Theorizing from below: On feminist theory's capacities of theorizing subjective resistance by resisting canonical demands

In her paper "Theorizing from below. On feminist theory's capacities of theorizing subjective resistance by resisting canonical demands", Puchinger addresses critical remarks on the theoretical capacities and practical challenges arising in theorizing resistance and discusses the central findings of feminist theorizing of marginalized positions. Theorizing the practice of resistance, Puchinger argues, must transform itself into a resistant practice in the face of canonical demands. In order not to reproduce the power relations problematized in practical resistance, political theorizing requires a self-reflexive consciousness as shown in feminist theory which re-explores the methodological, epistemological and substantial dimensions of such an endeavor. Analogous to the scandalization of socially-normed normativities reflected in the practice of resistance, the theorization of the former requires questioning the normative content of scientifically-normed canonical theorizing and consequently ought to mount in a decisively critical stance. Proposing an innovative typology of feminist theory’s relation to canonical work, Puchinger aims at mapping out different strategies of theorizing resistance in a resistant manner.