Admission requirements
Required course(s):
None, though completion of Global Challenges: Diversity, History of Philosophy, and Introduction to Gender Studies might be useful.
Description
This course introduces different philosophical approaches to gender and politics. What does gender equality mean? What is gender injustice and why is it wrong? What is gender in the first place, and how is it related to sex and sexuality? Should gender be treated as a distinct issue, or as something that always intersects with other identity categories, such as race and class? How does feminist philosophy relate to feminism as a political project?
We will explore these types of questions by reading classical and contemporary contributions to feminist philosophy: From Mary Wollstonecraft’s fierce arguments for the equal rights of women to Simone de Beauvoir’s interrogation of what the category ‘woman’ means in the modern world and from bell hooks critique of white-supremacist capitalist patriarchy to Judith Butler’s theory of gender as a form of socially sanctioned performance.
In addition to those thinkers mentioned here, the course will cover a range of texts that address important issues and that introduce key concepts, such as patriarchy, equality, discrimination, oppression, domination, liberation, and care.
Upon completion students who follow this course should be able to critically assess, analyse and discuss various perspectives and paradigms in feminist philosophy.
Course Objectives
Gain familiarity with classic and contemporary texts in feminist philosophy.
Compare, critique and place various perspectives of feminist philosophy in their historical context.
Critically understand, discuss and assess texts. Use these texts for fruitful and conscientious discussion and connect them with theoretical and practical debates surrounding feminism.
Timetable
Timetables for courses offered at Leiden University College in 2024-2025 will be published on this page of the e-Prospectus.
Mode of instruction
Combination of lectures and seminars.
Assessment Method
A 2500 word-essay on a topic of the student’s choice (related to the course) (45%): Week 8
Presence and participation (15%): Ongoing
Weekly written assignments (5x8%): Ongoing
The weekly written assignments consist of a very short paper that articulates a question (max 400 words) related to the primary material assigned for that week. The purpose of this exercise is to help with comprehension of the materials and to get you thinking about what you have read. The questions will be used in the seminars each week. Only the 5 highest marks out of the 6 assignments submitted will count toward your final grade.
Reading list
The course material will be made available on Brightspace.
Registration
Courses offered at Leiden University College (LUC) are usually only open to LUC students and LUC exchange students. Leiden University students who participate in one of the university’s Honours tracks or programmes may register for one LUC course, if availability permits. Registration is coordinated by the Education Coordinator, course.administration@luc.leidenuniv.nl.
Contact
Dr. Pius Mosima, p.m.mosima@phil.leidenuniv.nl
Remarks
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