Introductory description

This module explores the complex relationship between gender, war and militarism in global politics. Beginning with a critical engagement with the module’s three central concepts – gender, war and militarism – the module will ask students to question what is assumed to be ‘known’ or ‘commonsensical’ about these practices and examine their constitutive nature. Throughout the module, gender will be positioned as a topic of study and as an analytical lens. Gendered representations will be shown to central to practices of militarism and the waging of war in global politics, while militarism and war will be shown to produce a range of gendered subjectivities, effects and affects. The relationship between gender, war and militarism will be further complicated through an analysis of other multiple intersecting axes of identity and oppression – race and sexuality in particular – as well as their workings in global politics.

The module will be global in focus, exploring practices of gender, war and militarism across the world; empirically diverse, moving from (among others) the battlefield to the military household to peace movements to popular culture; and investigate figures as diverse as soldiers, anti-war protestors, cyborgs, drones, and service women beauty queens. Some of the questions students will be asked to grapple with include: What is the relationship between gender, war and militarism? Who does war? Who does militarism? Where are war and militarism taking place? How are war and militarism gendered? What possibilities are there for resisting gender, war and militarism?

The module will ask students to think critically about their own experiences of gender, war and militarism, as well as the ways in which their thinking about these concepts offers possibilities and limits for thinking about global politics. Designed with the intention of students taking an active role in the direction and shaping of discussion, the module will run as a weekly two-hour seminar, making use of flipped classrooms and a learning portfolio.

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

The module will be divided into four broad parts. The module begins by providing students with a conceptual framework to work with, with a week devoted to each of the module’s three key categories of analysis: gender, war and militarism. The second section of the module directly examines the relationship between the three core concepts, asking where the men and women are in these sites and what is queer about war and militarism. The third part of the module explores experiences of gender, war and militarism, taking a number of contemporary ‘sites’ of war and militarism (for example, sexual violence, military technology and popular culture) and interrogating both how gender makes such sites possible, and the gendered subjectivities and effects produced in and through them. The final part of the module turns its attention to gender, war and militarism ‘at home’, examining the ways in which global practices of violence are rooted in the everyday and disrupting distinctions between ‘war’ and ‘peace’, ‘military’ and ‘civilian’. This final part will explore sites such as the military household, peace movements, and everyday practices of militarism such as remembrance events.

Week-by-week breakdown of topics:

1. Welcome and introduction to the module

Conceptual framework:
2. What is gender?
3. What is war?
4. What is militarism?

What is the relationship between gender, war and militarism?
5. War, men and masculinity
6. READING WEEK
7. War, women and femininity
8. Queer(ing) war and militarism

1. Scaffolding learning and skills seminar for the critical review assessments

Experiences of gender, war and militarism:
10. Violent bodies, violated bodies
11. Gender, race, violence
12. Bodies of technology
13. Feeling war, feeling militarism
14. Gendered representations: war and popular culture

Gender, war and militarism at home:
15. Military households
16. READING WEEK
17. Militarism and the everyday
18. (Un)doing militarism
19. Resisting war, resisting militarism

1. Feminist futures: ‘after’ gender, war and militarism

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the complex interrelationship between gender, war and militarism
• Demonstrate theoretical understanding of feminist approaches to war and militarism
• Evaluate different interpretations of the complex relationship between the three core concepts
• Construct their own conceptualisations of, and relationship between, gender, war and militarism
• Outline and discuss the significance of gender and feminist approaches to understandings of global politics
• Fluency in verbal and written communication and argumentation
• Gather, organise and deploy analytical evidence, data and information from a variety of secondary and primary sources
• Collaboration with others through group work and class discussion
• Critical appraisal of concepts and information
• Use information and communication technology for the retrieval and presentation of information

Indicative reading list

Ackerly, Brooke A., Maria Stern and Jacqui True (eds) (2006), Feminist Methodologies for International Relations, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Ahmed, Sara (2017), Living a Feminist Life, London: Duke University Press
Cohn, Carol (ed) (2013), Women and Wars, London: Polity Press
Enloe, Cynthia (2014), Bananas, Beaches and Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics, 2ndedition, London: University of California Press
Enloe, Cynthia (2000), Maneuvers: The International Politics of Militarising Women’s Lives, Berkley and London: University of California Press
Eriksson Baaz, Maria, and Maria Stern (2013), Sexual Violence as a Weapon of War? Perceptions, Prescriptions, Problems in the Congo and Beyond, London and New York: Zed Books
Halberstam, Jack (2011), The Queer Art of Failure, London: Duke University Press.
hooks, bell (1981), Ain’t I a Woman? Black Women and Feminism, Boston: South End.
hooks, bell (2000), Feminist Theory: From Margin to Centre, London: PLuto
Kronswell, Annica and Erica Svedberg (eds.) (2013), Making Gender, Making War: Violence, Military and Peacekeeping Practices, Abingdon: Routledge
Lorde, Audre (1984), Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches, Trumansburg, NY: Crossing Press.
McSorley, Kevin (ed) (2013), War and the Body: Militarisation, practice and experience, Abingdon: Routledge
Mohanty, Chandra Talpade (2003), Feminism Without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity, London: Duke University Press.
Parpart, Jane L., and Marysia Zalewski (eds.) (2008), Rethinking the Man Question: Sex, Gender and Violence in International Relations, London: Zed Books
Parashar, Swati (2014), Women and Militant Wars: The Politics of Injury, Abingdon and New York: Routledge
Sharoni, Simona, Julia Welland, Linda Steiner and Jennifer Pedersen (eds) (2016), Handbook on Gender and War, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar
Shepherd, Laura J. (2013), Gender, Violence and Popular Culture: Telling Stories, Abingdon: Routledge
Shepherd, Laura J. (ed) (2015), Gender Matters in Global Politics: A Feminist Introduction to International Relations, Second Edition, Abingdon and New York: Routledge
Sjoberg, Laura (ed) (2010), Gender and International Security: Feminist Perspectives, Abingdon and New York: Routledge
Sjoberg, Laura (2014), Gender, War and Conflict, London: Polity Press
Sjoberg, Laura and Sandra Via (eds.) (2010), Gender, War and Militarism: Feminist Perspectives, Praeger
Steans, Jill (2013), Gender and International Relations: An Introduction, 3rd Edition, Cambridge: Polity Press
Steans, Jill and Daniela Tepe-Belfrage (eds) (2016), Handbook of Gender in World Politics, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar
Sylvester, Christine (2013), War as Experience: Contributions from International Relations and Feminist Analysis, Abingdon and New York: Routledge
Weber, Cynthia (2006), Imagining America at War: Morality, Politics, and Film, Abingdon: Routledge
Woodward, Rachel and Claire Duncanson (eds.) (2017), The Palgrave International Handbook on Gender and the Military, Palgrave MacMillian
Yuval-Davis, Nira (1997), Gender and Nation, London: Sage
Zalewski, Marysia (2013), Feminist International Relations: Exquisite Corpse, Abingdon: Routledge

Research element

The module will include an assessed research essay, which will give students the opportunity to design and carry out a small research project. Students will be responsible for devising their own essay title (developed with, and approved by, the module leader); compiling a reading list; and drafting an essay plan, which will be peer-reviewed during seminar group work.

Interdisciplinary

As a feminist module, Gender, War and Militarism will have interdisciplinarity at its core. Although the majority of texts will be taken from what can be broadly termed 'International Relations', feminist work from anthropology, cultural studies and sociology will feature. Students will be used to draw on theoretical and methodological traditions from a range of disciplines in their assessed work, as well as developing their knowledge of them in classroom discussions.

International

Gender, War and Militarism will be an empirically rich module, with debates and discussions informed by global events. Particular attention will be given to scholars, writers and literature from the global south and/or other marginalised communities. This will be reflected both in the module's reading lists and weekly content.

Subject specific skills

• Understand the significance of feminist approaches to global politics
• Apply concepts, theories and methods to analysing political ideas, institutions an dpractices
• Evaluate different interpretations of political issues and debates
• Gather, organise and deploy analytical evidence, data and information from a variety of secondary and primary sources
• Construct reasoned argument, synthesise relevant information and exercise critical reflection
• Critically analyse and disseminate information
• Understand the important of referencing and ethical requirements of study, including critical and reflective use of information and communications technology

Transferable skills

• Strong written and oral communication skills
• The ability to understand complex ideas and apply these to practical situations
• The ability to use evidence and logic to construct a good argument
• The ability to plan, organise and carry out a complex research project
• The ability of reflect on their learning and make use of constructive feedback
• Teamwork and collaboration