Susan Moller Okin (1946–2004)

This book was spawned by an essay by Susan Okin, the essay of the title. The book is in 3 parts: the original essay, the responses to it by a wide spectrum of authors, and the response by the author. As in any collection of essays, the quality varies from excellent to mediocre (none of them were truly groaners, which is actually a sign of a good job of editing). The majority of the essayists agreed in principle with at least part of the original essay, but several accused her of everything from imperialism to anti-Semitism, often by conveniently twisting her words to say something she never said. The book is from the late 90s, but the topic has become even more timely, rather than less, as questions of how to respect other cultures without violating human rights continue to rage and intensify around the world. Perhaps the best essays were those that agreed in general with the author's original contention, but sought to deepend the discussion, and broaden the topic, questioning whether it is actually legitimate to insist of any culture that it remain frozen in time without changing, something that no culture has ever actually done. This would be a very good book to begin a discussion in any class that deals with issues of multiculturalism, and also in any class on women's issues.… (altro)