The course aims to explore the implications of gender and feminist perspectives on politics and the study of politics. One of the main goals of the course is to gain a deeper understanding of the ways in which gender and gender inequality shape institutions, policies, and political processes, as well as the way states affect gender relations, the political construction of gender, and political mobilization based on gender.
This course provides an overview of some key topics in politics and gender. In this course, how and why politics is gendered will be discussed. In this course, the current global problems and issues about gender will be studied after introducing the basic concepts, theories and arguments about gender and politics. This course will try to explain the questions like; what the difference between sex and gender is, how can equality between women and men be achieved, why does it matter that there are fewer women than men in political institutions and how and why have feminist argued that the state could be an important vehicle for change for women. The topics that will be covered during the lectures are feminist theories on states, gender and political behavior, gender and political institutions, the politics of presence, gender and media, the relations between immigration and gender.
Vertical Tabs
Course Learning Outcomes
| Learning Outcomes | Program Learning Outcomes | Teaching Methods | Assessment Methods |
| Students learn the basic concepts of gender and politics. | 1,3,6 | 1,2,3,4 | A,C |
| Students can discuss how and why politics is gendered. | 3,5,7 | 1,2,3,4 | A,C |
| Students have a good command of historical development of feminism in world and Turkey. | 1,2,3 | 1,2,3,4 | A,C |
| Become familiar with policies in increasing representation and participation of women in social and political life | 1,2,3 | 1,2,3,4 | A,C |
| Students can critically assess the arguments for and against greater gender equality in different political institutions, and the mechanisms for achieving this. | 7,10,11,12 | 1,2,3,4 | A,C |
| Students can understand some of the key issues regarding gender in international relations, particularly with respect to development and to immigration; | 1,2,16 | 1,2,3,4 | A,C |
Course Flow
| CONTENT | |||
| Week | Topics | ||
| 1 | Introduction to Gender and Politics | Waylen, Georgina et al. (eds). The Oxford Handbook of Gender and Politics. Oxford University Press, Ch 1 | |
| 2 | History of Feminism in World and Turkey and Feminist Political Thought |
Beasley, C. (1999) What is Feminism: An Introduction to Feminist Theory. London: Sage
Bryson, V. (1999) Feminist Debates: Issues of Theory and Political Practice. London: Macmillan
Sirman, N. (1989). Feminism in Turkey: A Short History. New Perspectives on Turkey, 3, 1–34 |
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| 3 | Definition of gender and its basic concepts and theoretical contributions |
Fukuyama, F. (1998) ‘Women and the Evolution of World Politics’, Foreign Affairs 77 (5): 24-39.
Sapiro, V. (1998) ‘Feminist Studies and Political Science- and Vice-Versa’ in Phillips, A. (ed.) Feminism and Politics, pp. 55-76. |
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| 4 | Intersectionality |
Williams Crenshaw, Kimberlé. "Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity, Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color” in The public nature of private violence (1994): 93-118.
Arat, Y. 1997. ‘The Project of Modernity and Women in Turkey’, in S. Bozdoğan and R. Kasaba (eds.), Rethinking Modernity and National Identity in Turkey, Seattle and London, University of Washington Press: 95-112
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| 5 | Gender and Political Behavior |
Stevens, A. (2007) Women Power and Politics. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Ch. 2 ‘Women as Citizens’, Ch. 3 ‘Women as Voters’
Norris, P. and Inglehart, R. (2000) ‘The Developmental Theory of the Gender Gap: Women and Men’s Voting Behaviour in Global Perspective’. International Political Science Review 21 (4): 441-462. |
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| 6 | Gender and State |
Catharine MacKinnon, Towards a Feminist Theory of the State, Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1989, 157-170.
Waylen, G. (1998) ‘Gender, Feminism and the State: an Overview’ in Randall, V. and Waylen, G. (eds.) Gender, Politics and the State. New York: Routledge. |
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| 7 | Gender and Political Institutions and Politics of Presence |
Stevens, A. (2007) Women Power and Politics. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Ch. 4,6 and 8.
Kenworthy, L. and Malami, M. (1999).‘Gender Inequality in Political Representation: A Worldwide Comparative Analysis’, Social Forces, 78(1): 235-69.
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| 8 | Midterm | ||
| 9 | Gender and IR |
Steans, J. (2006). Gender and International Relations: Issues, Debates and Future Directions. Oxford: Polity Press.
Youngs, G. (2004). Feminist International Relations: a contradiction in terms? Or: why women and gender are essential to understanding the world ‘we’ live in.’ International Affairs 80 (1): 75-87.
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| 10 | Gender and Human Rights |
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| 11 | Gender and Immigration |
Christiane Harzig, ‘Women Migrants as Global and Local Agents: New Research Strategies on Gender and Migration’, in: Pamela Sharpe (ed.), Women, Gender and Labour Migration. Historical and Global Perspectives (London and New York 2001) 15-28.
Eleonore Kofman et. al., Gender and International Migration in Europe. Employment, Welfare and Politics. 2000 Ch. 2: Gender and Migration Theory, 21-43. |
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| 12 | Gender and Development |
Craig, J. (2007) ‘Development’ in Blakeley, G. and Bryson, V. (eds.) The Impact of Feminism on Political Concepts and Debates. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Staudt, K. (2008) Politics, Gender and Concepts: Theory and Methodology. Chapter 7 ‘Gendering Development’,Cambridge University Press. |
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| 13 | Gender and Media |
D. Gauntlett, Media, Gender and Identity, London and New York: Routledge, 2002. Chapter 3
Lawrence, Regina G. and Melody Rose. 2010. “Hillary Clinton in Context.” In Hillary Clinton’s Race for the White House: Gender Politics and the Media on the Campaign Trail. Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 73-108. |
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| 14 | Women’s Movements and Protests |
Emine Rezzan Karaman, "Remember, S/he Was Here Once: Mothers Call for Justice and Peace in Turkey." Journal of Middle East Women's Studies 12, no. 3 (2016): 382-410
Paxton, P., Hughes, M., and Green, J., (2006) ‘The International Women’s Movement and Women’s Political Representation, 1893-2003.’ American Sociological Review(71):898-920.
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| 15 |
Review
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| 16 | Final | ||
Recommended Sources
| SOURCES | |
| Textbooks |
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| Additional Sources |
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Material Sharing
| MATERIAL SHARING | |
| Documents | Materials will be provided via Moodle. |
| Assignments | Information about the assignment will be explained in lecture. |
| Exams | - |
Assessment
| ASSESSMENT | ||
| IN-TERM STUDIES | NUMBER | PERCENTAGE |
| Midterm | 1 | % 30 |
| Participation | 1 | % 10 |
| Homework | 1 | % 20 |
| Total | 100 | |
| Contribution Of Final Examination To Overall Grade | % 40 | |
| Contribution Of In-Term Studies To Overall Grade | % 60 | |
| Total | 100 | |
Course’s Contribution to Program
| COURSE'S CONTRIBUTION TO PROGRAM | |||||||
| No | Program Learning Outcomes | Contribution | |||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |||
| 1 | Students will demonstrate their comprehensive knowledge of the basic concepts and theories of Political Science and International Relations as well as other related disciplines such as Law, Economics and Sociology. | X | |||||
| 2 | Students will interpret the structure, institutions and operation of national, international and supranational entities via utilization of the concepts and theories of Political Science and International relations and produce project reports that include possible solutions to problems of such institutions when necessary. | X | |||||
| 3 | Students will demonstrate that they have developed a comparative, analytical and interdisciplinary approach vis-à-vis human societies and political systems. | X | |||||
| 4 | Students will have improved their skills and awareness of personal responsibility and team membership through conducting group or independent research projects, doing internships and producing their graduation dissertations. | X | |||||
| 5 | Students will demonstrate proficiency in quantitative and qualitative data collections methods. | X | |||||
| 6 | Students will prove their understanding of the rapidly-evolving dynamics of national and global environments requires constant self-assessment, life-long learning, and the ability to formulate innovative solutions to maintain their personal and professional development. | X | |||||
| 7 | Students should be able to critically evaluate the body of knowledge in political science, assess self-competency and direct self-learning efforts accordingly. | X | |||||
| 8 | Students will implement written and oral communication skills in English and Turkish in both academic and professional settings. | X | |||||
| 9 | Students should be able to effectively demonstrate their knowledge of written, oral and reading skills in English both in international institutional settings and follow and interpret the global dynamics of the International Relations discipline. | X | |||||
| 10 | Students will demonstrate their social skills and experience required by public or private institutions or in the academia. | X | |||||
| 11 | Students will show empathy and respect towards societies other than one’s own. | X | |||||
| 12 | Students should be able to effectively utilize computer and information technologies commonly-used in the social sciences. | X | |||||
| 13 | Students will interpret domestic and international developments and express opinions, having acquired advanced knowledge and proficiency in the via communication with international scholars and students. | X | |||||
| 14 | Students will respect personal, social and academic ethical norms. | X | |||||
| 15 | Students should understand the personal, social, and ecological dimensions of social responsibility, and show duties of active and global citizenship. | X | |||||
| 16 | Students should know that universality of social-political and legal rights and social justice are the principle components of contemporary society, and that scientific thinking is an essential prerequisite for maintaining social advancement and global competitiveness. | X | |||||
ECTS
| ECTS ALLOCATED BASED ON STUDENT WORKLOAD BY THE COURSE DESCRIPTION | |||
| Activities | Quantity |
Duration (Hour) |
Total Workload (Hour) |
| Course Duration (Including the exam week: 16x Total course hours) | 15 | 3 | 45 |
| Hours for off-the-classroom study (Pre-study, practice) | 15 | 3 | 45 |
| Mid-terms | 1 | 10 | 10 |
| Homework | 1 | 15 | 15 |
| Final examination | 1 | 10 | 10 |
| Total Work Load | 125 | ||
| Total Work Load / 25 (h) | 5 | ||
| ECTS Credit of the Course | 5 | ||