This module is not currently running in 2021 to 2022.
This module will explore the relationships between gender and conflicts, focusing on constructions of masculinities and femininities in peace and conflict-times, including forced migration and post-conflict situations. A key focus of the course will be on the intersections of gender with other dimensions that make up power relations in society, such as class, race, caste, ethnicity, religion etc. We will discuss the relationships between gender and militarism, gender, power and violence and gender, peacebuilding and international development. The goal for this course is to develop an understanding of how gender structures relations of power, forms of violence and the politics of conflict, security and humanitarian intervention through a critical analysis of academic and policy literature. Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviours and norms, which define hierarchies of masculinities and femininities in society.
The women, peace and security agenda and the broader focus on gender mainstreaming, gender specialists and trainers in conflict, security and development policies have further emphasised the centrality of gender in global politics. Yet, issues such as civilians increasingly becoming targets of violence, forced migration, the growing nexus of peace-building, security and international development, the continuum of gender-based violence, security and counter-terrorist policies, necessitate more complex approaches, taking into account the multiple ways in which gender structures forms of violence and political and socio-economic relations at the local, international and global levels.
Total contact hours: 24
Private study hours: 176
Total study hours: 200
The module is most relevant to the MA programme in International Conflict and Security, MA in International Development and MA in International Migration, but it will be open to students enrolled in MA or LLM programmes.
Essay, 5000 words (100%).
Reassessment methods: 100% coursework.
Reading List (Indicative list, current at time of publication. Reading lists will be published annually)
Anderlini Sanam Naraghi (2007), Women Building Peace, What they do, Why it Matters, Boulder, Lynne Rienner.
Haidukowski-Ahmed Maroussia, Khanlou Nazilla, Moussa Helene (eds), Not Born a Refugee Woman. Contesting Identities, Rethinking Practices, New York, Berghahan Books.
Jacobs S., Jacobson R., Marchbank J. (eds) (2000), States of Conflict. Gender, Violence and Resistance, London, New York, Zed Books.
Goldstein Joshua S. (2001), War and Gender, How Gender Shapes the War System and Vice Versa, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Kaufmann Joyce P., Williams Kristen P. (2007), Women, the State, and War. A Comparative Perspective on Citizenship and Nationalism, Lanham, Lexington Books.
Mazurana Dyan, Raven-Roberts Angela, Parpart Jane (2005), Gender, Conflict and Peacekeeping, London, Rowman and Littlefield.
O'Keefe, Theresa (2013), Feminist Identity, Development and Activism in Revolutionary Movements, New York, Palgrave Macmillan
Shepherd, Laura J. (2015), Gender Matters in Global Politics: A Feminist Introduction to International Relations, New York, Routledge.
Sjoberg Laura, Gentry Caron E. (2007), Mothers, Monsters, Whores, Women's Violence in Global Politics, London, Zed Books.
Sutton Barbara, Morgen Sandra, and Novkov Julie (eds.) (2008), Critical Perspectives on Gender, Race, and Militarization, New Brunswick, Rutgers University Press.
See the library reading list for this module (Canterbury)
The intended subject specific learning outcomes. On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
1. Explain and use in an advanced way key concepts in the theory and practice of gender and conflicts, including forced migration and development-related issues. .
2. Have an advanced understanding of the relationship between gender – as the social notion of gender, not limited to male/female dichotomies – and power and more generally gender and the social structure
3. Learn to explore critically gender roles in society and specifically in conflict situations, including contexts of forced migration
4. Have an advanced understanding of how masculinities and femininities work in peace and conflict times and their links to the construction of notions of combatants, soldiers, victims and perpetrators, internal and external actors
5. Critically assess the implications of international policies and initiatives aiming at "mainstreaming gender" in peacekeeping, peace-building and international development.
6. Draw on a variety of sources of information on international conflicts and gender issues, including on-line resources.
The intended generic learning outcomes. On successfully completing the module students will:
1. work with theoretical knowledge at the forefront of their discipline
2. be aware of the ethical dimensions of the scholarly work done in their discipline in general as well as of their own work in particular
3. undertake analysis of complex, incomplete or contradictory areas of knowledge
4. have a level of conceptual understanding in their discipline that will allow them to critically evaluate research, advanced scholarship and methodologies and argue alternative approaches
5. be reflective and self-critical in their research work
6. engage in academic and professional communication orally and in writing
7. have independent learning ability required for continuing professional study
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