Feminist Political Theory
| Module title | Feminist Political Theory |
|---|---|
| Module code | POL3217 |
| Academic year | 2024/5 |
| Credits | 30 |
| Module staff | Dr Kate Goldie Townsend (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 30 |
|---|
Module description
This course offers a broad overview of feminist theory and addresses questions such as “What does it mean to be a feminist?”, “Why do we need feminism?”, and “What role should feminism play in politics?” We will trace the emergence of feminist politics from the 20th century to the present day and identify some of the debates that have arisen within feminism itself. We will illustrate the importance of feminist challenges to mainstream political theory (with a focus on feminist challenges to liberalism). Finally, we will explore a plurality of promising feminist approaches to politics and political engagement. We will touch on feminist approaches to a variety of disciplines, including political theory, political science, philosophy, and international relations. No prior knowledge of feminism is necessary, but some prior work in political theory would be useful.
Module aims - intentions of the module
This module considers feminist theory from a variety of perspectives in order to convey to students the interdisciplinary importance of feminism. The module will encourage you to engage in close reading of influential feminist thinkers, such as Simone de Beauvoir, Iris Marion Young, Judith Butler, Carol Pateman, and Nancy Fraser. The course will proceed in three parts: 1) laying a conceptual foundation through close reading 2) using concepts learned to critique mainstream ideas and 3) arguing for practical solutions to contemporary political problems. The first part of the course will give a broad historical account of the emergence of the second, third, and fourth waves of feminism and will give an overview of the major conceptual insights of feminist theory, such as the historical privileging of masculinity over femininity, the tension between equality and sexual difference, the inescapability of gender identity, and the problem of intersectionality. The second part of the course will build on this conceptual knowledge through the application of feminist insights to contemporary political theory. It will look at the critiques posed by prominent feminist theorists of many of the central tenets of liberalism, including autonomy, property, the social contract, and human rights. The third part of the course will involve reading feminist theorists who offer alternative ways of understanding and practicing politics that have arisen as answers to the problems with mainstream political theory raised by feminism. These include care ethics, cultivating “epistemic justice”, and advocating feminist practices like consciousness raising. You will gain both a deeper understanding of the systematic inequality of women around the world and a practical toolkit for critiquing and ameliorating social injustice.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Understand in depth the historical and philosophical underpinnings of a prominent political phenomenon.
- 2. Critically evaluate different understandings of feminism.
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 3. Perform close readings and analysis of complex theoretical texts.
- 4. Articulate complex theoretical concepts and apply these to practical political problems.
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 5. Engage in conversations with others about complex political problems.
- 6. Write a well-organized and well-argued essay defending a single argument.
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:
Part I: Foundations of Feminist Political Theory
What is Patriarchy?
The Second Wave: Equality and Difference
The Third Wave: Identity Politics and Gender Identity
The Fourth Wave?: Intersectionality
Part II: Feminist Critiques of Liberalism
Relational Autonomy
The Social Contract and the Sexual Contract
Feminist Critiques of Capitalism
Human Rights and Women’s Rights
Part III: Alternative Feminist Politics
Naming Injustice and Identifying Privilege
Care Ethics and Emotional Labour
Re-Imagining Political Theory
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 44 | 256 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 44 | 22 x 2 hour seminars |
| Guided Independent Study | 94 | Preparing for seminars, reading, and research |
| Guided Independent Study | 162 | Completing assessment tasks: reading, research, and writing. |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outline for Essay 2 | 500 words | 1-4, 6 | Written Comments |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 80 | 0 | 20 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individual Presentation | 20 | 15 minutes | 1-5 | Written Comments |
| Essay 1 | 30 | 1,500 words | 1-6 | Written Comments |
| Essay 2 | 50 | 3,000 words | 1-6 | Written Comments |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual Presentation | Face-to-face presentation | 1-5 | Term 3 |
| Essay 1 | 1,500 word essay | 1-6 | August/September reassessment period |
| Essay 2 | 3,000 word essay | 1-6 | August/September reassessment period |
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Basic reading:
Simone de Beauvoir (1949) The Second Sex
Iris Marion Young (1990) Justice and the Politics of Difference
Judith Butler (1990) Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity
Nira Yuval-Davis (2015) The Politics of Belonging: Intersectional Contestations
Jennifer Nedelsky (2012) Law’s Relations: A Relational Theory of Self, Autonomy, and Law
Carol Pateman (1988) The Sexual Contract
Nancy Fraser (1997) Justice Interruptus: Critical Reflections on the ‘Postsocialist’ Condition
Susan Moller Okin (1999) Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women?
Miranda Fricker (2007) Epistemic Injustice: Power and the Ethics of Knowing
Virginia Held (2006) The Ethics of Care: Personal, Political, and Global
Saba Mahmood (2005) The Politics of Piety
Bell Hooks (2009) Belonging: A Culture of Place
| Credit value | 30 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 15 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 6 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 29/05/2017 |
| Last revision date | 03/02/2022 |
