POL30920 Women and Political Violence: Understanding Women’s Participation in Political Violence

Academic Year 2022/2023

This course introduces students to women's involvement in political and religious violence. It will guide students through a thorough exploration of how, when, and why women take part in political violence. Students will learn about women's involvement in a variety of violent groups, including the IRA, ETA, ISIS, the FARC, the KKK, and contemporary extreme right-wing movements. The course will introduce different ways of examining womanhood and gender and the impacts these have on women's participation, how they are perceived by authorities and the general public, and what the legal and security consequences are. It addresses different theories surrounding women's involvement in political violence, why and how women join these groups, the roles they hold, why organisations seek to recruit women, and how this can change the security landscape.

This module will be taught by a PhD student, Ms Julia Canas Martinez.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the module, students will:
- Be familiar with key debates surrounding women’s participation in political violence
- Gain knowledge of the core theories of gender and violence used to analyse women’s participation in political violence
- Have a greater understanding of how gender affects both violence and how it is studied
- Be able to identify the narratives surrounding women’s involvement in political violence and how these affect state responses to violence
- See women beyond the lens of victimhood and peace-making
- Develop transferable skills such as: identifying narrative framing and the effects it can have, critical engagement with academic texts, and presentation and debate skills.

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

24
Autonomous Student Learning

200
Total

224
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
The module will place a strong emphasis on class discussions and interaction with and between students. Each week, there will be activities designed to encourage students to connect the theories studied with real-life cases, such as in-class debates, group analysis of how cases are covered in the press, and class-wide discussions of assigned questions. There will be an important interactive component through the use of tools likes online whiteboards and Mentimeter polls. Cases will be introduced to students through media like podcasts, documentaries, and news features. 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Journal: 5x300-word responses to weekly readings and lecture discussions Week 9 n/a Graded No

30
Essay: 2500-word essay Coursework (End of Trimester) n/a Graded No

40
Presentation: Group or individual presentation on weekly topic Throughout the Trimester n/a Graded No

20
Attendance: Participation in weekly interactive poll Throughout the Trimester n/a Pass/Fail Grade Scale No

10

Carry forward of passed components
No
 
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
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Students will receive feedback within 20 days of the assignment deadline, in line with university policy.