Gender, Sexuality and Violence in Palestine/Israel
| Module title | Gender, Sexuality and Violence in Palestine/Israel |
|---|---|
| Module code | ARAM230 |
| Academic year | 2024/5 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff | Professor Laleh Khalili (Lecturer) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 10 |
|---|
Module description
This module takes an innovative approach to the study of ‘conflict’ in Palestine/Israel by focusing on the relationship between gender and political violence in the region. We will first problematise the dominant frames of ‘conflict’ and ‘occupation’, looking instead to the model of settler colonialism as a gendered and sexualised practice. We will then explore key themes including nationalism, space, embodiment, everyday life, feminism, queer politics and resistance, which illustrate how gender relations are central to violence in Palestine/Israel. Through engaging with gender as a political and analytical category you will investigate the range of mechanisms that sustain political violence, as well as how individuals and communities practise resistance and imagination.
The course mixes lectures, tutorials and seminars, with teaching and learning shifting to dialogical and workshop formats as the term progresses
No prior knowledge of the subject is required; the module is suitable for interdisciplinary pathways.
Module aims - intentions of the module
This module aims to provide you with the skills of critical gender analysis, which will allow you to explore how settler colonialism and political violence are sustained and subverted in Palestine/Israel. You will learn to analyse how gender roles, relations, codes and norms become central to the production of violence, as well as how women and men experience, understand and resist this violence on individual and collective levels. You are expected to take an active role in creating and leading our learning community. The module encourages politically active learning through discussion of topical events and project-based learning.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Discern the various ways in which gender roles, codes, norms and relations shape and are shaped by political violence in Palestine/Israel.
- 2. Develop an in-depth understanding of the relationship between gender, sexuality and settler colonialism in Palestine/Israel.
- 3. Evaluate how gender and sexuality intersect with diverse modes of resistance in Palestine/Israel.
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 4. Analyse and assess academic texts and prevailing discursive frames (i.e., conflict or occupation) critically.
- 5. Distinguish between a range of methodological approaches as well as variety of genres, i.e. anthropological and sociological texts, (auto)biographical writings and fiction.
- 6. Demonstrate awareness of, and be sensitised to, the various processes by which gender (i.e., femaleness and maleness) is socially constructed and impacts politics.
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 7. Engage in independent study and group work, including the presentation of material for group discussion
- 8. Digest, select and organise material to produce, to a deadline, a coherent and cogent argument, developed through the mode of assessment.
- 9. Critically examine and review existing literature.
Syllabus plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:
- Violent epistemologies: Representing 'conflict' in Palestine/Israel
- Gender, sexuality & settler colonialism
- Approaching violence
- Bodies, borders, space & place
- Power, control & resistance
- Memory, emotion & futurity
- Workshop: Activism & transformation
- Workshop: Decolonisation as praxis
- Reflection & restoration
- Critical pedagogies & project-based learning
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 128 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity | 22 | 11 x 2hour lecture and tutorial, OR seminars |
| Guided Independent Study | 55 | Weekly reading (5 hours per week) |
| Guided Independent Study | 15 | Class/seminar preparation (including researching and posting news forums links) |
| Guided Independent Study | 29 | Project (19 hours researching/coordinating, 10 hours writing/preparing presentation) |
| Guided Independent Study | 29 | Reflective diary (19 hours reading, 10 hours writing) |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class discussions & workshops | Weekly | 1-7 | Verbal feedback |
| Project proposal | 500 words | 1-6, 8-9 | Written & verbal feedback |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| News article posts (3) | 10 | 3 x online links to existing news articles, posted to our class forum | 4-6, 8 | Verbal feedback in seminar discussion |
| Reflective Diary | 45 | 1,500 words | 1-9 | Written feedback |
| Summative Project (group or individual) | 45 | Written submission of 1,750 words OR 15 minute presentation. Submissions will vary in format [e.g., film or exhibition review, op-ed article, short film, podcast, performance, video or photo essay, poetry, sculpture or other material artefact, play script, Instagram page, blog, etc.]. This list is not exhaustive. | 1-9 | Written feedback; verbal feedback (if required) |
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| News article posts (3) | 3 x online links relevant to topics from our course | 4-6, 8 | August/September reassessment period |
| Reflective diary | Reflective diary (1,500 words) | 1-9 | August/September reassessment period |
| Project | Written submission of 1,750 words OR 15-minute pre-recorded presentation. | 1-9 | August/September reassessment period |
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Abdo, N., Captive Revolution: Palestinian Women’s Anti-Colonial Struggle within the Israeli Prison System, 2014.
Abdo, N. and Yuval-Davis, N., Unsettling Settler Societies: Articulations of Gender, Race, Ethnicity and Class, 1995.
Abdo, N. and Masalha, N. (eds.), An Oral History of the Palestinian Nakba, 2018.
Arvin, M., Tuck, E. and Morrill, A., ‘Decolonising Feminism: Challenging Connections between Settler Colonialism and Heteropatriarchy’, Feminist Formations, Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 8-34, 2013.
Fanon, F., ‘Concerning Violence’ in The Wretched of the Earth, 1968.
Icaza, R. and de Jong, S. (eds.) Decolonization and Feminisms in Global Teaching and Learning, 2019.
Lentin, R., Thinking Palestine, 2008.
Morgensen, S., ‘Theorising Gender, Sexuality and Settler Colonialism: An Introduction’, Settler Colonial Studies, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 2-22, 2012.
Natanel, K., Sustaining Conflict: Apathy and Domination in Israel/Palestine, 2016.
Puar, J., Terrorist Assemblages: homonationalism in queer times, 2007.
Said, E., ‘Permission to Narrate’, Settler Colonial Studies, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 27-48, 1984.
Shalhoub-Kevorkian, N., Militarization and Violence against Women in Conflict Zones in the Middle East: A Palestinian Case Study, 2009.
Sharoni, S., Gender and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: The Politics of Women’sResistance, 1995.
Wolfe, P., ‘Settler colonialism and the elimination of the native’, Journal of Genocide Research, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 387-409, 2006.
Indicative learning resources - Other resources
Videos/films, TV programmes, online materials (news sites, blogs, social media), images, podcasts, play scripts, music, memoirs.
| Credit value | 15 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 7.5 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 7 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 23/12/2016 |
| Last revision date | 01/06/2023 |
