Gender and generation in thinking with patriarchy

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Abstract

This paper, based on my extensive previous work in this area, brings together reflections on the shifting focus on gender and generation in several major instances of ‘thinking with patriarchy’ in a broad history of western social and political thought. The five episodes comprise the attempt to bring Roman law into a systematic and coherent system in early sixth century CE, debates between defenders of absolutist rule and proponents of democracy in late sixteenth and early seventeenth century, nineteenth-century reconstructions of the early history of humanity, resurgent twentieth-century women’s movements, and recent reflections on patrimonialism and the familial state.
In each case, I point to aspects of social relations which are emphasized and those which remain in the shadow. The challenge facing sociologists reflecting on uses of the concept of patriarchy today, I conclude, is to address the full dynamics of ‘familial’ power.

Author

• Pavla Miller, RMIT