ASTK18375U Gender and Politics: Political Science from a Gender Perspective 7,5 ECTS
Bachelor student (2017 programme curriculum): 7.5 ECTS
Master student: 7.5 ECTS
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 and public policy 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; and policymaking for gender equality. 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 will include the following sessions:
- Introduction: Studying political science from a gender perspective
- Theorising representation
- Political behaviour
- Political recruitment
- Political ambition
- Quotas and action plans
- Gender stereotyping
- Feminist policy analysis
- Gender equality policy
- Harassment and #metoo in politics
There will also be a session dedicated to peer review of assignment work.
Knowledge:
On completion of the course, students should be able to:
- Identify, summarise and differentiate between key theories and concepts used in studying politics, political behavior 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 free written research assignment 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.
Krook, Mona Lene & Juliana Restrepo Sanín (2019) The Cost of Doing Politics? Analyzing Violence and Harassment against Female Politicians. Perspectives on Politics, 1-16.
Kjær, Ulrik & Kosiara-Pedersen, Karina (2019) The Hourglass of Women’s Representation. Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties 29 (3): 299-317.
Lovenduski, J. 2016. The supply and demand model of candidate selection. Government and Opposition 51, 3, 513-528.
• 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 sessions 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
- 28
- Total
- 28
See Remarks
- Credit
- 7,5 ECTS
- Type of assessment
- Written assignmentFree assignment
- Exam registration requirements
Free written assignment
- Marking scale
- 7-point grading scale
- Censorship form
- No external censorship
- Re-exam
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
Course information
- Language
- English
- Course code
- ASTK18375U
- Credit
- 7,5 ECTS
- Level
- Full Degree MasterBachelor
- Duration
- 1 semester
- Placement
- Autumn
- Schedule
- .
- Course capacity
- ..
- Course is also available as continuing and professional education
- Study board
- Department of Political Science, Study Council
Contracting department
- Department of Political Science
Contracting faculty
- Faculty of Social Sciences
Course Coordinators
- Emily Flore St Denny (2-6a69456e6b7833707a336970)
Lecturers
The team teaching on this course is:
Emily St.Denny (coordinator and lecturer)
Karina Kosiara-Pedersen
Hanne Nexø Jensen
Ben Rosamond
Anne-Sofie Dichman
Anine Hagemann
Dean Cooper-Cunningham
Matthias Humer