The Enlightenment Salon: A Gendered Site for Constructivist Pedagogy

By repositioning the salonniere as a progressive, feminist educator who employed a constructivist framework to regulate the discourse of the male philosophes who frequented her salon space, this article offers a new vantage point from which to examine her influence on the Enlightenment cause. Feminist historians have insightfully analysed the essential role the salonniere played in the Enlightenment, but they have yet to examine the idiosyncrasies of her pedagogical theory and practice. This article fills that void by examining the salonniere's craft. Specifically, it argues that the salonniere gendered the salon space and appropriated constructivist educational principles to establish an orderly, engaging and productive salon culture. The net effect was the establishment of an egalitarian yet structured space based upon mutual respect and collaboration -- a marriage of sorts that allowed the intellect and talent in her midst to come to full fruition. Hence, by simultaneously gendering the salon space and implementing a pedagogy which we liken to social constructivism, the salonniere inextricably linked herself to and advanced the Enlightenment cause.