Nancy Fraser

By Sara L. Austin, EdD

Nancy Fraser is a critic of contemporary liberal feminism and identity politics. She is the Henry A. and Louise Loeb Professor of Political and Social Science and professor of philosophy at The New School. She earned her B.A. in philosophy from Bryn Mawr and her Ph.D in philosophy from the City University of New York Graduate Center.

Her work on the conceptions of justice and injustice have led her to the conclusion that justice can be viewed in two ways: distributive justice (related to equitable distribution of resources), and justice of recognition (related to recognition of identity). Likewise, injustice can be viewed as either maldistribution or misrecognition. In her view, society’s recent preoccupation with the injustice of misrecognition has diverted attention and resources from the ongoing problems of maldistribution.

Fraser has been International Research Chair in Social Justice for Collège d’études mondiales in Paris, a visiting professor in women’s rights for University of Cambridge and Senior fellow for the Center for Advanced Studies, “Justitia Amplificata,” in Frankfurt. She is president of the American Philosophical Association’s Eastern Division. In 2018, she was honored with the Nessim Habif World Prize by The Graduate Institute, the Award for Lifetime Contribution to Critical Scholarship by the Havens Center for Social Justice at the University of Wisconsin, and the Chevalier de la Legion d’honneur.

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