Smith, Dorothy

Dorothy E. Smith (b. 1926) a Canadian sociologist, is one of the most prominent feminist theorists of the twentieth century. Educated at the University of London School of Economics (BSc), the University of British Columbia (LLD), and the University of California at Berkeley (PhD), she was one of the founders of an influential theoretical framework called feminist standpoint epistemology. Smith asserts that certain standpoints can provide a more reliable vantage point from which to assess how power is woven into institutions that contour women's daily activities. Smith's approach situates women's experiences within the local institutional practices that organize their lives. By using this “everyday world” perspective, researchers remain sensitive to women's experiences while also exploring how varying institutional practices such as welfare policy and higher ...