Annotation
This course gives basic introductory knowledge about Women's and Gender Studies, an interdisciplinary academic field that explores critical questions about dynamic nature of gender in society. The course will offer brief introductions to critical theories in order to illustrate the basic approaches through intersections between gender and race, sexuality, social class and other modes of social difference.
In this course, students will familiarize themselves with important concepts, theories, and methods of Gender Studies and with contemporary developments in this field. Students will gain familiarity with basic concepts, debates, and applications in feminist research. Throughout the semester, we will explore the ways how gender, power, privilege, and oppression shape our experiences as individuals and members of communities.
Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
- To identify and explain key terms and core concepts that are central to feminisms and gender theory
- To examine and understand the processes of social construction of gender
- To understand the links among relationships between gender, sexuality, class, race, and other forms of difference and how power and social location affects oppression and resistance
- To distinguish between individual attitudes and institutionalized forms of discrimination
- To apply the concepts and theories of gender studies to one’s life experiences
This class will be composed of lectures and class/group discussions based on the material that is assigned for each class. This course will use a variety of teaching and learning tools including lectures, discussions, group work, presentations and related media. Students will be expected to complete the required readings prior to class and to come to each lecture prepared with questions and comments on the assigned materials.
The details of organization of class and communication will be clarified during the first introduction lesson.
The organizational platform and source of readings will be Moodle (Introduction to Gender Studies - https://dl1.cuni.cz/enrol/index.php?id=9008). The password to Moodle will be provided during the first class session.