Gender, Power and Society

Course Code: SOCI 232

Academic Year: 2024-2025

This course will introduce students to key ideas, issues and theories in the interdisciplinary field of women's studies. The course will look at the influence of history on the present-day conditions of women and girls to show how their lives have been shaped by forces such as religion, capitalism, colonialism and imperialism. Key sociological concepts and feminist theories will be introduced to equip students with a framework with which to analyse gender inequality in various aspects of our cultural environment, including the media, education, work and the family. This course does not look at gender in isolation but focuses on the intersectionality of gender with other inseparable aspects of identity such as sexual difference, race, culture and socioeconomic status. The course will critically explore the ongoing controversies, myths and stereotypes surrounding both women's studies and what some have called the f-word (feminism), addressing anti-feminist attitudes and backlash that persist in our society. Note: Students who have taken SOCI 032 Introduction to Women's Studies cannot take this course.