Feminist Politics (9559.1)

Availability

Syllabus

In this unit, students will examine the history of feminist thought, beginning in the late eighteenth century and continuing through the early twenty-first century. An overarching goal of this unit is to encourage students to develop and shape their own concepts and ideas about feminist political thought as a potent and multifaceted global force. In working toward this goal, the course begins by defining feminism and engaging with some of the cultural and political stereotypes of feminism and feminist thinking in contemporary politics and popular culture. Next students will explore the history of feminist thinking. Finally the unit concludes by examining current topics in feminist politics.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:

1. Explain what feminist theory is, and describe the breadth, depth, and variety of feminist approaches;

2. Identify key feminist theorists from the Enlightenment era through the Suffragist movement into contemporary political theory, and describe their respective arguments;

3. Identify the key issues in each "wave" of feminism;

4. Identify the explicit and implicit ways in which gender influences the distribution of political and economic power;

5. Critically evaluate the way in which gender influences the portrayal of political candidates in the media;

6. Evaluate existing political and cultural stereotypes of feminist politics and feminists more generally, based on key historical and contemporary feminist readings in academia, journalism, and popular culture; and

7. Apply feminist theories to engage and critique contemporary political arguments.

Contact Hours

150 learning hours in online self-paced mode.

Prerequisites

675 Politics and Democracy OR 9548 Introduction to Politics OR 9549 Introduction to Western Political Thought OR 8296 Introduction to Politics and Government

Corequisites

None.

Assumed Knowledge

NONE

Incompatible Units

7072 Identity Politics and Public Policy

Equivalent Units

NO.