Universität Wien
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140214 VO+UE VM1 / VM7 - Gender, Conflict and Development (2015W)

Continuous assessment of course work
MOB

Schwerpunktthema: MOB

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 25 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

6.10.; 20.10.; 3.11.; 17.11.; 1.12.; 15.12.; 12.1.;
9h-12h im SR IE, Afrikawissenschaften

Dr. Sara de Jong

  • Tuesday 06.10. 09:00 - 12:00 (ehem. Seminarraum Internationale Entwicklung Afrikawissenschaften UniCampus Hof 5 2Q-EG-05)
  • Tuesday 20.10. 09:00 - 12:00 (ehem. Seminarraum Internationale Entwicklung Afrikawissenschaften UniCampus Hof 5 2Q-EG-05)
  • Tuesday 03.11. 09:00 - 12:00 (ehem. Seminarraum Internationale Entwicklung Afrikawissenschaften UniCampus Hof 5 2Q-EG-05)
  • Tuesday 17.11. 09:00 - 12:00 (ehem. Seminarraum Internationale Entwicklung Afrikawissenschaften UniCampus Hof 5 2Q-EG-05)
  • Tuesday 01.12. 09:00 - 12:00 (ehem. Seminarraum Internationale Entwicklung Afrikawissenschaften UniCampus Hof 5 2Q-EG-05)
  • Tuesday 15.12. 09:00 - 12:00 (ehem. Seminarraum Internationale Entwicklung Afrikawissenschaften UniCampus Hof 5 2Q-EG-05)
  • Tuesday 12.01. 09:00 - 12:00 (ehem. Seminarraum Internationale Entwicklung Afrikawissenschaften UniCampus Hof 5 2Q-EG-05)

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Security and development are increasingly understood and presented as intertwined and post-conflict interventions and development programmes often exist side-by-side. In light of this, this course addresses how international conflicts are gendered as well as the consequences and implications of this, from the perspective of conflict and gender studies, development and international relations. The course introduces theories of conflict and feminist perspectives on international relations and security and draws on this theoretical basis to analyse how different phases of conflict, such as peacekeeping and post-conflict reconstruction, are gendered and what consequences this has for people in terms of their safety, their rights, their political participation etc. Throughout the course, we will be reading theory-oriented texts next to empirical studies of specific conflicts as well as policy documents, learning about a wide range of geo-political contexts. We will shed light on the actions of the UN Security Council against violations of women's rights on the basis of Resolution 1325, as well as on the limitations of the Resolution. Other topics presented are (sexual) violence against women in conflict, masculinity and conflict, gender and the so-called 'war on terror' and women as agents of violence. We also discuss how women’s activism can shape the course of conflicts, how women can be players in conflict resolution, and what their opportunities are in terms of participating in the creation of new constitutions.

Assessment and permitted materials

Students will be expected to regularly attend and participate, and assessment will be both oral and written.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

After finishing the course, you will
• have been introduced to key thinkers and topics in the field of gender and conflict
• understand how conflicts and seemingly universal rights are gendered.
• be able to apply different conceptualisations of gender to the study of conflict, war, peace and international relations
• have gathered knowledge of the (gendered) implications of contemporary international conflicts and of the mechanisms of negotiation processes.
• have learned about the different dimensions and levels, such as the grassroots, the international community and the nation-state, that need to be taken into consideration when studying gender and conflict

Examination topics

In this course, students are expected to participate actively in classroom discussions and to bring in and respond to materials relating to the topics addressed. The specified compulsory reading (book chapters and articles) needs to be studied autonomously. In every session we will discuss the literature together and critically assess its contributions, as well as applying it to primary documents, such as policy documents. The three hour sessions will generally combine a lecture format in which the readings can be contextualised and difficult terms clarified, with interactive exercises and discussions.

Reading list

Selected and Preliminary Literature: Shepherd, L. J. (2010) ‘Sex or Gender? Bodies in World Politics and Why Gender Matters’ in: Gender Matters in Global Politics: A Feminist Introduction to International Relations (ed. L. J. Shepherd). London: Routledge, pp. 3-16; Masters, C. (2010) ‘Cyborg Soldiers and Militarised Masculinities’ in: Gender Matters in Global Politics: A Feminist Introduction to International Relations (ed. L. J. Shepherd). London: Routledge, pp. 176-185; Parpart, J. K. (2008) ‘Masculiniy/ies, gender and violence in the struggle for Zimbabwe’, in: Rethinking the Man Question: Sex, Gender and Violence in International Relations (eds. J. L. Parpart and M. Zalewski). London: Zed Books, pp. 181-202. Higate, P. and Henry, M. (2004) “Engendering (In)Security in Peace Support Operations”, Security Dialogue, 35(4): 481-498; Puechguirbal, N. (2010) ‘Peacekeeping, Peacebuilding and Post-Conflict Resolution’, in: Gender Matters in Global Politics: A Feminist Introduction to International Relations (ed. L. J. Shepherd). London: Routledge, pp. 161-175; Whitworth, S. (2004) ‘Canada: Peacekeeping Country Par Excellence?’, in: Men, Militarism and UN Peacekeeping. London: Lynne Rienner Publishers, pp. 85-117; Al-Ali, N and N. Pratt (2009) ‘The Use and Abuse of Iraqi Women’ in: What Kind of Liberation? Women and the Occupation of Iraq. Berkeley: University of California Press, pp. 55-85; Lori Handrahan (2004) ‘Conflict, Gender, Ethnicity and Post-Conflict Reconstruction’, Security Dialogue, 35(4): 429-445; Megan MacKenzie, M. (2009) ‘Securitization and Desecuritization: Female Soldiers and the Reconstruction of Women in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone’, Security Studies, 18(2): 241-261; Utas, M. (2005) ‘Victimcy, Girlfriending, Soldiering: Tactic Agency in a Young Woman’s Social Navigation of the Liberian War Zone’, Anthropological Quarterly, vol. 78, no 2, 2005. pp 403-430; Cockburn, C. (2007)’Methodology of Women’s Protest’ in: From Where we Stand: War, women’s Activism and Feminist Analysis. London: Zed Books, pp. 156-180; Erickson, J. and C. Faria (2011) ‘“We want empowerment for our women”: Transnational Feminism, Neoliberal Citizenship and the Gendering of Women’s Political Subjectivity in Postconflict South Sudan’, Signs, 36(3): 627-652; Moghadam, V. M. (2010) ‘Transnational Activism’ in: Gender Matters in Global Politics: A Feminist Introduction to International Relations (ed. L. J. Shepherd). London: Routledge, pp. 292-306; Alison, M. (2004) ‘Women as Agents of Political Violence: Gendering Security’, Security Dialogue, 325(4): 447-463; Sjoberg, L. and Gentry, C. E. (2007) Black Widows in Chechnya’ in: Mothers, Monsters, Whores: Women’s Violence in Global Politics. London: Zed Books, pp. 88-111; Fox, M. (2004) ‘Girl Soldiers: Human Security and Gendered Insecurity’, Security Dialogue, 4(35):465-479; Pupavac, V. (2010) ‘Weaving Postwar Reconstruction in Bosnia? The Attractions and Limitations of NGO Gender Development Approaches’, Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, 4(4): 475-493; Thi Nguyen, M. (2011) ‘The Biopower of Beauty: Humanitarian Imperialisms and Global Feminisms in an Age of Terror’, Signs, 36(2): 359-383; Hansen, L. (2010) ‘Ontologies, Epistemologies, Methodologies’ in: Gender Matters in Global Politics: A Feminist Introduction to International Relations (ed. L. J. Shepherd). London: Routledge, pp. 17-27; Cockburn, C. (2010) ‘Militarism and War’, in: Gender Matters in Global Politics: A Feminist Introduction to International Relations (ed. L. J. Shepherd). London: Routledge, pp. 105-115.

Association in the course directory

VM1, VM7

Last modified: We 21.04.2021 13:31