Module POL3217 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
POL3217: Feminist Political Theory
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Aims
This module considers feminist theory from a variety of perspectives in order to convey to students the interdisciplinary importance of feminism. The module will encourage you to engage in close reading of influential feminist thinkers, such as Simone de Beauvoir, Iris Marion Young, Judith Butler, Carol Pateman, and Nancy Fraser. The course will proceed in three parts: 1) laying a conceptual foundation through close reading 2) using concepts learned to critique mainstream ideas and 3) arguing for practical solutions to contemporary political problems. The first part of the course will give a broad historical account of the emergence of the second, third, and fourth waves of feminism and will give an overview of the major conceptual insights of feminist theory, such as the historical privileging of masculinity over femininity, the tension between equality and sexual difference, the inescapability of gender identity, and the problem of intersectionality. The second part of the course will build on this conceptual knowledge through the application of feminist insights to contemporary political theory. It will look at the critiques posed by prominent feminist theorists of many of the central tenets of liberalism, including autonomy, property, the social contract, and human rights. The third part of the course will involve reading feminist theorists who offer alternative ways of understanding and practicing politics that have arisen as answers to the problems with mainstream political theory raised by feminism. These include care ethics, cultivating “epistemic justice”, and advocating feminist practices like consciousness raising. You will gain both a deeper understanding of the systematic inequality of women around the world and a practical toolkit for critiquing and ameliorating social injustice.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
---|---|
Module-Specific Skills | 1. Understand in depth the historical and philosophical underpinnings of a prominent political phenomenon. 2. Critically evaluate different understandings of feminism. |
Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. Perform close readings and analysis of complex theoretical texts. 4. Articulate complex theoretical concepts and apply these to practical political problems. |
Personal and Key Skills | 5. Engage in conversations with others about complex political problems. 6. Write a well-organized and well-argued essay defending a single argument. |
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 |
---|---|---|---|
Socratic Method | 40 minutes | 1-5 | Verbal Comments |
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 |
---|---|---|
85 | 0 | 15 |
...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 | 15 | 15 minutes | 1-5 | Written Comments |
Essay 1 | 20 | 1,500 words | 1-6 | Written Comments |
Essay 2 | 20 | 1,500 words | 1-6 | Written Comments |
Essay 3 | 45 | 3,000 words | 1-6 | Written Comments |
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 |
---|---|---|---|
Essay 1 | 1,500 word essay | 1-6 | August/September Assessment Period |
Essay 2 | 1,500 word essay | 1-6 | August/September assessment period |
Essay 3 | 3,000 word essay | 1-6 | August/September Assessment Period |
Presentation | Face-to-face presentation | 1-5 | Term 3 |