Module Information

Module Identifier
IP36720
Module Title
Gender, Conflict and Security
Academic Year
2013/2014
Co-ordinator
Dr Jennifer Gayle Mathers
Semester
Semester 2
Other Staff
 

Course Delivery

Delivery Type Delivery length / details
Lecture 16 Hours (16 x 1 hour)
Seminars / Tutorials 8 Hours (8 x 1 hour)
 

Assessment

Assessment Type Assessment length / details Proportion
Semester Assessment Seminar performance  10%
Semester Assessment 1 x 3,000 word essay  45%
Semester Assessment 1 x 3,000 word essay  45%
Supplementary Assessment 1 x 1,000 word assignment, in lieu of seminar performance  10%
Supplementary Assessment 1 x 3,000 word essay, if essay element failed  45%
Supplementary Assessment 1 x 3,000 word essay, if essay element failed  45%

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

1. Discuss key concepts such as gender and security in relation to the academic study of international relations.
2. Apply these key concepts to specific historical and contemporary cases.
3. Analyze the significance of masculinity and femininity in relation to conflict and security.
4. Compare the ways in which gender and security interact in Western and non-Western contexts.
5. Discuss the ways in which civilians and combatants are affected by the gendered dimensions of security.
6. Evaluate efforts by nation states and the international community to introduce gender mainstreaming into areas such as peacekeeping, conflict resolution and post-conflict reconstruction.
7. Assess the usefulness of theoretical approaches that link men with violence and warfare and women with peace.
8. Evaluate a range of explanations for the relative invisibility of gender in the study and practice of security.

Brief description

This module will consider the relationship between gender, conflict and security, with emphasis on the post-1945 period. Students will engage with academic debates about the ways in which security and conflict are gendered and will explore the issues raised in these debates in detail by considering a range of historical and contemporary cases.

Content

Lectures
1.Introduction: exploring the meanings of gender, conflict and security
2. The project of gendering the study of IR and security
3. Femininities and masculinities in war and peace
4. Gendering peace activism in the West and in the developing world
5. Gender and political violence: concepts and debates
6. Gender and political violence: cases
7. Child soldiers: why do boys and girls go to war?
8. Child soldiers in the post-conflict period: becoming civilians again
9. Displaced persons and refugees: gendered ways of surviving
10. Displaced persons and refugees: cases
11. Gender-based violence in war: debates and dilemmas
12. Gender-based violence in war: cases
13. Gender and United Nations Security Council Resolutions
14. Peacekeeping as a gendered activity
15. Gender and the return to peace
16. Gender, conflict and security: concluding thoughts


Seminars:
1. Gendering conflict and security
2. Is peace activism women’s work?
3. Men, women and political violence
4. Child soldiers: when boys and girls go to war
5. Displaced persons and refugees
6. Gender-based violence in war: targeting men and women
7. Making Women Part of the Solution? UN Security Council Resolutions and Peacekeeping
8. Gender and the Post-Conflict Return to ‘Peace’

Aims

This module adds to Departmental provision in the area of security studies by providing a sustained focus on the relationship between gender and security.

Module Skills

Skills Type Skills details
Application of Number N/A
Communication Students will learn how to present their ideas both verbally and in writing and how to how to present their arguments most effectively. They will learn the importance of information and clear communication and how to exploit these. They will know how to use the many sources of information available and how to use the most appropriate form of communication to best advantage. They will learn to be clear in their writing and speaking and to be direct about aims and objectives. They will learn to consider only that which is relevant to the topic, focus and objectives of their argument or discussion. This module will particularly test aural and oral communication skills as it involves assessed seminar performance. Students will also be required to submit their essays in word-processed format and the presentation of work should reflect effective expression of ideas and good use of language skills in order to ensure clarity, coherence and effective communication.
Improving own Learning and Performance The module aims to promote self-management but within a context in which support and assistance is available from both the convenor and fellow students alike. Students will be expected to improve their own learning and performance by undertaking their own research and exercising their own initiative, including searching for sources and deciding (under guidance) the direction of their coursework and presentation topics. The need to prepare for assessed seminar participation and to meet coursework deadlines will focus students’ attention on the need to manage their time.
Information Technology Students will be expected to submit their work in word-processed format. Also, students will be encouraged to search for sources of information on the web, as well as seeking sources through electronic information sources (such as Web of Science and OCLC). Students will also be expected to make use of the resources that will be available on the Blackboard VLE.
Personal Development and Career planning This module is designed to hone and test skills of use to students in their working lives, particularly in speaking to small groups, listening, thinking and responding to the statement of others. Moreover, the written work includes writing clearly and concisely, which is a common task in the workplace. Students will be encouraged throughout to reflect on their performance and to consider lessons for future application.
Problem solving Independent project work and problem solving will be one central goal of the module; the submission of two essays and preparation for seminar discussions will require that students develop independent research skills as well as problem solving skills. The ability of students to solve problems will be developed and assessed by asking them to: adopt differing points of view; organize data and estimate an answer to the problem; consider extreme cases; reason logically; construct theoretical models; consider similar cases; look for patterns; divide issues into smaller problems.
Research skills Students will be required to undertake independent research for all elements of the assessed work. This will involve utilizing media and web sources, as well as more conventional academic texts. Students will in part be assessed on their ability to gather appropriate and interesting resources materials.
Subject Specific Skills Students have the opportunity to develop, practice and test a wide range of subject specific skills that help them to understand, conceptualise and evaluate examples and ideas on the module. These subject specific skills include: • Collect and understand a wide range of data relating to the module • Evaluate competing perspectives • Demonstrate subject specific research techniques • Apply a range of methodologies to complex historical and contemporary political problems
Team work Students will undertake team exercises in the seminars. Blackboard facilities such as the blog will also be used and students will be encouraged to contribute their comments to the entries.

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6