| Unit name | Feminist Geographies |
|---|---|
| Unit code | GEOGM0077 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | . Fannin |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None. |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None. |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None. |
| School/department | School of Geographical Sciences |
| Faculty | Faculty of Science |
Why is this unit important?
This unit will introduce you to social and cultural debates animating feminist approaches to space, time, the body, and the environment. These approaches have moved from the margins to the centre of many disciplines and fields, as feminist scholars and activists have sought to critique and ultimately dismantle gender hierarchies. The unit is aimed as an advanced introduction to feminist approaches; it does not presume prior knowledge of feminist debates but will instead focus on empirical cases and theoretical frameworks for understanding feminist perspectives on nature and the environment, the development of new technologies, and economic and social change. You will have the opportunity to learn more about topics and frameworks such as intersectionality, black feminist approaches, global feminism, care, reproductive and population politics, and changing perspectives on gender as an analytical category for understanding difference.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study
On this unit, you will engage closely with perspectives from feminist geographical research. The unit will help you better understand why gender matters as a concept for understanding social and political change, including changing perspectives on nature, the body, scientific inquiry, and space. You’ll gain a better appreciation of the importance of feminist critiques across different fields, and of the current debates that animate feminist geographers. This unit will provide you with the skills to understand what’s changed – and what hasn’t - as gender-sensitive approaches have become ‘mainstreamed’ in many domains of social and political life.
An overview of content
The unit will begin with an introduction to feminist geography, providing context for the late-20th century contributions of feminist scholars to understandings of space, place, environment and other key domains of geographical research. This learning will lay the foundations for understanding contemporary contributions of feminist scholars to selected sub-fields in geography. Further sessions of the unit will focus on appraising and evaluating the difference that feminist approaches make to understanding research in diverse areas. Weekly seminars will engage closely with feminist scholarship on a range of topics, grouped thematically over the course of the term. These may include, but not be limited to, feminist writings on nature and the environment, including eco-feminism and more recent considerations of feminist perspectives on population and risk; the stratifications of gender, ethnicity and class that shape reproductive politics and justice; feminist science and technology studies (STS) perspectives on new technologies such as AI and reproductive technology; and the visibility of gender and feminism in contemporary politics.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
This unit will expand your knowledge of the diversity of feminist perspectives. You will gain a better sense of why concepts like gender are the subject of political debate. You will gain more confidence in your own perspective and approach in relation to feminist scholarship and research in your area of interest. You may feel that you see the world differently as you gain a better sense of how feminist activists and researchers interpret and target different forms of injustice in their own worlds.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:
Seminar-based learning. You will be asked to share your responses and reflections on the readings with the rest of the class and to co-lead seminar discussions. Zine-making in seminars will involve hands-on work, in groups and individually, with images and text, some drawn from archival sources as well as your own reflections on material in the unit. You will also be invited to workshop your research essay and present your research plan to the class for discussion and formative feedback.
These modes of learning are well-suited to the unit, the learning outcomes and the assessment as they reflect the interactive, communal, reflective and critical approaches central to feminist movements. There will be opportunities to develop ground-up, student-led activities and tasks.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
You will be introduced to the role of zines in feminist activism and will be guided to make your own zine to circulate to the class at the end of the unit. Zines are informally produced, often self-published magazines usually created for circulation in a small community. Zines have a long history in feminist and queer activist circles and this activity will introduce you to the context for self-publication and zines as media for self-expression and as an alternative means of sharing knowledge outside formal, including academic, publication.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Reflective research essay (100%). The assessment will assess all the learning outcomes.
When assessment does not go to plan
You will be given an alternative essay assessment for completion in the summer reassessment period.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. GEOGM0077).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
