Postgraduate Course: Working with Feminist Theory (SCIL11043)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course focuses on exploring how feminist theory is put into practice in research. We start with exploring key questions such as what it is, who gets to make feminist theory, what forms it takes, how to use feminist theory, and critically what is feminist theory for, how feminist theory contributes to the production of feminist knowledge and some key conflicts in feminist theory. The course then takes a key theme in feminism, and uses this as a focus for a deep dive into examining how researchers have put feminist theory into practice, with students then engaging in group projects to work with these concepts themselves. Initially the course theme will be feminist theory on nature. |
| Course description |
This course is intended as a very practical course providing a deep dive into how researchers use feminist theory in exploring the social world. Thus a small range of feminist theory will be introduced (which may vary from year to year, related to staff interests) as a basis for exploring how theories and concepts have been put to work in practice. The course will begin with a first session offering an introduction to feminist theory. The course will then consist of series of sessions where firstly, a key feminist theorist or concept is introduced; secondly, there will be a focus on exploring a range of texts where researchers put this theory into practice and finally, students will prepare group presentations, including critical reflection on the work which was gone into the presentations, providing an element of experiential learning to the course. The course is delivered in ten weekly sessions of 3 hours. Classes will be participatory, involving a mixture of mini-lectures, group activities and discussions, as well as dedicated class time for working on group projects and presentations together, so that students are well-resourced for their assignments. There will be two assignments, involving reflection on the projects and presentations. The course is thus also useful for students intending to use feminist theory in their dissertations.
The course is open to those without previous background in feminist theory, although it does not provide an extended introduction to key questions in feminist theory, nor is it intended as a survey course, introducing a different feminist theorist or concept across ten weeks. Initially the course theme will be feminist theory on nature.
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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 |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 10,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
166 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
60 %,
Practical Exam
40 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
40%: Reflective piece of writing on group presentation , 1000 words
60%: Final essay,2500 words
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| Feedback |
Feedback on all assessed work shall normally be returned within three weeks of submission. Where this is not possible, students shall be given clear expectations regarding the timing and methods of feedback. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- demonstrate a critical understanding of feminist theory, including questions around who gets to define, name and use feminist theory, and the form that feminist theory takes
- demonstrate a critical understanding of how feminist researchers use feminist concepts in their research
- apply feminist concepts themselves to examine aspects of social life
- reflect on their own learning, including their own deployment of feminist theory
- reflect on working with others, including on the process of producing feminist knowledge collaboratively
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Reading List
Ahmed, S (2017). Living a feminist life. Duke.
Christian, B. (1987). The race for theory. Cultural Critique, (6), 51-63.
Connell, R. (2020). Southern theory: The global dynamics of knowledge in social science. Routledge.
hooks, b. (1991). Theory as liberatory practice. Yale Journal of Law & Feminism, 4, 1.
Smith, L. T. (2021). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and indigenous peoples. Bloomsbury Publishing. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
1. Taking responsibility for undertaking core and shared activities.
2. Organisational skills in working in team contexts, organising divisions of labour, and agreeing hands-on shared working strategies.
3. Group and inter-personal skills in working cooperatively with peers, developing collective strategies and sharing ideas and competencies.
4. Individual skills and ability in planning and executing a larger piece of individual work.
5. Making effective use of oral, written and visual means to critique, negotiate, create and communicate understanding
6. Cultivating close reading practices on original and secondary texts
7. Developing communication skills as a means of collaborating and relating to others
Acquiring active listening skills, especially to support critical reflexivity and responsiveness to peers
8. Seeking and valuing open feedback to inform genuine self-awareness
9. Being both adaptive and proactively responsive to changing social contexts
10. Having the confidence to make decisions based on their understandings and their personal and intellectual autonomy
11. Transferring their knowledge, learning, skills and abilities from one context to another
12. Understanding and acting on social, cultural, global and environmental responsibilities, and helping others to do the same |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Niamh Moore
Tel: (0131 6)50 8260
Email: Niamh.Moore@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | |
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