Catharine A. MacKinnon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Catharine A. MacKinnon
|
|
|---|---|
MacKinnon at the Brattle Theatre, Cambridge, 2006
|
|
| Born |
Catharine Alice MacKinnon
October 7, 1946 Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
|
| Education | Smith College (BA) Yale University (MSL, JD, PhD) |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | University of Michigan York University University of Minnesota |
| Influences | Andrea Dworkin, August Bebel, György Lukács, Karl Marx, Simone de Beauvoir |
| Influenced | Andrea Dworkin, Martha Nussbaum |
Catharine Alice MacKinnon (born October 7, 1946) is an American expert in law and a strong supporter of women's rights. She is a professor at the University of Michigan Law School and also teaches at Harvard Law School. From 2008 to 2012, she advised the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on gender issues.
MacKinnon is known for her work on international law and how laws affect women. She has written many books, including Feminism Unmodified (1987) and Only Words (1993).
Contents
Early Life and Education
Catharine MacKinnon was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She was the first of three children. Her father, George MacKinnon, was a lawyer, a member of Congress, and later a judge.
She followed her mother's path and attended Smith College. She later earned several degrees from Yale University, including a law degree (J.D.) in 1977 and a Ph.D. in political science in 1987.
What Does a Legal Scholar Do?
Catharine MacKinnon is a highly respected legal scholar. This means she studies and teaches about law. She is a professor at the University of Michigan Law School and also teaches at Harvard Law School.
She has also been a visiting professor at many other universities around the world. MacKinnon is often asked to speak about her ideas. She has written a lot about how society and politics work.
Understanding Gender Inequality
MacKinnon believes that in many societies, there is an unfair system where men have more power than women. She argues that this system makes women less important, even though it often seems natural.
She writes about how ideas and real-life experiences are connected. MacKinnon points out that women's experiences have often been ignored. She uses different ideas, like those from Marxism (which looks at how wealth and power are shared) and radical feminism (which focuses on the root causes of women's oppression), to understand and challenge these power differences.
MacKinnon explains that having power means that when someone says, "this is how it is," people believe them. But if you don't have power, what you say might not be taken seriously. She believes it's important to listen to those who have been ignored.
Personal Life
Catharine MacKinnon prefers to keep details about her private life to herself. She believes it is important to protect her personal space.
Awards and Honors
MacKinnon has received many awards for her important work. Here are some of them:
- Smith Medal from Smith College (1991)
- Doctor of Laws (honorary) from Haverford College (1991)
- Wilbur Lucius Cross Medal from Yale Graduate School Alumni Association (1995)
- Elected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2005)
- Outstanding Scholar Award from the American Bar Foundation (2007)
- Pioneer of Justice Award from Pace Law School (2008)
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg Lifetime Achievement Award (2014)
- Alice Paul Award for "Lifetime Dedication and Outstanding Achievement in Confronting Men's Violence Against Women" (2017)
- Award of Merit from the Yale Law School Association (2022)
Selected Books
- (2005). Legal Feminism in Theory and Practice.
- (2017). Butterfly Politics.
- (2018). Gender in Constitutional Law.
- (2022). Women's Lives in Men's Courts: Briefs for Change.
See also
In Spanish: Catharine MacKinnon para niños
