1. International Perspectives on Gender (S0112-15)
7/12/2019 2:15 PM
International Perspectives on Gender (S )
Dr Caroline Wright
D0.18
Apologies that I’m unable to be with you to tell you about my first year module, International Perspectives on Gender, face to face. I’ve prepared this slideshow to run through key elements of the module, and if you have any questions afterwards then please me. I’ll also be available in my office for consultation on the morning of Friday 28th September if you’d like to speak to me before finalising your choice.

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Optional 15 CATS module Follows Sociology of Gender Introduces gender relations around the world Explores ways gender has been central to colonialism, nationalism, socialism, religious fundamentalism Case Studies: India, South Africa, Iran, China
This option runs in the Spring term and is a great follow on from your core module Sociology of Gender.
Content
You’ll get an introduction to gender relations around the world in the 20th and 21st centuries
We’ll be exploring ways gender has been central to religious and political ideologies that have dominated the last 100 years: colonialism, nationalism, socialism, religious fundamentalism
Case studies this year are from India, South Africa, Iran and China, so very diverse parts of the world, histories and contemporary gender issues. Of course as Sociologists we’re also looking for patterns, and to enable us to make connections between case studies we’ll use some overarching themes:

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Key Themes: Family Sexuality Religion Work Resistance Voices: Domestic workers on 24/7 Muslim women on the hijab Indian women nationalists ‘Mini Emperor’ Girls in China
Key themes intersecting the module include:
Family – (how are women’s and men’s roles in the family imagined and practised in different parts of the world?);
Sexuality (how does the state regulate abortion and contraception?, how far is heterosexuality institutionalised as the only ‘normal’ form of sexual expression?);
Religion (here looking at Islam and Hinduism and how they intersect with gender roles and nationalist movements. So what does it mean to be a good Muslim man, for example, or a good Hindu woman?);
Work (how are labour markets gendered?)
Individual and collective resistance to gender inequalities (what kinds of women’s (and men’s) movements have developed, how do they relate to nationalist movements, or religious ideals?)
We’ll be paying attention to the voices of the women and men involved. So for example:
The voices of black female domestic workers under apartheid South Africa on their experience of working 24/7 for white families, and their political activism;
Muslim women on why they choose to wear the veil and what it means to them;
Indian women who participated in the independence movement talking about how this shifted gender roles
Only girl children in China, following the 1 child policy (recently rescinded), on what it means to grow up as a ‘Little Emperor’, or Honorary Boy, with all the family hopes pinned on your shoulders. The 1 child policy has had many very negative effects but it has also brought amazing new opportunities for some girls, especially in MC families, albeit alongside terrible pressure and weight of expectations.

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How did apartheid in South Africa ( ) impact African families? Why is homophobic violence such a problem in contemporary South Africa, when it was first country in the world to guarantee equality for lesbian and gay community? Are all contemporary Iranian women passive victims of Islamic fundamentalism, and what did the Revolution in Iran mean for men and masculinities? How can it be argued that the one child policy in China has been both an abuse of women’s human rights and an unanticipated way to further gender equality? What do recent demonstrations by women in India, such as SlutWalks and the Pink Chaddhi Campaign, tell us about the prospects for Indian feminism today?
Here are some of the sorts of questions we’ll be thinking, talking and writing about on the module.

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Teaching 1 x 50 minute lecture each week 1 x 50 minute seminar each week Reading All electronic core readings Additional readings all in library
Teaching – starts in January
1 x 50 minute lecture each week (Monday 3-4pm)
1 x 50 minute seminar each week (slots on Tuesday morning)
Reading
No text book – we don’t baby you, we teach from academic readings. All the core readings are available electronically, so you can work anywhere you’ve got wi-fi. Additional readings are all in the library.

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Summative Assessment 1 x 2 hour exam Formative Assessment 1 x 2000 word exam practice
Summative Assessment
Makes up your final mark for the module
One 2 hour exam in the third term, answering 2 questions (100%)
Yes, that’s right an exam!! But this is a supported process: you can choose which case studies to revise, don’t revise everything; we’ll have revision workshops and seminars in term 3 prepare you. And formative work helps you to develop your exam technique.
Formative Assessment
Used to review your progress and develop your analytical skills and writing ability
1 x 2000 word exam practice due in the Spring term, with written feedback

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Thanks for listening  Any questions? Please me:
Thanks for listening!
If you’d like to ask any questions before committing yourself then please me, or you can call into see me in my office anytime on Friday morning this week.