Feminism and Hospitality Gender in the Host/Guest Relationship

Hospitality is something of a modern paradox. On the one hand, hospitality connotes a nicety or pleasantry easily undervalued as a ritual or formality devoid of epistemological or ethical content. On the other hand, the rise in international conflict and violence, the decline of civil speech, and the increased hostility toward immigrants points to the dire need for hospitable responses to mitigate tensions. Hospitality represents a further paradox for feminism. Historically, women have been saddled with disproportionate responsibility for hospitality and have also been treated as unwelcome guests in so many arenas. For these reasons, feminists have good reason to be wary of addressing hospitality. Yet, feminist theory has taken the lead on developing ontological, epistemological, and ethical approaches to connectedness and relationality such that addressing hospitality appears to be an appropriate extrapolation. Feminism and Hospitality is a collection that negotiates amidst these intriguing paradoxes. Feminism and Hospitality: Gender in the Host/Guest Relationship is the first collection of original works to bring a feminist analysis to issues and theories of personal, political, economic, and artistic hospitality. Furthermore, because feminist theorists have brought so much attention to the nature of human relationships, this volume employs a fresh analysis beyond the tradition in political theory.

Maurice Hamington is associate professor of women's studies and philosophy at metropolitan State College of Denver.