GWS 295-01 - Special Topic: Transnational Feminisms

4 credits (Spring)

This course explores feminist movements within a transnational context, as well as the question of whether a global feminist practice is desirable or possible. Along the way we will examine the development of feminism, its many articulations, and the tensions and negotiations that have existed within various national and transnational feminisms. Starting in the late nineteenth century, we will use history to help us understand how feminists around the world–that is, individuals and groups who have sought to dismantle gender oppression–have embraced different, and sometimes mutually contradictory, views concerning how feminist goals should be achieved. Other questions we will address include: How have understandings of feminism changed over time? How do feminist positions (socioeconomic, national, historical, etc.) account for the different feminisms which feminists have envisioned? What tensions have existed within feminist or women-centered politics, and how have these informed or fragmented feminist movements?

Prerequisite: GWS 111 or second year standing.
Instructor: Sanders