An Interview with Sandra Harding

Abstract

Harding’s position has been critiqued as more postmodern than feminist, as viable without nasty entanglements in feminism, as too concerned with established Eurocentric, scientific discourses, and as appealing to foundational innocence by her concern with realism. But what seems to drive Harding’s choices more than anything is a conscious attempt to be effective in intervening in existing systems of power, whether empiricist and postmodern. By taking this position, Harding undertakes a difficult task. Its difficulty, however, is compensated for by the conversations she generates. As a voice not restricted to one intellectual school, Harding demands attention from many with opposing views and provokes scholarly exchanges (arguments) that would not have happened otherwise. So even as we question what may be called Harding\u27s postmodern spin on logical positivism, we respect her advocacy for change and admire her candor and integrity