In this episode, Kira and Jill examine depictions of oppression and resistance in the Dragon Age games. We draw on the works of Marilyn Frye for understanding oppression. We also draw on standpoint theory, a feminist theory of knowledge developed by Donna Haraway, Sandra Harding and Nancy Hartsock among others. Finally, we draw on epistemologies of resistance as developed by José Medina. We apply these philosophical concepts to the representations of the city elves and the circle mages in Fereldon and the Free Marches within the Dragon Age games. And we draw some conclusions about how oppression functions in the games, and how that might inform our understanding of oppression in North American society.
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Works Cited:
Frye, Marilyn (2000) “Oppression” in Lorraine Code, Encyclopedia of Feminist Theories, London and New York: Routledge. Pp. 370
Haraway, Donna (1988) “Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective,” Feminist Studies, Vol, 14. Pp. 575-599
Harding, Sandra (2015) Objectivity and Diversity: Another Logic of Scientific Research, University of Chicago Press
Hartsock, Nancy (1998) “Marxist Feminist Dialectics for the 21st Century” in Science and Society, Vol. 62, No. 3. Pp. 400-413
Medina José (2012) The Epistemology of Resistance, Oxford University Press
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