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LAW42290

Academic Year 2024/2025

Gender, Conflict-related Harm & Transitional Justice (LAW42290)

Subject:
Law
College:
Social Sciences & Law
School:
Law
Level:
4 (Masters)
Credits:
10
Module Coordinator:
Professor Aisling Swaine
Trimester:
Spring
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

Grounded in critical feminist analysis, this module immerses participants in gendered theories of conflict and peace and in how related violence may be understood as gendered. The course uses feminist theories of harm to examine conflict-related violence, victimhood and agency, wartime sexualised violence and a number of global country contexts. The latter section of the course takes students through an exploration of gendered critiques of justice and accountability for conflict-related violence, focusing on post-conflict mechanisms of truth and reparation. The course is interdisciplinary, drawing from feminist, intersectional and masculinities work across the fields of law, political science, sociology and anthropology. No prior knowledge of international law is needed.

About this Module

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
Lectures

24

Specified Learning Activities

126

Autonomous Student Learning

100

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. No prior knowledge of international law or on theories for understanding armed conflict are required to take this course.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Equivalents:
Gender, Harm and Justice (GS40100)


 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Assignment(Including Essay): Assignment: Essay Week 12 Graded No
60
No
Assignment(Including Essay): Assignment: Analytical assessment of core concepts through book review Week 8 Graded No
40
No

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

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Spring Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Thurs 14:00 - 15:50