POLITICS
Gender and Politics - Critical Issues
AUTUMN FN114
Wednesdays
Tutor: Clara Fischer
There is a growing recognition of the fact that political institutions and systems are structured by assumptions of gender, that is, of norms related to what it means to be a woman or a man. The effects of these assumptions are evinced by the historic underrepresentation of women in parliaments, for example, or by the purported correlation between masculinity and soldiering, and femininity and pacifism. The obejctive of this course lies in teasing out these assumptions, and in assessing the impact they have on us as citizens, and on the political structures and processes shaping our lives.
The course will address such questions as: what is gender? How do our gendered identities impact on the power relationships we sustain? What does this mean for us as political agents? Are women or men disadvantageously positioned, and if so, what has and is being done to redress this? What role do political institutions and the global political economy play in all of this? And what can we hope to change in terms of the very complex gendered relationships we sustain with the political?
Specifically, the course will look at gendered understandings of the state, the nation, development, labour, peace and conflict, and will discuss national and international responses to gender inquality, such as human rights, gender mainstreaming and quotas. In doing so, the course will make use of a wide range of sources, including extensive research by political scientists and feminist theorists.
| BELFIELD | ||
| 8 Wednesdays | Sep 26, Oct 3, 10, 24, 31, Nov 7, 14, 21 | 7.30pm - 9.30pm |
| 1 Wednesday | Oct 17, Oireachtas Tour | 4.00pm |
| 1 Saturday | Oct 13, Kilmainham Gaol | 12.00pm |
|
FEE €190 |
Print Open Learning Application Form 2012.13 or ring (01) 716 7123 for Laser/ Credit Card payment |
Tutor Details:
Dr. Clara Fischer holds a Ph.D. in political philosophy and feminist theory. She has taught both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in Trinity College Dublin and in Dublin City University. Her research and teaching are interdisciplinary, drawing upon methodologies and theories from political science, philosophy and gender studies. She is currently co-editing a book on feminist activism and political change in Ireland.
Provisional list of key topics to be covered:
- Feminism as Intellectual and Social Movement
- Nationalism and the State
- Democracy and Political Representation
- Peace and Conflict
- Labour and the Political Economy
- International Development
- Gender Equality and Human Rights
Who is the course for?
The course will appeal to anybody with an interest in politics, gender studies, and social justice issues.
Reading List:
The following is a selection of recommended texts for those interested in reading further around the course content. We advise that you do not buy books in advance of the course as your tutor will discuss the list and suggest the most relevant reading for particular interests.
Arneil, Barbara, Politics and Feminism, Blackwell, Oxford, 1999
Bryson, Valerie, Feminist Political Theory – An Introduction, 2nd edition, Palgrave MacMillan, Basingstoke, Hampshire, 2003
Connell, Robert William, Gender and Power – Society, the Person and Sexual Politics, Polity Press, London, 1987
Connolly, Linda, The Irish Women’s Movement: From Revolution to Devolution, Palgrave, New York, 2002
Enloe, Cynthia, Bananas, Beaches and Bases – Making Feminist Sense of International Politics, University of California Press, London, 2000
Galligan, Yvonne, Ward, Eilis & Wilford, Rick (eds.), Contesting Politics – Women in Ireland, North and South, Westview Press, Oxford, 1999
Galligan, Y., “Women in Politics” in Politics in the Republic of Ireland by Coakley, J. & Gallagher, M. (eds.), PSAI Press & Routledge, Oxon, 2005
Houses of the Oireachtas, Joint Committee on Justice, Equality Defence and Women’s Rights, Second Report, Women’s Participation in Politics, PRN. A9/1468, October 2009
Jaggar, Alison M., Feminist Politics and Human Nature, Rowman & Littlefield, Totowa, New Jersey, 1988
Kelly. Rita Mae et al, Gender, Globalisation and Democratisation, Rowman and Littlefield, Lanham, 2001
Kramer, Ann, Women and Politics, Wayland, Hove, East Sussex, 1988
Mosse, Julia Cleves, Half the World, Half a Chance – An Introduction to Gender and Development, Oxfam, Oxford, 1994
Pateman, Carole, The Sexual Contract, Polity, Cambridge, 1988
O’Connor, Pat, Emerging Voices: Women in Contemporary Irish Society, Institute of Public Administration, Dublin, 1998
Rendall, Jane, The Origins of Modern Feminism – Women in Britain, France and the United States, 1780 – 1860, MacMillan, Basingstoke, 1985
Ruddick, Sarah, Maternal Thinking – Toward a Politics of Peace, The Women’s Press, London, 1990
Wheeler, Anna & Thompson, William, Appeal of One Half of The Human Race, Women, Against the Pretensions of the Other Half, Men, to Retain them in Political, and thence in Civil and Domestic Slavery, Thoemmes, Bristol, 1994
Yuval-Davis, Nira, Gender and Nation, Sage, London, 1997
