ASTK18374U Gender and Politics: Political Science from a Gender Perspective (15 ECTS)

Volume 2022/2023
Education

MSc in Political Science

MSc in Social Science

MSc in Security Risk Management

Bachelor in Political Science

Content

In what ways are politics and policy gendered and gendering? What does it mean to carry out political and policy analysis from a gender perspective? What does feminist and queer theory bring to the study of politics and policy? In tackling these questions, this course provides a critical introduction to feminism and its implications for politics, and aims to familiarise students with the study of politics, public policy, and international relations from a gender perspective. This includes consideration of the major contributions of feminist theories to the analysis of politics and public policy in general, as well as to political representation, political behavior, and gender equality policies in particular. The course surveys central topics in the study of gender and politics from both empirical and theoretical perspectives, covering issues such as women’s representation and participation in politics and social movements; policymaking for gender equality; gender and international governance; and gender in international relations and security studies. The course also introduces students to pluralistic methods and analytical approaches to feminist, gender, and intersectional studies of politics and policy.

 

To reflect these aims, the course is divided into three blocks:

  • Introduction: Studying political science from a gender perspective
  • Block 1: Political participation and policymaking
    • Political recruitment
    • Political ambition
    • Quotas and action plans
    • Feminist policy analysis
    • Gender equality policy
  • Block 2: Conceptual and theoretical fundamentals
    • Introduction to Policy Theory
    • Theorising representation
    • The gendered politics of knowledge production
    • Feminist methods & researching gender
  • Block 3: Gender and international relations
    • Gendered states
    • Feminist security studies
    • Gender and sexuality in foreign policy
    • Women Peace and Security

 

There will also be two sessions dedicated to peer review of assignment work.

Learning Outcome

Knowledge:

On completion of the course, students should be able to:

  • Identify, summarise and differentiate between key theories and concepts used in studying politics and public policy from a gender perspective;
  • Critically interpret current public policy research on issues of gender and equality by reflecting on methodological and theoretical strengths and weaknesses;
  • Describe and evaluate the role of actors, institutions and ideas in shaping policy decisions;
  • Describe and evaluate the opportunities and challenges faced by under-represented groups in policymaking and formal political processes.

 

Skills:

On completion of the course, students should be able to:

  • Organise and carry out comparative political and policy analyses from a gender perspective, and communicate policy-relevant information effectively across a range of formats including independent research and through oral contribution to group discussion;
  • Engage in critical and theory-informed debates about gender and politics, and policy processes and outcomes from a gender perspective;
  • Compare and evaluate equality policies in all areas using theoretically-informed feminist and gender policy analysis tools.

 

Competences:

On completion of the course, students should be able to:

  • Critically evaluate a diverse range of academic and lay policy-relevant information;
  • Collaborate with peers in problem-solving and discussion tasks on topics related to gender, politics and policy;
  • Plan and manage a portfolio of assessed work on a gender equality policy topic of interest;
  • Connect key feminist and gender concepts and theories to areas of policy beyond that discussed in class.

The following are an indicative list of key readings associated with the course:

 

Bacchi, Carol (1999) Women, policy and politics. The construction of policy problems. London: Sage.

 

Outshoorn, Joyce y Johanna Kantola eds. (2007) Changing State Feminism. Houndmills: Palgrave.

 

Stratigaki, Maria (2005) “Gender Mainstreaming vs Positive Action: An on-going Conflict in EU Gender Equality Policy”, European Journal of Women’s Studies, 12(2): 165-86.

 

Joni Lovenduski (ed.) (2005) State Feminism and Political Representation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

 

Verloo, Mieke ed. (2007) Multiple Meanings of Gender Equality. A Critical Frame Analysis of Gender Policies in Europe. Budapest: CEU.

 

Celis, Karen, Johanna Kantola, Georgina Waylen, and S. Laurel Weldon. (2013). “Introduction: Gender and Politics: A Gendered World, a Gendered Discipline”, in The Oxford Handbook of Gender and Politics, edited by Georgina Waylen, Karen Celis, Johanna Kantola,and S. Laurel Weldon. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

 

Kantola, Johanna. (2006). Feminists Theorize the State. Houndmills: Palgrave.

 

Scott, J. (1986). “Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis”, American Historical Review, 91(5): 1053–1075.

 

Benschop, Yvonne and Verloo, Mieke (2006) '"Sisyphus‟ Sisters”: Can Gender Mainstreaming Escape the Genderedness of Organizations?', Journal of Gender Studies, 15(1), 19-33.

 

Verloo, Mieke. (2006).”Multiple Inequalities, Intersectionality and the European Union”, European Journal of Women's Studies, 13(3): 211-228.

 

Walby, Sylvia (2005) “Gender mainstreaming: Productive tensions in theory and practice”, Social Politics, 12(3): 321-343.

 

Ferree, M. M. and A. M. Tripp (eds.), (2006), Globalization and Feminism: Opportunities and Obstacles for Activism in the Global Arena. New York: New York University Press.

 

McBride Dorothy and Amy Mazur, eds (2010), The Politics of State Feminism. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

 

Squires, Judith. 2007. The New Politics of Gender Equality. Basingstoke: Palgrave.

 

Celis, Karen. 2009. “Substantive Representation of women (and improving it): what it is and should be about?”, Comparative European Politics, 7(1): 95–11.

 

Lombardo, Emanuela and Petra Meier (2014) The symbolic representation of gender. A discursive approach. Aldershot: Ashgate.

 

Dahlerup, Drude (ed.) (2006) Women, Quotas and Politics. Routledge.

Lovenduski, Joni (ed.) (2005) State Feminism and Political Representation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

 

Lovenduski, Joni, (2005), Feminizing Politics. Cambridge: Polity.

 

Outshoorn, Joyce and Johanna Kantola (eds), (2007), Changing State Feminism. Houndmills: Palgrave.

 

Mazur, Amy, (2002), Theorizing Feminist Policy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

 

Mazur, Amy, and Isabelle Engeli, (2018), “Taking implementation seriously in assessing success: The politics of fender equality policy”, European Journal of Politics and Gender, 1(1): 111-129.

This is a team-taught course featuring research- and problem-led teaching. Classes will comprise mini-lectures, small group exercises, presentations by students on the key reading or their assignment topic, and frequent whole-group discussion.
Formative feedback will be given continuously during the course of the semester:
• Students will be frequently encouraged to discuss their ideas for the written assignment with teachers as well as with their peers in class;
• A number of weekly session will (in part or in whole) be devoted to discussing, in detail, how to plan and execute the assignment;
• Students will get informal feedback on their ideas and arguments in the course of class discussion;
• Students will get informal and constructive peer feedback on their critical understanding of the reading after presentations and in the course of class discussion.

In addition, individual written and collective oral summative feedback (in addition to the grade) will be given on the final assignments.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Class Instruction
  • 56
  • Total
  • 56
Collective
Continuous feedback during the course
Feedback by final exam (In addition to the grade)
Peer feedback (Students give each other feedback)

Please see under Remarks

Credit
15 ECTS
Type of assessment
Portfolio
Type of assessment details
Portfolio exam
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
Re-exam

- In the semester where the course takes place: Free written assignment

- In subsequent semesters: Free written assignment

Criteria for exam assesment
  • Grade 12 is given for an outstanding performance: the student lives up to the course's goal description in an independent and convincing manner with no or few and minor shortcomings
  • Grade 7 is given for a good performance: the student is confidently able to live up to the goal description, albeit with several shortcomings
  • Grade 02 is given for an adequate performance: the minimum acceptable performance in which the student is only able to live up to the goal description in an insecure and incomplete manner