Papers by Adriana Jesenková
PRAGMATISM TODAY, 2025
The combination of a feminist care ethics and pragmatism can be very effective in addressing the ... more The combination of a feminist care ethics and pragmatism can be very effective in addressing the challenges posed by a fragmented and polarized society, not only in Slovakia but also globally. The author connects her individual experience at the level of interpersonal relations with the collective experience of fragmented and polarized Slovak society to explore the possibilities of caring for intergenerational relationships. Drawing on the concepts of care ethics-common caring practices, embodied care and caring spaces-she seeks to understand the causes and factors of paralysis in caring practices and the possibilities of overcoming it at both the micro and macro levels. The combination of philosophy and literature in teaching philosophy is presented as an alternative caring space providing cognitive, emotional and affective resources for the renewal and repair of weakened or broken caring relations.
FILOZOFIA, 2025
Feminist theories of care ethics point out that vulnerability and dependence are an inherent part... more Feminist theories of care ethics point out that vulnerability and dependence are an inherent part of caring relationships, while also noting that these aspects and the sense of inequality that stems from them invariably enable the abuse of power. At the same time, Tronto (2013) argues that the best form of care is non-hegemonic democratic care. How can care be provided in a non-hegemonic and democratic way in situations where actors are characterized by their mutual inequality and their mutual dependence and vulnerability? The author argues that equality is not sufficient for sustainable nonhegemonic care and that inequality is not necessarily connected with the abuse of power in caring relations. The responsiveness, both at the individual and institutional levels, she considers as a necessary condition for democratic care based on inclusiveness.
Občianstvo v kontexte etiky starostlivosti
Učebnica Občianstvo v kontexte etiky starostlivosti sa snaží predstaviť študentkám a študentom hu... more Učebnica Občianstvo v kontexte etiky starostlivosti sa snaží predstaviť študentkám a študentom humanitných a spoločenskovedných odborov aktuálne otázky občianstva z perspektívy špecifickej morálno-filozofickej teórie, a to feministickej morálnej filozofie, konkrétne feministickej etiky starostlivosti. Tradične je totiž téma občianstva a otázky s ňou späté vnímaná a skúmaná ako téma politického myslenia a politickej teórie. O občianstve uvažujeme dominantne ako o politickej kategórii, ktorá má byť predmetom skúmania najmä politických vied, prípadne spoločenskovedných disciplín. Minulosť aj aktuálna súčasnosť nás vyzývajú premýšľať o občianstve v súvislosti s ľudskosťou a spolupatričnosťou, a teda z morálnej perspektívy. Chápať občianstvo len ako politickú kategóriu a politickú inštitúciu je nedostatočné. Konceptuálne oddelenie politiky od morálky a etiky má za dôsledok, že máme ťažkosti s pochopením občianstva ako morálne relevantnej kategórie a ako etickej hodnoty. To nám následne b...
Biograf, 2022
Feminist ethics of care as a starting point for careful research of care Care is part of our pers... more Feminist ethics of care as a starting point for careful research of care Care is part of our personal and social lives, whether we realise it or not. Its critical philosophical reflection began relatively recently with the formation of the feminist ethics of care in the 1980s. It was Joan Tronto's work that explicitly justified why care must be conceptualised not only as a moral value but also as a political value (1993), and why care as a democratic practice must become a key part of the political agenda of contemporary democracies (2013). Indeed, care and related activities and values, such as protection and development, are finding more and more space in the discourses of public policies and their actors-in the dictionaries of leaders, managers, and politicians. However, the question is what kind of care they talk about, what are the conceptual and normative assumptions and frameworks on which they are based, and what does this mean for the creation of public care policies in various areas of society, be it education and upbringing, health care, social services, care for the environment or for the preservation, development, and improvement of democratic institutions. And, how the conceptualisation of care and related concepts in public discourses influences the practice of care that we are con fronted with in the social reality, which we implement ourselves and in which we participate. In the first part of her text, the author outlines the ethics of care as a set of ideas and approaches that grew out of empirical experience with care and its theoretical reflection. In the second part, she clarifies the moral and political theory of care as formulated by Joan Tronto (1990, 1993, 2013) to show how the concepts of integrity of good care practice and the concept of democratic care practice represent useful and inspiring tools for research, understanding, evaluation, and transformation of conceptualisation of current care practices in the various areas of life. Finally, the author focuses her attention on the possibilities of careful research of care.
UPre ženy: postavenie a empowerment žien vo vybraných marginalizovaných rómskych komunitách, 2022
Karpatská nadácia podporuje východné Slovensko už 27 rokov a počas svojej existencie podporila vi... more Karpatská nadácia podporuje východné Slovensko už 27 rokov a počas svojej existencie podporila viac ako tisíc projektov sumou takmer 3 milióny eur. Poslaním Karpatskej nadácie je viesť ľudí a organizácie k zodpovednosti za seba, komunitu, región a budúcnosť. Od svojho založenia poskytuje finančnú podporu, vzdelávanie a poradenstvo pre aktívnych ľudí a neziskové organizácie v záujme zlepšovania života na východnom Slovensku. Karpatská nadácia tiež realizuje programy pre zvyšovanie šancí a začlenenie Rómov z marginalizovaného prostredia do spoločnosti. Podporuje a prináša inovatívne programy neformálneho vzdelávania, aby umožnila všetkým ľuďom na východnom Slovensku viesť úspešný a plnohodnotný život. Viac informácií na www.karpatskanadacia.sk.
Deficit of Democratic Care in the Educational System in Slovakia
International Political Theory, 2020
UPre ženy: postavenie a empowerment žien vo vybraných marginalizovaných rómskych komunitách Výskumná štúdia Karpatskej nadácie, 2022
Karpatská nadácia podporuje východné Slovensko už 27 rokov a počas svojej existencie podporila vi... more Karpatská nadácia podporuje východné Slovensko už 27 rokov a počas svojej existencie podporila viac ako tisíc projektov sumou takmer 3 milióny eur. Poslaním Karpatskej nadácie je viesť ľudí a organizácie k zodpovednosti za seba, komunitu, región a budúcnosť. Od svojho založenia poskytuje finančnú podporu, vzdelávanie a poradenstvo pre aktívnych ľudí a neziskové organizácie v záujme zlepšovania života na východnom Slovensku. Karpatská nadácia tiež realizuje programy pre zvyšovanie šancí a začlenenie Rómov z marginalizovaného prostredia do spoločnosti. Podporuje a prináša inovatívne programy neformálneho vzdelávania, aby umožnila všetkým ľuďom na východnom Slovensku viesť úspešný a plnohodnotný život. Viac informácií na www.karpatskanadacia.sk.
Joan Tronto’s Moral and Political Theory of Care
Politické vedy, 2022
practice, could be a starting point for social change toward better care and more democratically ... more practice, could be a starting point for social change toward better care and more democratically caring society.
Research and educational potential of feminist care ethics in sex education
Human Affairs, 2018
In this article, we interpret sex education from the perspective of feminist care ethics, emphasi... more In this article, we interpret sex education from the perspective of feminist care ethics, emphasizing the concept of caring democracy, advanced by Joan Tronto one of the most influential feminist political theorists. According to Tronto, these theories show that a deficit of care and a lack of democracy are mutually conducive. We argue that, as in other areas of life, a lack of care in sexuality and sex education leads to social inequalities that eventually translate into an unequal approach to freedom, equality, and justice, and to a deficit of democracy in the lives of some people. At the same time, we believe that, as a moral theory, care ethics, with its emphasis on the needs of men and women, can be adequately applied to the design of research projects, as well as to sexuality policies and practices. This may contribute to overcoming the stalemate in the debate on sex education and other topics in Slovakia.
Young people’s attitudes toward sex education as their human right in Slovakia
Sex Education
Rhe Journal of Political Sciences, 2022
practice, could be a starting point for social change toward better care and more democratically ... more practice, could be a starting point for social change toward better care and more democratically caring society.
The paper is a partial output of the research project CREdu: gender equality in the environment o... more The paper is a partial output of the research project CREdu: gender equality in the environment of secondary vocational schools. Project is carried out by the NGO EsFem with support from Slovak Research and Development Agency under contract No. APVV-0726-07. The project focuses on the analysis of gender inequality in secondary vocational schools in Slovakia with aim to expand the knowledge base on this issue. Secondary vocational school may designate a future career. Gender-specific signals are carried through formal and informal curriculum and have an impact on aspirations and performances of female and male students. We assume that there is a relationship between the school system and gender patterns in the society. The school is a powerful element in the process of gender socialization of children and young people. It plays an important role in reproducing gender inequalities in society. This is done through the reproduction of gender stereotypes in teaching materials, environmen...
Deficit of Democratic Care in the Educational System in Slovakia
Care Ethics, Democratic Citizenship and the State, 2020
In this text, the author explores the possibilities of the ethical transformation of the universi... more In this text, the author explores the possibilities of the ethical transformation of the university's academic environment in favor of gender equality. She draws on the feminist ethics of care, in particular the concept of democratic care practice and the caring institution, which enable the implementation of gender equality policy at the university to be understood as a democratic practice of caring for the university and its community.
Care ethics is currently a dynamically developing area of moral and socio-political thinking. Rel... more Care ethics is currently a dynamically developing area of moral and socio-political thinking. Relationionism as an ontological basis of care ethics makes the reconceptualization of all key terms and their relationships in every thinking (not only) on education and learning fundamentally. In her contribution, the author wants to focus on the consequences of the relationationist ontological perspective for the transformation of ethics education.
Sex Education, 2019
There exists no legal or academic consensus as to whether children’s access to sex education shou... more There exists no legal or academic consensus as to whether children’s access to sex education should be considered a human right. This study aimed to ascertain (1) how young people in Slovakia perceive sex education in terms of their human right to information, and (2) which areas sex education should covered to fulfil their right to information. To address these two research questions, we conducted a quantitative study whose design was informed by the Standards for Sexuality Education in Europe. A representative sample of 1,015 secondary school students in Slovakia completed a questionnaire between September and October 2017. The results showed that young people generally held positive attitudes towards sex education. Nonetheless, respondents who had experienced sexual intercourse, those who had attended sex education classes, and those who had attended Ethics rather than Religious Education classes had significantly more positive attitudes towards sex education than others. Young people were most interested in the bodily, psychological and relational aspects of sexuality, while they were least interested in the social and cultural dimensions. These findings have important implications for educational policy and practice with respect to the provision of school-based sex education in Slovakia.
Téma rodovej rovnosti v univerzitnom a akademickom prostredí je v slovenskom kontexte stále vo ve... more Téma rodovej rovnosti v univerzitnom a akademickom prostredí je v slovenskom kontexte stále vo veľmi ambivalentnej pozícii – často prehliadaná a marginalizovaná, inštrumentalizovaná a vnímaná ako cudzorodý prvok či formálna nevyhnutnosť, no snáď najčastejšie je vystavená mnohým nedorozumeniam a dezinterpretáciám. Zámerom predkladanej publikácie a jej autorského kolektívu je prispieť k formovaniu a kultivácii prostredia, v ktorom je možné vecne diskutovať o otázkach rodových vzťahov v akademickom prostredí, rozvíjať skúmanie z rodovej perspektívy, a najmä uskutočňovať politiku rodovej rovnosti ako jeden z nástrojov demokratizácie akademickej sféry a univerzity. Zborník vznikol v rámci realizácie projektu VVGS-2018-749 Tvorba Plánu pre rodovú rovnosť na UPJŠ v Košiciach a predstavuje rôzne kontexty a perspektívy, z ktorých možno o otázkach rodovej rovnosti na univerzite uvažovať. Jednotlivé autorky a autor sa vo svojich textoch sústreďujú na tému rodovej rovnosti z filozofického, filozoficko-právneho a právneho pohľadu. Záverečný text predstavuje zistenia kvalitatívneho skúmania, ktoré bolo súčasťou uvedeného projektu, ich interpretáciu a závery z perspektívy ďalšieho uskutočňovania politiky rodovej rovnosti na Univerzite Pavla Jozefa Šafárika v Košiciach. Publikáciu chápeme ako pozvanie k diskusii, kritickému premýšľaniu a skúmaniu, a tým k tvorbe univerzity, akou môžeme byť.
The article is based on the theoretical framework of the ethics of care while examining the media... more The article is based on the theoretical framework of the ethics of care while examining the media narratives of sex education that emerged in connection with one of the questions in the Slovak Referendum on the Family in 2015. The fi rst part of the article describes the approach of the ethics of care inspired by the work of Joan Tronto and other scholars as an analytic framework for the study of public policies. By means of critical frame analysis, the article also examines the subjectivity of children and young people in narrative interviews and looks at how these dominant actors defi ne the provision of this education as a form of care. The article explores what needs, problems, and risks political actors ascribe to children and young people within the frame of these narratives and what features of argumentation are shared by these discursive frameworks. The article's objective is to analyse media representations around the time of the referendum in order to identify new issues for public education policy, in which sex education plays an important but problematic role.
In this article, we interpret sex education from the perspective of feminist care ethics, emphasi... more In this article, we interpret sex education from the perspective of feminist care ethics, emphasizing the concept of caring democracy, advanced by Joan Tronto one of the most influential feminist political theorists. According to Tronto, these theories show that a deficit of care and a lack of democracy are mutually conducive. We argue that, as in other areas of life, a lack of care in sexuality and sex education leads to social inequalities that eventually translate into an unequal approach to freedom, equality, and justice, and to a deficit of democracy in the lives of some people. At the same time, we believe that, as a moral theory, care ethics, with its emphasis on the needs of men and women, can be adequately applied to the design of research projects, as well as to sexuality policies and practices. This may contribute to overcoming the stalemate in the debate on sex education and other topics in Slovakia. Introductory The current situation regarding sex education in Slovakia is complicated. The public discourse surrounding sex education can be described as mired in conflict or even as trench warfare. The dominant parties to this discourse subscribe to various schools of thought and concepts, namely the Christian tradition, the specialist medical and sex discourse, liberal (civic) dialogue, and discussions about HIV/AIDS (Lukšík & Supeková, 2003). They look to the concept of human rights to find support for their arguments regarding the form, content, and range of sex education. However, these tend to take on a foundationalist hue on all sides of the public discussion, limiting the potential for the implementation of human rights. This in turn can prevent the recognition and elimination of wrongdoing, pain, suffering, and injustice from the lives of individuals (Jesenková & Jesenko, 2015, pp. 41-58). Care ethics is a weak normative moral theory that has the potential to avoid the pitfalls of foundationalism. With its emphasis on the context and specific experience (of those involved) and on supporting the principles, it moves dynamically between the empirical and
Gender and research, 2012
Marginalization of care in the teaching profession in Slovakia – factors, mechanisms, contexts Ab... more Marginalization of care in the teaching profession in Slovakia – factors, mechanisms, contexts Abstract: The author deals with the issue of the marginalization of care in the teaching profession in Slovakia. The starting point is Selma Sevenhuijsen's concept of care as a social, moral and political practice, and Iris M. Young's concept of marginalization as a form of social oppression. Both these concepts are applied in order to gain an understanding of the situation of she-teachers and he-teachers in the context of a reform of the teaching profession and the education system in Slovakia. The author argues that the stereotypical conceptualization of care and the resulting marginalization of care in the teaching profession are key factors in explaining why the teaching profession is regarded as a job with the lowest social status.
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Papers by Adriana Jesenková
https://books.google.sk/books?id=TSjwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA259&lpg=PA259&dq=Jesenkov%C3%A1,+Adriana&source=bl&ots=Vy_LmBTGaH&sig=ACfU3U3POavdbxP7AwtgLLxmHIs-SA7R9Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj-yP2LvZD3AhXGKewKHZhUDGY4MhDoAXoECAsQAw#v=onepage&q=Jesenkov%C3%A1%2C%20Adriana&f=false