Undergraduate Module Descriptor

POL3246: Gender and Militarism in West Africa

This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 academic year.

Module Aims

The module aims to introduce you to the dynamic impact of gender as a unit of analysis in understanding the workings of militaries of state and the relationship between the international and the local in exploring the current policies of gender integration in the military. It also encourages the use of a more global perspective in exploring the issues of gender politics in the contemporary military, the interplay between the macro and micro levels of military and gender politics and understanding the connections between local context and international gender policy outcomes in the military.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills1. Critically appreciate the interplay between local context and military gender politics from a global perspective.
2. Demonstrate a critical understanding of non-western militaries, their gendered culture and how this responds to international norms and policies of gender compared to non-western ones.
Discipline-Specific Skills3. Critically reflect on key elements of the debates regarding women in military participation, gender and gender integration processes in the militaries of non-Western and Western states.
4. Display awareness of a range of theoretical and conceptual frameworks to understand the complex and changing interaction between gender perceptions and the military.
Personal and Key Skills5. Demonstrate an ability to problematize settled ‘truths’ and assumptions about gender perceptions, social culture and the identity of the military and our knowledge of these.
6. Demonstrate awareness of contingency in historical sociological processes.
7. Study independently and manage time and assessment deadlines effectively.
8. Communicate effectively in speech and writing.
9. Demonstrate critical and analytical skills through tutorial discussions and module assessments.
10. Demonstrate proficiency in the use of the internet, online journal databases and other IT resources for the purposes of tutorial and assessment preparation.
11. Demonstrate effective applied writing.

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 gendered military: how norms and practices shaped the military,
  • Feminism on women in the military,
  • Increased Women participation and integration in the contemporary military: the issue of combat,
  • The Nigerian military and a gender integrationist policy,
  • Gender integration policies and contextual impact in Western and non-Western militaries,
  • Degendered and Regendered military

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching ActivitiesGuided independent studyPlacement / study abroad
221280

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled Learning & Teaching Activities2211 x 2-hour seminars
Guided Independent Study 50Private study – reading and preparing for seminars
Guided Independent Study 78Preparation for essay and unseen exam – including researching and collating relevant sources; planning the structure and argument; writing up the essay

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).

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.

DAYIL, P. B., AND THE CLEEN FOUNDATION 2011. Nigeria. In: GAANDERSE, M., VALASEK, K. (ed.) The Security Sector and Gender in West Africa: a Survey of Police, Defence, Justice and Penal Services in Ecowas States Geneva: The Geneva Center for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF).

GOLDSTEIN, J. S. 2001. War and Gender: How Gender Shapes the War System and Vice Versa, Cambridge, United Kingdom, Cambridge University Press.

SJOBERG, L. & VIA, S. 2010. Gender, war, and militarism: feminist perspectives, Santa Barbara, Califonia: ABC-CLIO.

AKINKUNMI, A.A. 2018. Hubris: a Brief political history of the Nigerian Army. Army publishing services.

PADDOCK, A. 2018. The Women’s War of 1929. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History. http://oxfordre.com/africanhistory/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277734-e-271?print=pdf

STIEHM, J. H. 1983. The protected, the protector, the defender. Women's Studies International Forum. Elsevier, 367-376.

CARREIRAS, H. 2006. Gender and the Military: Women in the Armed Forces of Western Democracies, Routledge.

COHN, C. 2000. “How Can She Claim Equal Rights When She Doesn't Have to Do as Many Push-Ups as I Do?” The Framing of Men's Opposition to Women's Equality in the Military. Men and Masculinities, 3, 131-151.

OMBATI, M. 2015. Feminine masculinities in the military. African Security Review, 24, 403-413.

OGEGE, S. O. 2011. Gender Roles Differentiation and Social Mobility of Women in Nigeria. Journal of Social Science, 27, 67-74.

COCKBURN, C. 2004. Militarism, male power and the persistence of war. Militarism and male violence. London: European Social Forum.