• have acquired insight in the history of feminist ideas from the Middle Ages until the 21st century;
• know how to interpret these ideas in context;
• are able to relate these ideas to contemporary issues. 

This course focuses on texts by and about ‘classic’ feminist authors such as Christine de Pisan, Mary Wollstonecraft, Virginia Woolf and Simone de Beauvoir. The emphasis of the course lies on early feminist thinkers: we start with a reading from the 14^th century, and move through the 19^th century towards the 20^th century. In this way, the course explores the origins of feminist thought in the Western tradition, that form the backdrop for contemporary feminisms. Though diverse in content and style, all texts start from the same basic assumption that the subordinate or inferior position of women in society is unjustified. Feminist authors have different explanations and opinions concerning the reasons and possible remedies for this state of affairs. Nonetheless, there is also continuity in the type of topics and issues that emerge in the history of feminist ideas. The texts will be used to elucidate and analyze the development of ideas concerning the role and position of women in Western society and culture. Attention will be paid to topics that keep returning in the texts: education, marriage and morals, among others. In order to understand where these themes come from, the authors and ideas will be situated in and discussed from the viewpoint of their historical, political and philosophical contexts.