Title: Angry?#METOO – An epistemological approach to harnessing the power of female rage
Author: Sigrid Wallaert
Ghent University
Studyprogramm: Master of Arts in Philosophy
Year: 2018 – 2019
General overview
This master’s thesis in the fields of feminist philosophy and epistemology offers a theoretical analysis of female anger in the context of feminism and the #MeToo movement. The work, which entails approximately 37,000 words and is purely theoretical and contains no artistic elements in itself.
Design quality
The overall design of this master’s thesis focuses on its linguistic and argumentative structure; hereby the visual design is not the main focus of this work. There is a uniform layout, but it is not a work of art itself. The work is therefore strong in its structure but is not focusing on its visual appeal.
Degree of innovation
The topic of ‘female rage’, which is related to the #MeToo movement, is still very relevant even though it was written in 2018/2019. It has combined feminist philosophy and pop culture and is very original when it comes to its attempt to understand anger as an epistemic tool, while still being heavily literature-based.
Independence
The author of this thesis demonstrates a high level of independence in both the topic selection and the overall structure of the thesis. She analyses critically well-known theorists such as Nussbaum and Ahmed, while still being able to connect to the contemporary feminist movement. Additionally, she also is able to reflect on her own position as a white woman.
Structure and Organization
The work itself has a clear structure and can be followed easily. Each chapter ends with a brief summary and conclusion that sums up the overall arguments that were stated. Some sections might benefit from a more visual approach or the inclusion of visual elements.
Communication
The writing style is very clear and precise and still maintains an academic tone that can be understood easily. The intended audience might be those who are interested in feminism or philosophers.
Scope
As the work has around 37,000 words, it has an appropriate length for a master thesis. It goes in depth with its chosen topic and has its main focus on literature analysis rather than empirical examples.
Accuracy and attention to detail
The citation style is consistent throughout the work and the sources are mentioned correctly. Some arguments are being repeated; however, the overall style is written in a sophisticated and fluid way.
Literature
The bibliography is very extensive and almost includes around 90 sources. It has a good combination of academic texts that include feminist works but also other theoretical works.
Overall, the work discusses a still very relevant topic with a clear argumentative structure. The writing is strong and understandable; however, the perspective is mostly from a Western side and shows little intersectional diversity. However, I did enjoy reading this thesis as the topic is very interesting for my upcoming master idea.
