.gif){kind=small}
Course Description
Course Objectives
Course Requirements
Grading Scale
Required Texts
Reading Assignments and Schedule
Traditional approaches to the study of world politics have neglected gender as an explanatory variable. These traditional approaches typically have identified either state interests or economic factors as the dominant influences shaping international relations. In recent years, a growing number of feminist scholars have challenged the traditional approaches to the study of world politics. According to these scholars, not only do men and women impact international relations in different ways, but issues and events in world politics also have divergent effects on men and women. Moreover, most of these scholars argue that gender, conceived of as socially constructed notions of masculinity and femininity, fundamentally shape world politics. In this course, we will examine a variety of topics, including war, human rights, economic development, and the participation of women in world politics, through a "gender perspective" and will consider the ways in which this perspective is useful in broadening our understanding of world politics.
The Department of Politics and International Relations seeks to induct students into the community of liberally educated individuals who are capable of understanding government and politics in terms of the theories, concepts, and tools of sophisticated political analysis which characterize the discipline of political science. The liberal-arts dimension of our mission stems from our belief that all people are embedded in a political environment which acts upon them in ways they must understand if they are to function effectively as active participants in a democratic society. Our goal, therefore, is not to train professional political scientists, but rather to produce the liberally educated citizen who is fluent in the language of politics and political analysis and thereby has a foundation for both citizenship in a democratic society and successful training in a job, in a graduate school, or in a professional school. Such a person has the capacity to recognize and evaluate assumptions, implications, and causal relationships pertaining to government and politics and, by extension, to other realms of human experience. Go to the home page of the Department of Politics and International Relations for more information on the basic objectives of the general program and upper-level courses in the department.
Additional course-specific objectives include the following:
1. To develop a solid understanding of the concept of gender and how it can be applied to an analysis of important issues in world politics.
2. To gain an understanding of the complex and diverse ways in which women participate in and are affected by world politics.
3. To foster creative, critical thinking about issues and problems in world politics.
Return to menu.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
1. Two Exams (45%): Students will be required to complete both a midterm and a final exam. These exams will consist of short answer and essay questions. Both the short answer and essay questions will require students to think analytically about the course material and to integrate information from readings, lectures, and discussions. Though the final exam questions will focus largely on the course material covered since the midterm, they also will require students to build upon the cumulative knowledge they have gained throughout the course. The midterm will be worth 20% of the final course grade, and the final exam will be worth 25% of the final course grade. Exams will be graded for content, grammar, and style. I also will expect you to incorporate explicit references to the required readings.
**Make-up exams will be given only in the case of family emergencies and serious illness, and I will require you to document your illness or emergency. In order to take a make-up exam, you must have a legitimate, verifiable family emergency or illness, and you must contact me in advance of the exam. Make-up exams must be taken within five days of the original exam date unless exceptional circumstances warrant a longer extension.
2. Research Papers and Presentations (35%): Students will be required to complete a research paper in which they use gender to analyze a topic in world politics. Students can complete research on a topic of their choice, and I would like to encourage creativity in these projects. We will discuss potential topics early in the semester for students who are uncertain about what they would like to research. Final papers should be 15-20, double-spaced pages with standard fonts and margins. The research project will comprise 35% of your final grade and consists of the following elements:
a. Paper Drafts (10%): Drafts of these papers will be due near the middle of the semester. These drafts should represent significant progress towards completion of your project. By this time, I would expect that you have complated most of your research. You should have identified and gathered relevant reading material and any internet sources that will help you. You should have completed most of this reading by this time. You should have a detailed paper outline and a full, if incomplete, draft of the paper. Grades on late paper drafts will be lowered by 1% per day. (Note: this deduction means 1% point off of your final course grade per late day.)
b. Group Presentations (10%): Paper topics will be categorized according to general themes or topics in world politics, and students will be assigned to groups based on these categories. During Part V of the course, each group will be responsible for teaching class on one day. Students may rely on information from their individual research papers in developing groups presentations, but my expectation is that you will not each simply read or present your own papers. Rather, I want you to work together as a group to find creative ways to present your findings and to generate class interest and discussion. Your grades on these presentations will be based, in part, on peer evaluations of your contributions to the group. Accordingly, students should turn in brief individual comments (a paragraph or so) on each member's contribution to your group on the day of your group's presentation.
c. Final Papers (15%): Revised research papers will be due at the end of the semester and will be worth 15% of the final course grade. Grades on late papers will be lowered by 1% point per day. (Note: this deduction means 1% point off of your final course grade per late day.)
3. Biographies on Women National Leaders (10%): Each student will complete a short, biographical essay on a women national leader of their choice. (I will provide a list of possible women leaders early in the semester.) These papers should be 7-10, double-spaced pages with standard margins and fonts. Grades on late papers will be lowered by 1% point per day. (Note: this deduction means 1% point off of your final course grade per late day.) In addition to providing a general overview of the woman you are studying, you should address the following kinds of issues in these papers: 1) How did the leader you are studying come to power? 2) Does gender help us to understand the governing style and politics of this leader? 3) Do perceived gender roles influence how this leader is perceived both nationally and internationally?
4. Class attendance and participation (10%): Class attendance and participation will be worth 10% of the final course grade. In regards to attendance, you will be allowed two unexcused absences. After that, your participation grade will be lowered by 1% point off of your final course grade for each unexcused absence. An absence is excused only in the case of personal illness or family emergency. You must notify me in advance for your absence to be excused, and I may require you to document your illness or emergency. (Student athletes, musicians etc. also will be excused to participate in university-sponsored events but must provide me with the appropriate documentation forms.) Arriving late to class is disruptive and is rude both to the instructor and other students. If you arrive late to class, I will count you as absent for that day.
In regards to class participation, students should come to class prepared to ask and answer questions on the assigned readings. You need to participate actively in the class, but you should not attempt to dominate class discussion. I expect that students often will disagree with each other and with me. I will encourage an atmosphere in which we are free to challenge and criticize each other's arguments, but I expect all of us to be respectful and civil in our disagreements. Your participation grade will reflect the extent to which you come to class prepared to discuss the assigned readings in a thoughtful, productive, and civil manner. I reserve the right to give "pop-quizzes" at any time during the semester. I have done so in the past when students are not prepared for class.
In accordance with the emphasis on student-centered learning in Drake's mission statement, this course will stress active student learning. I expect that your consistent attendance and participation will facilitate your understanding of the course material. Moreover, because you will be required to integrate information from readings, lectures, and classroom discussions on the midterm and the final, your performance on the exams should benefit from consistent attendance and participation.
5. Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated. Plagiarism is the act of trying to pass off someone else's ideas, words, thoughts or inventions as one's own. Plagiarism may be intentional or unintentional, but it is a violation of academic integrity in either case. You must acknowledge your use of other's work when you quote them word for word (you must use quotation marks in the case of direct quotations), paraphrase, borrow ideas, incorporate factual information from someone else's work, or rely on another person's organization of material. You do not need to provide citations for common knowledge, but it is better to err on the side of caution if you have any doubts. If your paper includes uncited information and/or I suspect plagiarism, I will not grade your paper until you provide satisfactory documentation of your sources. If I discover a case of cheating or plagiarism, I will impose the most serious penalty allowed under university regulations and contingent on the nature of the violation. In cases of egregious plagiarism or cheating, I will give you a failing grade for the course and may recommend additional penalties at the college or university level, including suspension or expulsion. See the statement on Academic Honesty and Integrity at the Department of Politics and IR homepage for further details. Also, see me if you still have questions about academic dishonesty.
A 90-100 (Excellent)
B 80-89 (Good)
C 70-79 (Satisfactory)
D 60-69 (Poor)
F 0-59 (Failure)
1. Peter R. Beckman & Francine D'Amico, Women, Gender, and World Politics (Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey, 1994).
2. Marguerite Guzman Bouvard, Revolutionizing Motherhood: The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo (Wilmington, DE: SR Books, 1994).
3. Glen Jeansonne, Women of the Far Right: The Mothers' Movement and World War II (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1996).
4. Mark Baker, Nam (New York, NY: Berkley Books, 1981).
5. Julie Peters and Andrea Wolper, eds., Women's Rights, Human Rights: International Feminist Perspectives (New York, NY: Routledge, 1995).
6. Gregory M. Scott and Stephen M. Garrison, The Political Science Student Writer's Manual (Englewwod Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1995).
7. Your understanding of gender issues and world politics will be enhanced if you keep abreast of current world politics. Accordingly, you should follow current international events through the media of your choice. Note: since you will be responsible for basic knowledge about world politics, certain choices are likely to be wiser than others. National daily newspapers, such as The New York Times or The Christian Science Monitor, provide far more thorough international coverage than local dailes. You also can obtain at least basic information in some weekly newsmagazines or by following CNN. In addition to these examples, most national newspapers and television networks maintain on-line sources of news.
8. Online Journals/ Academic Universe/ Lexis-Nexis: You can access a variety of resources on world politics, including full text newspaper articles, legal resources, and reference information on specific countries, on the Resources and Reference Page of Cowles Library.
9. Finally, Foreign Affairs Online is an excellent web resource which provides links to sites in a variety of categories, including international law, human rights, and the United Nations.
READING ASSIGNMENTS AND SCHEDULE
Part I: The "Gender Perspective" on World Politics
1 Introduction to course
2 Beckman and D'Amico, Chpt. 1
3 Beckman and D'Amico, Chpt. 2
4. Beckman and D'amico, Chpt. 3
5. Beckman and D'Amico, Chpt. 4
6. Beckman and D'Amico, Chpts. 5-6
7. Biographies of women national leaders due
Part II: The Politics of Motherhood and Women's Movements in World Politics
8. Bouvard, Chpts. 1-4
9. Bouvard, Chpts. 5-7
10. Bouvard, Chpts. 8-10
11. Jeansonne, Chpts. 1-7
12. Jeansonne, Chpts. 8-13 (focus especially on Chpt. 13)
13. MIDTERM EXAM
Part III: Gender, National Security and War
14. Beckman and D'Amico, Chpts. 7-8
15. Film: The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter
16. Baker, Section I and Section II
17. Baker, Section III and Section IV; Peters and Wolper, Chpt. 21
18. DRAFTS OF RESEARCH PAPERS DUE
Part IV: Gender, Economic Development, and Human Rights
19. Beckman and D'Amico, Chpts. 10-11
20. Peters and Wolper, Chpts. 26-28; Film: Kumekucha: Women of Tanzania
21. Peters and Wolper, Chpts. 1-12
22. Peters and Wolper, Chpts. 13-17
23. Peters and Wolper, Chpts. 18-20
24. Peters and Wolper, Chpts. 22-25 and Chpts. 29-32
Part V: Student Presentations (Remember to turn in your peer evaluations on the day of your presentation.)
25. Group I
26. Group II
27. Group III
28. Group IV
29. Group V
30. Concluding discussion; FINAL DRAFTS OF RESEARCH PAPERS DUE
FINAL EXAM