 Judith Butler is a philosopher in the field of feminism, queer theory, political philosophy, and ethics. She is a professor in the Department of Rhetoric and Comparative Literature at the Berkeley Campus of the University of California and the Department Chair of the Rhetoric Department. She attended Yale University where she obtained a Ph.D in philosophy in 1984. She was the recipient of Yale's Brudner Prize in 2004. Some of her published works include the following:
• Gender Trouble (1990) – focuses on understanding sex, gender, and sexuality
• Bodies That Matter (1993) – focuses on understanding performativity as it relates to sex/gender as a daily choice
• Excitable Speech (1997) – Butler surveys the problems surround both hate speech and censorship. She also discusses times when censorship can be better than allowing certain information to be written or spoken
• Undoing Gender (2004) – reflections on gender, sex, sexuality, psychoanalysis and medical treatment of intersex
• Giving an Account of Oneself (2005) – development of an ethics theory that relates to how opaque the subject is to itself
Butler's academic writing style can only be described as theoretical and very detailed in nature. Her style tends to cause some dissention among other writers and the public as indicated in an article Martha Nussbaum wrote called "The Professor of Parody." Nussbaum's reasoning behind that is she considers Butler's writing as one that uses obscurantism in her writing to prevent people from seeing the entire truth. Nussbaum believes there should be more focus on accepted moral and social principles rather than on speculative principles of passivity as she sees Butler's writing to be. Of course, in retrospect, philosophy is a field that is open to differences in interpretation, and as such, one is likely to see a variety of different opinions and analysis on the exact same topic. Philosophy also allows the reader to develop his or her own interpretation of the subject. Philosophy textbooks even sometimes use obscurantism as a teaching method in order to allow the students to think for themselves and reach deeper into their own minds to discover what the philosopher was saying.
Unlike reading most books, one must remember when choosing a philosopher such as Judith Butler, one may find differences in the presentation of the material, and as such must keep an open mind. Many books will allow you to open your mind so that you can interpret the book in the way that best suits your mindset. Unlike many subjects, philosophy doesn't always offer a right and wrong answer, but allows the reader to develop his own thoughts. On the other hand, some philosophers write in a more direct manner, leaving the reader with no doubts about what he or she is trying to say. Rather than criticize the writing of that person, you choose what fits best with you. For those who are unable to make interpretations of their own, a more direct approach is the best reading material, so you want to research a book before you buy it.
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