GS40100 Gender, Conflict-related Harm & Transitional Justice

Academic Year 2022/2023

Grounded in critical feminist reflexivity, this module centres critical analysis of how knowledge is constructed in understandings of armed conflict, peace and associated harm and violence. The course is structured to first immerse participants in gendered theories of conflict and peace and to engage in debate on how violence may be understood as gendered. Feminist theories of harm are deployed as methodological frames to deepen understanding of subjective experience of harm in the social world. The course examines harm through feminist and post-colonial critiques of victimhood and agency; examines thematic areas of harm such as wartime sexualised violence and examines a number of global country contexts. The latter section of the course takes students through an exploration of feminist critiques of justice and accountability for wartime gendered harms, examining concepts of peace and transition through justice, with a specific focus on post-conflict mechanisms of truth and reparation. The course is interdisciplinary, drawing from feminist, intersectional, queer and masculinities work across the fields of law, political science, sociology and anthropology.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this course, participants will have
• gained knowledge of critical frameworks for examining and understanding harm, violence and justice from a feminist, gender and decolonial perspective;
• honed skills on how to ask critical questions of the politics of harm, peace, transition and justice;
• furthered research and analytical skills, including how to produce a gender analysis of harm and justice through using literary as well as scholarly resources.

Indicative Module Content:

The module covers feminist theories of conflict, harm and violence; introduces students to scholarly debates on understanding sexualised as well as broader gendered harms in contexts of conflict and peacebuilding; it uses feminist, gender, intersectional and decolonial theories and critiques of peace, transition and transitional justice as its frame; it offers some exposure to the applied examination of mechanisms such as truth commissions and reparations processes.

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Specified Learning Activities

126
Autonomous Student Learning

100
Lectures

24
Total

250
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
The course is delivered in two-hour seminars where active participation of students in discussion is expected.

Readings include scholarly and policy literature and literary fiction as a means to critique and explore ways of representing gendered ideas of conflict, harm and justice. 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations
Learning Recommendations:

Those taking this course would bring an interest in feminist and broader gender theories of violence, harm and justice; a specific interest in conflict-related human rights violations and specifically the experiences of armed conflict for civilians; and a broader interest in global conflicts, the idea of peace and peacebuilding and the practice of transitional justice post-conflict.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Assignment: Essay Coursework (End of Trimester) n/a Graded No

60
Assignment: Analytical assessment of core concepts through book review Week 8 n/a Graded No

40

Carry forward of passed components
No
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Summer No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Online automated feedback

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