INTERSUBJECTIVITY AND DOMINATION - A FEMINIST INVESTIGATION OF THE SOCIOLOGY OF SCHUTZ,ALFRED

This paper argues the case for a renewed interest in Schutz's work by extending his theory of the conscious subject to the feminist concern with the issue of domination. We present a theoretical analysis of the subjective and intersubjective experiences of individuals relating to each other as dominant and subordinate; as our theoretical point of d eparture we use Schutz's concepts of the we-relation, the assumption o f reciprocity of perspectives, typification, working, taken-for-grante dness, and relevance. Schutz's sociology of the conscious subject is s triking in its lack of any extended consideration of power; perhaps on e reason why support for his work has diminished since the mid-1970s. Our overlayering of feminist sociological theory's interest in dominat ion with Schutz's concerns about subjectivity and intersubjectivity pr oduces an elaboration and a critique of Schutz and expands feminist un derstanding of relationships of domination.