American pragmatism and feminism: fresh opportunities for sociological inquiry

American pragmatism has made a relatively small impression on the social sciences in general and on feminism in particular. Acknowledging this as a missed opportunity to further sociological inquiry, this article explores the possibility of mobilising American pragmatism with feminist theory. Drawing upon the pragmatist philosophy of John Dewey and the work of feminists who support a pragmatist approach to the study of gender, this article discusses the chequered history of relations between the two disciplines. It also focuses on the methodological consequences of establishing a pragmatist-feminist position. Taking ethnography as a means to illustrate our ideas, we suggest that a pragmatist-feminist ethnography can help social scientists to re-think theory in terms of its practical application, articulate an anti-foundational view of knowledge and promote investigating people’s concrete experiences for understanding gender inequalities. Such an approach can potentially heighten our imaginations as to how gender and gender inequalities might be studied.