The Limits of Knowledge: Generating Pragmatist Feminist Cases for Situated KnowingArgues for a transactionally situated approach to science and medicine in order to meet the needs of marginalized groups. The Limits of Knowledge provides an understanding of what pragmatist feminist theories look like in practice, combining insights from the work of American pragmatist John Dewey concerning experimental inquiry and transaction with arguments for situated knowledge rooted in contemporary feminism. Using case studies to demonstrate some of the particular ways that dominant scientific and medical practices fail to meet the health needs of marginalized groups and communities, Nancy Arden McHugh shows how transactionally situated approaches are better able to meet the needs of these communities. Examples include a community action group fighting environmental injustice in Bayview Hunters Point, California, one of the most toxic communities in the US; gender, race, age, and class biases in the study and diagnosis of endometriosis; a critique of Evidence-Based Medicine; the current effects of Agent Orange on Vietnamese women and children; and pediatric treatment of Amish and Mennonite children. |
Contents
Introduction Knowing in This place | 1 |
The Career Womans Disease Endometriosis and Experimental Inquiry | 15 |
Grounding Knowledge Through the Mothers Committee of Bayview Hunters Point | 39 |
Transactionally Situated Frameworks Gold Standards and Silent Epidemics | 59 |
The Needs of Living Agent Orange in the Central Highlands of Viet Nam | 81 |
Rooted in a Community | 111 |
Where We Should Begin and End | 137 |
Notes | 143 |
| 171 | |
| 187 | |
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African American Agent Orange Aluoi Valley Amish Amish and Mennonite arguments Bayview Hunters Point body breast cancer BVHP Career Woman’s Disease chapter Chela Sandoval chemical Collins Committee of Bayview contamination critical critique develop Dewey’s dioxin directed endometriosis engage environment Environmental Racism Epidemiology epistemic Epistemology ethical evidence Evidence-Based Medicine experience experimental inquiry exposure Feminism Feminist framework funding Furthermore gender genetic goal Grasswick health effects Holmes Morton Hypatia Ibid improve human living injustice Krieger lead poisoning levels mainstream marginalized communities Mennonite meta-analyses methodology methods Morton Mothers Committee munity nity one’s oppressed groups patients Patricia Hill Collins people’s perspective philosophy populations pragmatism pragmatist problems Quest for Certainty RCTs and meta-analyses recognize Reyes San Francisco science and medicine scientific practice seeks situated knowledge social spraying studies TCDD theory tion Toxic Inventory toxic risk assessment toxins transactional transactionally situated approach treatment U.S. government understand Vietnamese women with endometriosis