Module SGIA3611: Women in Politics: fromt Past to Present

Department: Government and International Affairs

SGIA3611: Women in Politics: fromt Past to Present

Prerequisites

• Any Level 2 SGIA module

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• This module provides a critical survey of works within comparative politics that seek to explain the origins and developments of women’s role in politics.
• This module builds on and directly expands the knowledge that students acquired in their previous studies of core concepts in comparative politics.
• This module will encourage students to critically evaluate existing research in the sub-field and to draw links between women’s role in politics today and in history. How (and why) did we get to where we are today?

Content

• The module will cover topics including women’s role in politics as citizens, voters, candidates, parliamentarians and executives. Indicative examples include: women’s movements, women in conflicts, gender turnout and preference gaps, gender quotas, women’s descriptive and substantive representation in parliaments and executives.
• The content of the module will cover both contemporary research as well as classic works. This will give students a background in how the literature in the sub-field has developed over time.

Learning Outcomes

• Advanced knowledge of an emerging and highly salient sub-field in comparative politics.
• Critical understanding of women’s role in politics today and of the historical processes and underlying conditions and mechanisms that led to the current position of women in politics.
• Critical understanding of theoretical debates about women’s political engagement and the consequences of women’s historical underrepresentation for politics today.

• Advanced comparative analytical skills
• Critical engagement, assessment and evaluation of theories of women’s political engagement
• Identify and effectively utilise advanced academic literature in the field
• Evaluate existing theories with respect to a given region, set of countries or a country

• Learn to effectively retrieve, utilize, critically evaluate and present scholarly research
• Effectively engage in a structured debate in tutorials
• Acquire independent research skills to augment initial guidance on suitable sources
• Research topics via a creative use of library and Internet sources
• Accurately assess the suitability and quality of resources •Demonstrate an independent approach to learning
• Develop the ability to independently manage a research project

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• The module will taught through a mix of two-hour seminars and student conferences.
• Seminars will be instructor-directed but will focus on discussion of the week's readings, specifically with regard to the theories and research designs of each individual work.
• Students will also be able to access members of academic staff through their routine ‘office hours’, typically two hours per week when academic staff are available to meet with students to address individual queries and concerns.
• Formative assessment will come in the form of participation at the student conference and will result in (i) presentation of 6-8 slides that visually represent student’s proposed project and (ii) discussant’s comments on another student’s presentation (500 words)
• Summative assessment will come in the form of 4000 word project
• Summative assessment: Students can choose a specific region, country or a set of selected countries and analyze the origins and consequences of a specific role of women in politics. Students are expected to implement a comparative method in assessing the existing theories discussed on the course or generate their own theories of women’s political engagement. Students will be evaluated on the quality of the understanding and engagement with the literature discussed on the course as well as on the depth of a country/regional-specific knowledge. The project is designed to help students to develop independent research management skills and research analytical skills. As opposed to typical essays, the student projects are expected to analyse, rather than critically evaluate, a research question or a problem of their own choice. Each student will participate in a student conference in two roles (presenter & discussant) and each of the two types of participation will be individually assessed as follows:
• Formative presentation: Each student will present their projects to students on the course but beyond their own group in 10-20 minutes slots with the use of 6-8 slides. The quality of presentation slides in terms of organization, clarity and academic communication will be assessed. This assessment aims to help students to develop good presentation skills, skills to communicate one’s own research and ability to speak to a new and previously unknown audience.
• Formative discussant’s comments: Students will provide discussant comments to one presenter at the student conference and prepare in advance a 500 word long report that evaluates the presenter’s project, such as the project’s research question, its importance, methodology and findings. This task seeks to prepare students for a discussant role at conferences or other events where evaluation of existing research, policies or practices is important. The task is designed to help students to communicate one’s comments in a clear and constructive way.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

(i) 6-8 presentation slides (ii) 500 word discussant comments

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University