philosopher and discusses their place within the history of philosophy. The book uses the German tradition of philosophy to connect women philosophers from a wide range of philosophical backgrounds, including German Romanticism, Marxism, nihilism, and phenomenology. The book includes the works of German Karoline von Günderrode, Bettina Brentano von Arnim, Hedwig Dohm, Clara Zetkin, and Gerda Walther, as well as the German-Polish writers Rosa Luxemburg and Edith Stein, the Russian-born Lou Andreas-Salomé, and the French Germaine de Staël.
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