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Alley Kammer

Application Log Ch. 35


Dr. Langan
31 March 2014
Standpoint Theory
Everyone has a standpoint, but our views differ greatly. Everything about who I am
contributes to my standpoint, and never before have I been more grateful for the vantage point on
our societal structure that I have come to realize I possess. Its easy for me to come to Wheaton,
though, and think that I am distinctly unique with my big picture view of the structure, but
reflecting on my interactions with others, I can recall quite a few people who would be able to
add to my perspective of the structure on which society is built. Our standpoints can be affected
by gender. I met a dear friend this year that came out to our small friend-group. For him, being
gay makes him a member of a marginalized group at this school, and his ability to understand
more deeply the ways in which that section of the structure works allows him to step back and
see the greater picture. Family life affects our standpoint. I then think about a girl on my floor
whose parents are divorced. As part of a group of students with broken families whom we dont
hear from very often on campus, she is marginalized and therefore has a greater picture of how
the structure of family works in our society, and in our Wheaton context. She experienced what a
good majority of students here have two parents but she has also now experienced life with
one parent, and therefore her perspective has been broadened. Cultural background and
experiences that isolate us affect our standpoint. Another one of my friends was abused as a
child and moved here from the Philippines. He has been marginalized by his experiences which
many do not understand, but also by his race now that he lives in the US. He has another
particular outlook on the structure of society that I do not have. Socio-economic class affects our
standpoint. I come from a working class family, and neither my parents nor my siblings went to
college. I am less powerful in this institution because of my economic status and academic
upbringing, however, because I was raised in that environment, I feel as though I have greater
glimpse of the bigger structures that make up the middle class and educational systems.
To think about the Standpoint theory is humbling, because as we do, it becomes so easy
to recognize that the glimpse of the big picture we have is never the full story. It is also evident
that this view can always be expanded by someone who experiences even greater
marginalization. As Harding and Wood would suggest, this reality should compel us to ask them
more questions to see their views on necessary societal change because they are the ones who
can truly see from the ground up.

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