Heini Kinnunen, MA
Doctoral student, Gender Studies
Politics of Philosophy and Gender (PPhiG)
Department of Philosophy, History, Culture and Art Studies
P.O. Box 59
FI-00014 University of Helsinki
FINLAND
email: heini.kinnunen@helsinki.fi
Research interests
The Concept of Public Sphere in Feminist Political Theory
My dissertation is in the field of feminist political theory. I study the concept of public sphere in the texts of feminist political theorists: which arguments the concept is built on, and how and in which contexts the theorists rely on the concept. The thesis is situated within feminist theory that investigates the normative conditions of political action and democracy. By looking at the specific concept I aim to make these normative dimensions visible to critical analysis. An important aspect of my study is to examine which feminist theory issues are central in forming the concept of public sphere, and whether these issues bring something special to the concept and its uses. Although the emphasis is on feminist theory, the dissertation also contributes to democratic theory in general. Feminist discussions on the concept of public sphere are not separate from the general democratic theory discussions and with my work I further support and encourage the dialogue between feminist political theory and democratic theory.
My PhD thesis is supervised by professor Tuija Pulkkinen.