Dorothy E. Smith

The standpoint of women offers a critical lens through which to examine the gendered nature of social life.

The social world is not a static entity, but a dynamic process.

The conceptual practices of power shape not only what we know, but also how we know it.

Institutional ethnography is a commitment to understanding the world from the perspective of those who are most affected by it.

The ruling relations are not just about control, but also about coordination and organization.

The standpoint of women is a resource for developing a more inclusive and emancipatory sociology.

The social world is a product of human agency, but also a constraint on it.

The conceptual practices of power are deeply embedded in the structures of our society.

Institutional ethnography is a way of giving voice to the voiceless.

The ruling relations are not static, but are constantly evolving and adapting.

The standpoint of women challenges the universalizing claims of traditional sociology.

The everyday world is problematic because it is organized by relations of ruling that obscure women's experiences.

Standpoint theory begins from the lives of those who are marginalized.

Sociology must start from the actualities of women's lives, not from abstract concepts.

The ruling relations coordinate and organize our everyday lives in ways we do not see.

Institutional ethnography investigates how texts enter into and organize social relations.

Women's work in the home is invisible to the official story of society.

Power is embedded in the conceptual practices that produce knowledge.

We need to map the social relations that shape our experiences from the ground up.

The abstract individual of sociology is a man; women's standpoint reveals the cracks.