Module PHL3041 for 2018/9
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
PHL3041: Feminist Philosophy
This module descriptor refers to the 2018/9 academic year.
Module Aims
This module aims to
- teach you theories of difference and equality
- provide you with an understanding for the historical development of feminist theory and practice
- engage you in current debates about discrimination and equality, biology and difference
- develop your skills in analysis, argument, discussion, and writing
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
---|---|
Module-Specific Skills | 1. Demonstrate comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the theories and problems discussed in the course 2. Demonstrate in-depth understanding of the methodological and conceptual problems of critique |
Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. Demonstrate a high level of understanding of the interrelation between theories, values, and political conditions 4. Demonstrate sound knowledge of different types of philosophical social and political analysis |
Personal and Key Skills | 5. Conduct research independently and to discuss complex present-day issues 6. Demonstrate a high level of ability in writing reflective academic essays 7. Present your own analyses of the implications theories have on the kinds of arguments which people put forth as convincing in political debates |
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:
- The beginnings of feminist theory in the 18th and 19th Century
- The developments in 20th Century and current Feminism
- Feminist Epistemology
- Theories of Difference
- Standpoint Theory
- Feminist Ethics
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
---|---|---|
22 | 128 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
Category | Hours of study time | Description |
---|---|---|
Scheduled learning activity | 11 | 11 x 1 hour lectures |
Scheduled learning activity | 11 | 11 x 1 hour seminar |
Guided independent study | 66 | 6 x 11 hrs weekly reading and working through assigned articles and books |
Guided independent study | 20 | Preparing presentation and handout |
Guided independent study | 42 | Independent research and writing of course essay |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
---|---|---|---|
Essay plan | 1 page | 1-7 | Oral |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
---|---|---|
70 | 0 | 30 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
---|---|---|---|---|
Individual presentation and handout on a course reading | 30 | 10 minutes, 500 words | 1-5, 7 | Oral and written |
Essay | 70 | 3,500 words | 1-7 | Oral and written |
0 | ||||
0 | ||||
0 | ||||
0 |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
---|---|---|---|
Presentation and summary/seminar handout | 1000 word essay on a course reading | 1-7 | August/September assessment period |
Essay | 3,500 words | 1-7 | August/September assessment period |
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
The reading list and seminar texts for the course can be found on the ELE page. Basic readings include the following sources:
- Angela Davis: Women, Race and Class, 1983
- Sandra Harding (ed): The feminist theory standpoint reader: Intellectual and political controversies (2004) New York: Routledge
- Harriet Taylor-Mill: The Enfranchisement of Women, (1851), in: Ann Robson: Sexual Equality, A John Stuart Mill, Harriet Taylor Mill, and Helen Taylor Reader (1994), Toronto University Press. See reference at http://womhist.alexanderstreet.com/awrm/doc15.htm .
- Mary Wollstonecraft: A Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792) online at: http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/pdfs/wollstonecraft1792.pdf .
- A Companion to Feminist Philosophy, Alison Jaggar and Iris M. Young (eds), Blackwell, Cambridge, 1998
- Nancy Fraser, Fortunes of Feminism, Verso 2013
And sections/chapters from
- Judith Butler ‘Gender Trouble
- Tom Digby (ed) Men Doing Feminism, Routledge 1998
- Sandra Harding: Postcolonial and Feminist Philosophy of Science and Technology (2009)
- Carol Gilligan: In A Different Voice (1982), Harvard University Press.
- Seyla Benhabib, Judith Butler, Drucilla Cornell and Nancy Fraser: Feminist Contentions: A Philosophical Exchange (Thinking Gender) (1995), Routledge.
- Cressida Heyes, Feminist solidarity after queer theory: The case of transgender, Signs, Summer 2003, 28(4), pp. 1093-1120
- Uma Narayan and Sandra Harding (eds.): Decentering the Center: Philosophy for a Multicultural Postcolonial and Feminist World (2000), Indiana University Press.
ELE – http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/