Violence and (In)security (IR) (966M1)
Violence and (In)security: Feminist, Queer and Anti-colonial perspectives
Module 966M1
Module details for 2024/25.
30 credits
FHEQ Level 7 (Masters)
Module Outline
This unit produces a critical, interdisciplinary take on war, violence and security from feminist perspectives that foreground the 鈥渋ntersectionality鈥 of different power relations, including postcolonial, decolonial, Critical Indigenous, transnational, Black studies, critical disability and queer approaches. How are different forms and sites of violence connected? How do technologies of gender, sex, disability and race shape understandings of certain practices of violence as political, lawful, legitimate and/or necessary? What are the (feminist) ethics of researching and reproducing violence and suffering? What are the prospects and limits of the (International) law for peace and justice?
Among the themes we will explore are the erotics of conquest and slavery; military masculinities; drones and 鈥榩osthuman warfare鈥; international law and the targeting of civilians; sexual/ized violence in conflict; private military and security companies; torture and surveillance; women and queers as agents of violence; Orientalism and the War on Terror; occupation and resistance; human rights and international law; imperial feminisms and just war theory.
Additional Learning Tasks
1. Enhanced research skills developed throught independent work on the long essay and on class presentations.
2. Improved communication skills, both written and verbal, as developed through the long essay and regular class discussion.
3. Improved analytical skills, developed through a focus on difficult issues in both empirical and conceptual terms.
Library
Core readings will include:
Miranda Alison, 'Women as Agents of Political Violence: Gendering Security', Security
Dialogue, 35(4), 2004: 447-463.
Aaron Belkin, Bring Me Men: Military Masculinity and the Benign Facade of American
Empire, 1898-2001. London: Hurst, 2012.
R. Charli Carpenter, '驴Women and Children First驴: Gender, Norms, and Humanitarian
Evacuation in the Balkans, 1991-95', International Organization, 57(4), 2003: 661-694.
Cynthia Cockburn, 'The Continuum of Violence: A Gender Perspective on War and
Peace', in Wenona Giles and Jennifer Hyndman (eds.) Sites of Violence: Gender and
Conflict Zones. Berkeley, CA: The University of California Press, 2004.
Cynthia Enloe, Maneuvers: The International Politics of Militarizing Women's Lives.
Berkeley, CA: The University of California Press, 2000.
Joshua S. Goldstein, War and Gender: How Gender Shapes the War System and Vice
Versa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Valerie M. Hudson et al. Sex and World Peace. New York, NY: Columbia University
Press, 2012.
Adam Jones, `Straight as a Rule: Heteronormativity, Gendercide, and the Noncombatant
Male驴, Men and Masculinities, 8(4), 2006: 451-469.
Anne McClintock, Imperial Leather: Race, Gender and Sexuality in the Colonial Contest.
London: Routledge, 1995.
Katharine H. S. Moon, Sex Among Allies: Military Prostitution in U.S.-Korea Relations.
New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 1996.
Alexandra Stiglmayer (ed.) Mass Rape: The War Against Women in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1994.
J. Ann Tickner, Gendering World Politics: Issues and Approaches in the Post-Cold War
Era. New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 2001.
Jacqui True, The Political Economy of Violence Against Women. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2012.
Elisabeth Jean Wood, 'Variation in Sexual Violence During War', Politics and Society,
34(3), 2006: 307-342.
Module learning outcomes
Identify and summarise the core academic debates about gender and violence in international politics
Compare and contrast historical and conceptual material on a broad range of questions related to gender, violence and international politics.
Critically interpret recent empirical and theoretical controversies related to global patterns of gender and violence.
Appraise the connection and disconnection between issues of gender, violence and other aspects of international relations.
Develop their own analysis of a selected issue related to the module.
| Type | Timing | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | 20.00% | |
| Coursework components. Weighted as shown below. | ||
| Group Presentation | T2 Week 9 (11 minutes) | 100.00% |
| Essay (4000 words) | Semester 2 Assessment Week 2 Thu 16:00 | 80.00% |
Timing
Submission deadlines may vary for different types of assignment/groups of students.
Weighting
Coursework components (if listed) total 100% of the overall coursework weighting value.
| Term | Method | Duration | Week pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring Semester | Workshop | 3 hours | 11111111111 |
How to read the week pattern
The numbers indicate the weeks of the term and how many events take place each week.
Mrs Daniella Kiernan
Assess convenor
/profiles/203772
Dr Melanie Richter-Montpetit
Convenor
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Mx Emilia Moscardini-Powers
Assess convenor
/profiles/214700
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