Clare Chambers
Clare Chambers is University Senior Lecturer and a Fellow of Jesus College. Her field is contemporary political philosophy. Before coming to Cambridge in 2006 she was Mary Somerville Junior Research Fellow at Somerville College, University of Oxford and, before that, Lecturer in Political Theory at the London School of Economics. She has a D.Phil in Political Philosophy from the University of Oxford (Nuffield College).
Current Research
Her main research interests are:
- contemporary liberalism, including autonomy, equality, multiculturalism and global justice;
- feminism, including the body, appearance norms and personal relationships;
- theories of social construction, including those of Michel Foucault and Pierre Bourdieu.
Her first book, Sex, Culture, and Justice: The Limits of Choice (Penn State University Press, 2008), offers a critique of the liberal focus on choice in the context of unequal or harmful practices, particularly those of sexual inequality.
She is currently working on a second book, provisionally titled The Marriage-Free Society: Egalitarianism and Personal Relationships, exploring how the state should regulate the family.
Publications
Personal website, with online papers: http://www.clarechambers.com
Book
- Sex, Culture and Justice: The Limits of Choice (Penn State University Press, 2008).
Reviewed in Times Higher Education Supplement (20th March 2008)Philosophy (Vol. 84 No. 1, 2009)Feminist Review (91, 2009)Res Publica (2009)Perspectives on Politics (Vol. 8 No. 1, 2010)Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries
Journal Articles
- (with Phil Parvin) “Coercive redistribution and public agreement: re-evaluating the libertarian challenge of charity” in Matt Matravers and Lukas Meyer (eds.), Democracy, Equality, and Justice (Routledge and special issue of Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy (CRISPP) Vol. 13 No. 1 (2010).
- “Each outcome is another opportunity” in Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) Vol. 8 No. 4 (2009).
- “Inclusivity and the constitution of the family” in Canadian Journal of Law and Jurisprudence (2009, 1).
- “Torture as an evil: Response to Claudia Card” in Criminal Law and Philosophy Vol. 2 No. 1 (January 2008).
- “Masculine domination, radical feminism and change” in Feminist Theory Vol. 6 No. 3 (December 2005).
- “Autonomy and equality in cultural perspective: Response to Sawitri Saharso” in Feminist Theory Vol. 5 No. 3 (December 2004).
- “Are breast implants better than female genital mutilation? Autonomy, gender equality and Nussbaum’s political liberalism” in Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy (CRISPP) Vol. 7 No. 3 (Autumn 2004).
- “Nation-building, Neutrality and Ethnocultural Justice: Kymlicka’s ‘Liberal Pluralism’” in Ethnicities Vol. 3 No. 3 (September 2003).
Book Chapters
- “Feminism” in Michael Freeden, Marc Stears and Lyman Tower Sargeant (eds.), Oxford Handbook of Political Ideologies (Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2011).
- “Rawls and the family” in Ruth Abbey (ed.), Feminist Interpretations of Rawls (Penn State University Press, forthcoming).
- (with Phil Parvin) “What kind of dialogue do we need? Gender, deliberative democracy and comprehensive values” in Jude Browne (ed.) Dialogue, Ethics and Gender Identity (forthcoming).
- “Gender” in Catriona McKinnon (ed.) Issues in Political Theory (Oxford University Press, 2008).
- “All must have prizes: the liberal case for intervention in cultural practices” in Paul Kelly (ed.) Multiculturalism Reconsidered: Culture and Equality and its Critics (Polity Press, 2002).
Current Teaching
(See the lecture list for further details.)
Philosophy Part IA Paper 4: Set Texts
- John Stuart Mill, On Liberty and On the Subjection of Women.
Philosophy Part II Paper 7: Political Philosophy
- Equality: Rawls and Nozick.
Philosophy Part II Paper 10: Political Philosophy
- Feminism
- Political Liberalism, Communitarianism and Multiculturalism
- International Justice
- Justice and Gender seminar (with Dr Richard Child, Philosophy)
Graduate Teaching
- Justice and Gender seminar (with Dr Richard Child, Philosophy)
- Seminar in Political Thought (with Dr Duncan Bell, POLIS)
- Political Philosophy Workshop
Contact Details
Postal address: Jesus College, Cambridge CB5 8BL
Personal website: http://www.clarechambers.com
Email address: cec66@cam.ac.uk
- Quick links
- About the Faculty
- Hermes webmail