PHIL20440 Feminism & Gender Justice

Academic Year 2020/2021

This module introduces students to contemporary feminist ideas and key feminist debates, specifically feminist gender theory (including discussions of Queer Theory and Hegemonic Masculinity), and feminist political ethics (including intersectionality) and theories of justice with a focus on vulnerability and precarity. The module illustrates the ideas by reference to campaigns that relate to women and girls’ human rights and gender justice in both Irish national and global arenas.

The lectures (powerpoint with audio) and required reading will be available in advance on-line on the Brightspace learning platform. It is expected that students will engage with this material before our lecture time slot. When we meet on-line for our lectures we will be able to have a lot of interactive discussion (breaking into smaller discussion groups at times) as the lecture will merely re-cap the key points of the lectures available on Brightspace and answer points that students find confusing, interesting, exciting or even objectionable in the lectures and readings.
Please note that there will also be on-line tutorials which are integral to the module and are designed to support the learning outcomes.

We will focus on important areas of contention, debate and power struggles to see how feminist approaches to gender theory, feminist political ethics and justice issues are deployed in important campaigns relating to: Reproductive Justice; Prostitution/Sex Work; Queer and LGBT issues; and Redress and Restorative Justice for Survivors of trauma and abuse relating to gender violence.

If you are taking this module as an elective - you may be interested in pursuing a Structured Elective programme in Philosophy (this will entail taking two more Philosophy electives). Your University Transcript could show that you have a Structured Elective in Ethics and Society. See: https://www.ucd.ie/students/electives/structuredelectives.html

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module, students should have developed their ability to:
1. Demonstrate an understanding of various contemporary feminist theories and debates as they relate to current global issues of justice.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of key characteristics of feminist gender theory, political ethics and theories of justice.
3. Produce an interpretation of ideas relating to the study of feminism in the context of the social sciences and humanities.
4. Present scholarly ideas relating to relating to the study of feminism and justice in the context of the social sciences and humanities, and engage in discussion around them with both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
5. Write a scholarly work to a standard appropriate to level 2 study.

Indicative Module Content:

This module surveys feminist gender theory (including discussions of Queer Theory and Hegemonic Masculinity), feminist political ethics (including intersectionality) and feminist theories of justice with a focus on vulnerability and precarity.

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

20
Tutorial

7
Specified Learning Activities

40
Autonomous Student Learning

55
Total

122
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
The module is lecture-based with tutorials. Students are expected to participate in discussions with classmates as well as writing assignments that are either self-reflective pieces or critical research papers. 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Incompatibles:
PHIL20510 - Feminist Legal Theory, SSJ20020 - Feminism & Gender Justice


 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Continuous Assessment: Tutorial Participation Throughout the Trimester n/a Graded No

15
Assignment: 500 word written exercise Week 3 n/a Graded No

15
Essay: 2,000 word essay Coursework (End of Trimester) n/a Graded No

70

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

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

The students are given a very detailed marking rubric in advance of the module's assessments and their feedback is given by way of a form that matches the rubric and allows also for detailed comments.