240076 SE VM6 / VM7 - Geographies of Gender and War in the Global South (2021W)

Course Description and Method:This course introduces key interdisciplinary approaches to studying how armed and militarized conflict is gendered in the 'global south. The course combines several approaches: first, it applies a critical geography approach that interrogates the Center-Periphery, North-South power relations. Second, it combines intersectional feminist theoretical approaches with concrete cases of armed conflict in the global south, including cases from the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Africa all marked as 'peripheral' to various degrees. This combined intersectional approach allows students to closely examine the ways in which gender and sexuality function as central aspects of war and peace in the Global South. In particular, we pay special attention to understanding notions of nationalism, militarized masculinities and femininities, sexual violence during wartime, justice and peace.We begin with studying feminist theories of armed conflict which view violence as a continuum. We will examine the argument that such a continuum also includes 'post-conflict' periods as well as justice and reconciliation efforts. We move to understanding the role that gender and sexuality play in state politics, national ideologies, militarism, and the construction of masculinities and femininities in both the 'center' empires and the 'periphery' of conflict. We then move to addressing the difficult topic of sexual violence against women and men during and post armed conflict. We end with examining available tools that address such injustices, and the politics of moving on.Learning Goals:- Gain an interdisciplinary and intersectional understanding of feminist approaches to armed conflict from a gendered perspective.- Analyze binaries of North-South, Center-Periphery by applying a critical geographic approach.- Learn how to critically engage with an academic article and how to read it in relation to the geographical and academic contexts from which it emerges.- Critically assess and compare class readings according to the theoretical arguments put forward and the methods used to construct those arguments.- Enhance the student’s skills in delivering concise academic presentations and developing their academic writing.- Encourage learning from peers, giving and receiving critical constructive feedback, and respectful academic engagement with sensitive topics.- Produce a well-written academic research paper that engages analytically and theoretically with the assigned readings and demonstrates the student’s ability to research a new topic.