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This second-year BASc module (part of the Cultures pathway) looks at the intersection between concepts of race and gender, and the implications for feminism. Over the course of 10 weeks, we examine intersectionality in theory and practice, asking how racial and gendered constructs have been mutually co-constitutive in various settings. We will unpack overlapping and intersecting hierarchies of oppression, by exploring questions of individual and communal positionalities. Throughout, we pay particular attention to the continuing impact of colonial hierarchies and neo-colonial dynamics.

The BASC0042 module is organised into two parts. Part I, running in the first half of Term 1, looks at the key ideas and theories around race, gender and feminism. We will examine the colonial underpinnings of many oppressive hierarchies, and the ways in which feminist, anti-racist and other liberatory movements have challenged these hierarchies. Part II, starting after Reading Week, shifts the focus to specific contemporary issues, examining how racialised and gendered hierarchies play out in areas including migration and healthcare. The module concludes with a session on voice and representation, where we explore the racialised and gendered elements of storytelling.

Teaching Delivery

This module is taught in 10 weekly lectures (1h) with 10 weekly seminars (1h)Ìý

Indicative Topics

Indicative lecture topics – based on module content in 2023/24, subject to possible changes:Ìý

-Introduction: Why Race, Gender and Feminism?Ìý

-Colonial hierarchiesÌý

-Queer identities and colonialismÌý

-Whiteness, gender and feminismÌý

-Black feminismsÌý

-Migration and mobilityÌý

-Healthcare and medicineÌý

-Voice and storytellingÌý

Module aims and objectives

BASC0042 aims to:Ìý

• Introduce students to the key ideas, theories and debates around race, gender and feminismÌý

• Demonstrate the connections between inequality, social structures, social movements, and feminist activismÌý

• Enable students to think critically about issues and ideas of inequality, intersectionality and social justiceÌýÌý

• Familiarise students with accounts of women’s situated lived experiences, and their resulting ideas and activismÌý

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