Postgraduate Course: Gender and Development (PGSP11225)
Course Outline
School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
Summary | Gender studies and development studies are both interdisciplinary in orientation, and touch on issues as diverse as work and family life, health and population, labour and international economic change. It is now widely recognised that pervasive pre-existing gender inequalities mean that development processes have differential effects on women and men. Early feminist critiques emphasised the »marginal« position of women in development and advocated their »integration«. More recently, critiques have argued that women's »marginality« reflects the systematic gender bias in official statistics and development planning in general, and that women are already affected by and involved in development, although in locally variable and class specific ways.
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Course description |
a. Academic Description
Gender studies and development studies are both interdisciplinary in orientation, and touch on issues as diverse as work & family life; health & population; labour & international economic change. It is now widely recognised that pervasive pre-existing gender inequalities mean that development processes have differential effects on women and men. Early feminist critiques emphasised the 'marginal' position of women in development and advocated their 'integration'. Later critiques have argued that women's 'marginality' reflects the systematic gender bias in official statistics and development planning in general, and that women are already affected by and involved in development in locally-variable and class-specific ways. More recently, there have been attempts to 'mainstream' gender in development, and to acknowledge the importance of involving men in gender and development initiatives - opening up, in the process, a set of debates on the normalising/ depoliticising/de-contextualising of gender.
This course aims to deepen student understanding of the fruitfulness of studying diverse issues affecting the lives of poor people in relation to one another, rather than being limited by disciplinary boundaries. Students will gain knowledge of the main theoretical approaches used in gender analysis of development issues, awareness of the significance of locally-specific contexts, and understanding of the differential impacts of development interventions on women and men. The course thus aims to equip students with knowledge and practical skills vital for careers in development research and practice.
b. Outline content
1: Conceptualising and theorizing gender and development
This session introduces the course by outlining Women in Development (WID), Women and Development (WAD) and Gender and Development (GAD) approaches.
2: Logics of empowerment: from radical origins to de-politicised practice?
Do 'empowerment' projects enable women to gain (greater) control over their lives, rather than being passive recipients of 'development'? The session traces empowerment from its feminist origins to its recent neo-liberal avatar.
3: Mainstreaming gender or streaming gender away?
Feminists have been concerned to ensure that gender and gender equality are on the policy agenda and brought centre stage in development practice. This session critically examines 'gender mainstreaming'.
4: Dangers of ethnocentrism - feminism, rights discourse and development practice
Who defines and makes judgements about gender issues? In the context of rights-based approaches in international development, can we legitimately universalise and generalise?
5: Coercion, consent, choice: Gender politics of population policies and reproductive & sexual health and rights
The links between gender, population and reproductive and sexual health are complex and crucial to the development enterprise. This session addresses this contested aspect of development.
6: Towards sustainable futures? Ecofeminism and development
This session asks what contribution ecofeminism can make to current debates in gender and development in relation to environmental and sustainability concerns.
7: Educate a woman, educate a nation? Gender, education and development
Girls' education is widely regarded as important in development circles and this session reflects critically on some of the distinctive approaches to the issue.
8: Victims, perpetrators or actors? Gender, violence and development
Feminists draw our attention to both gender-based violence and the gendered implications of political violence. This session explores some of the contentious and complex discursive shifts in understandings of violence and development.
9: Sweatshop warriors? Women and paid work in the global economy
Women's employment and independent income is widely considered essential for women's emancipation. This session explores the implications of new forms of women's employment in the Global South.
10: Reflecting on nearly 40 years of 'gender and development'
The final session wraps up the course and reflects on the broad shifts that have occurred in global understandings of key issues in gender and development in the last four decades.
c. Student Learning experience
The course is taught through lectures and small-group work in which students report on and discuss readings and films that they have been asked to consult in preparation for the class. The course is cross-discipline and students are encouraged to make connections between theoretical approaches and research (in relation both to gender and to development), and reflect on how these relate to development in practice, whether at the global or local level.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites | None |
High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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Academic year 2017/18, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 55 |
Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
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Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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Additional Information (Assessment) |
Students will be assessed by one 1500-word essay (30%) submitted during the semester and one 2500-word essay (70%) submitted after the semester. |
Feedback |
Formal feedback on the short essay is provided within 15 working days of submission, with additional informal feedback for individual students who request it. Students are expected to reflect on this feedback and learn from it prior to embarking on the long essay. The course organiser sets the short essay topics. Students can select from suggested topics for the long essay but are encouraged to development their own essay question in conjunction with the course organiser. Students can submit essay plans for comment and advice, if they wish. The aim of both pieces of assessment is to allow you to develop your own ideas, demonstrate your ability to analyse relevant issues and draw on and synthesise relevant evidence. |
No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- show a working knowledge of the main theoretical approaches used in gender analysis of development issues and their links to wider social and political change
- show an awareness of the interplay between regional cultures, social change and development intervention in terms of differential impact on women and men
- show competence in assessing gender issues in international development research and practice from a sociological perspective
- show an understanding of the value of comparative analysis
- utilise acquired skills in analysis, planning and reporting on current development issues
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Reading List
KEY SOURCES
Andrea Cornwall et al (eds): Feminisms in Development: Contradictions, Contestations and Challenges (Zed 2007)
Cecile Jackson & Ruth Pearson (eds.): Feminist Visions of Development: Gender Analysis and Policy (Routledge, 1998)
Naila Kabeer: Reversed Realities: Gender Hierarchies in Development Thought (Verso, 1994)
Caroline Moser: Gender Planning and Development: theory, practice and training (Routledge, 1993)
Nalini Visvanathan et al. (eds.): Women, Gender and Development Reader (Zed Books, 1997)
You should skim through the sections of the World Development Report 2012 entitled 'Gender Equality and Development' (available online for download)
http://econ.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTDEC/EXTRESEARCH/EXTWDRS/EXTWDR2012/0,,contentMDK:22999750~pagePK:64167689~piPK:64167673~theSitePK:7778063,00.html
Here is a selection of other useful general sources in the library:
Beneria, L & S.Feldman (eds.) 1992. Unequal Burden: Economic Crises, Persistent Poverty & Women's Work
Cleaver, F (ed) 2002. Masculinities Matter
Blumberg, R Lesser et al. (eds.) 1995. EnGENDERing Wealth and Well-being: Empowerment for Global Change
Boserup, E 1970. Woman's Role in Economic Development
Brydon, L & S. Chant 1989. Women in the Third World: Gender issues in rural and urban areas
Desai, V & R. Potter (eds) 2002. The Companion to Development Studies
Elson, D (ed.) 1995. Male Bias in the Development Process
Ethnic and Racial Studies 2000: 23 (5) Special Issue on 'Women, Culture and Development' (Online)
Guijt, I & M. Shah (eds.) 1998. The Myth of Community: Gender Issues in Participatory Development
*Henshall Momsen, J 2004. Gender & Development
Kabeer, N & Subrahmanian, R (eds) 1999. Institutions, Relations & Outcomes
Kapadia, K (ed.) 2002. The violence of development: the politics of identity, gender & social inequalities in India
Momsen, J & V. Kinnaird (eds) 1993. Different Places, Different Voices: Gender and Development in Africa, Asia and Latin America
Nang-Ling Chow, E (ed) 2002: Transforming Gender and Development in East Asia, esp Ch.2.
Saunders, K (ed) 2002: Feminist Post Development Thought 2002
Sen, G & C. Grown 1998. Development, Crises and Alternative Visions
Tinker, I (ed.) 1990. Persistent Inequalities: Women and World Development
You should also browse in the general development periodicals, including
Development:
Journal of the Society for International Development
*Gender & Development
Institute of Development Studies IDS Bulletin
Journal of Development Studies
Journal of Peasant Studies
Population and Development Review
World Development
Development and Change
The main feminist journals sometimes carry articles on gender and development, e.g.
Feminist Review; Feminist Studies; Signs; Women's Studies International Forum
If you have particular regional interests, check out journals with the relevant regional focus, e.g.
Review of African Political Economy; Contributions to Indian Sociology
THE LIBRARY HAS HARD COPIES OF THESE JOURNALS AND MANY ARE ALSO AVAILABLE ON-LINE. A MAJORITY OF THE ARTICLES LISTED BELOW ARE AVAILABLE ELECTRONICALLY (ALL KEY READINGS ARE EITHER ON LEARN OR ONLINE) BUT BOOKS ARE ESSENTIAL TOO. THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR GETTING UP AND GOING TO THE LIBRARY
There are also numerous important and useful websites that can give you leads on how development organisations and so forth address gender issues.
For instance:
Department for International Development (DFID) http://www.dfid.gov.uk
United Nations http://www.un.org
UNIFEM http://www.unifem.undp.org
UN Research Institute for Social Development http://www.unrisd.org (numerous reports on gender issues)
World Bank http://worldbank.org
Institute of Development Studies http://www.ids.ac.uk
Millenium Development Goals http://ddp-ext.worldbank.org/ext/MDG/homePages.do
Amnesty http://www.amnestyusa.org/women/reports
Siyanda (database on Gender and Development) http://www.siyanda.org
Excellent practical resources include:
N. Kabeer: Gender Mainstreaming in Poverty Eradication and the Millennium Development Goals 2003 Commonwealth Secretariat/International Development Research Centre (Browse online http://www.idrc.ca
C. March et al. A Guide to Gender Analysis Frameworks 1999 Oxford: Oxfam Publishing. (HQ1240 Mar)
A.. Hardon et al. Monitoring Family Planning and Reproductive Rights 1997 London: Zed Books (HQ766 Mon)
S. Williams The Oxfam Gender Training Manual, 1994, Oxford, Oxfam publishing (F.30124(5-8) Wil).)
Unesco. 1997: Gender Sensitivity: A Training Manual: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0010/001091/109112eo.pdf
Mukhopadhyay, M and Wong, F (eds) 2007: Gender, Society & Development: Revisiting gender training. The making and remaking of gender knowledge. A global sourcebook. KIT (Royal Tropical Institute), The Netherlands; Oxfam GB: http://www.kit.nl/net/KIT_Publicaties_output/ShowFile2.aspx?e=1031 |
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
Course organiser | Dr Ayaz Qureshi
Tel: (0131 6)51 5361
Email: ayaz.qureshi@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Morag Wilson
Tel: (0131 6)51 5122
Email: morag.wilson@ed.ac.uk |
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