Rate My Professor Susan Hekman

Susan Hekman is Professor Emerita of Political Science at the University of Texas at Arlington, where she joined the faculty in 1977 and served until her induction into emeritus status in 2017. Initially appointed as Assistant Professor, she advanced to full Professor in the Department of Political Science. Hekman directed the Graduate Humanities Program and was instrumental in establishing the university's Women’s Studies Program. Her commitment to excellence earned her the College of Liberal Arts Teaching Award in 2013, the University’s Distinguished Record of Research Award in 1998, and charter membership in the Academy of Distinguished Scholars in 2004. These honors reflect her profound contributions to teaching, research, and service within Political Science and the broader academic community at UTA.

Hekman's research focuses on feminist theory, exploring epistemology, ontology, moral theory, identity politics, and the material dimensions of knowledge and subjectivity. She has authored dozens of publications, including influential books such as Moral Voices, Moral Selves: Carol Gilligan and Feminist Moral Theory (1995), The Future of Differences: Truth and Method in Feminist Theory (1999), Private Selves, Public Identities: Reconciling Family, Marriage, and Individual Autonomy (2004), The Material of Knowledge: Feminist Disclosures (2010), and The Feminine Subject (2014). She co-edited Material Feminisms with Stacy Alaimo (2008) and edited Feminism, Identity and Difference (1999). Key articles include “Truth and Method: Feminist Standpoint Theory Revisited” (Signs, 1997), “Beyond Identity” (2000), and “Vulnerability and Ontology: Butler's Ethics” (2015). Her scholarship has advanced postmodern and materialist feminist perspectives, critiquing standpoint theory and traditional moral frameworks while influencing discussions on the feminine subject from Simone de Beauvoir to contemporary thinkers like Judith Butler. Hekman's work has significantly impacted Political Science by centering gender analyses in philosophical and social scientific inquiry.