Gender and Politics

Lea Sgier
Department of Political Science
Central European University
MA Programme (elective course)
Fall semester 2012-13 (4 credits)
Class meetings : Wednesday and Thursday 5:20-7pm
Office hours: Thursday 10-12 or by appointment

Course description
This course has to main goals : firstly, it aims to give insights into the importance of gender as
a key dimension of politics that structures power in all societies: in terms of
inclusion/exclusion, gendered and sexual identities and norms (hegemonic understandings of
feminity and masculinity, heteronormativity, etc.), mobilisation (women's movements, LGBT
movements etc.), or in that it imbues key political concepts such as democracy, social justice
or politics itself. We will read and discuss a range of readings on selected topics, ranging
from issues of political representation to gender equality strategies (women quotas, state
feminism, gender mainstreaming), the politicisation of the sexual and the emotional, gender
identities in peace- and war-time, and recent developments in the field of gender within
political science. Thereby we aim to understand how and why gender issues have become
central to politics, how they have progressively become integrated into political science, and
how they inform and shape contemporary social science research.
Secondly, the course aims to offer a space where the participants can explore topics of their
own choice and interest. Part of the course will therefore take the shape of a workshop in
which we will do some practical exercises and discuss individual research projects.

Course requirements and assessment

The course sessions offer a mix of lectures and interactive seminar. The students are expected
to have read the required readings and be prepared to actively participate in class-room
activities.
The assessment will be based on the following:
Active class-room participation (10%)
Attendance (with timely arrival) and active participation in all class-room activities will be
expected, in accordance with CEU regulations.
In class exam (week 8) (30%)
A 1h30 written exam without documentation, on the materials covered by the required
readings and the lectures.

Final research paper with oral presentation (60%)

An approximately 8-10 page paper (3200-4000 words) on a topic of the student's choice,
within the broad field of gender&politics. It may be related to the topics covered by the
course, or may be on other topics and areas of political science (such as: gender and political
economy, development, nationalism, social policy, etc.). The exact format will have to be
discussed individually with the instructor, but as a general rule, the paper could take forms
such as:
A small empirical analysis on the basis of existing documentation and literature
A conceptual discussion;
A critical review of selected element(s) of the literature around a given topic or
concept
Each course participant will make a presentation of her/his research in progress towards the
end of the course (exact schedule to be defined once the number of participants is known).
It is strongly recommended that the final paper be read by the Academic Writing Centre
before submission. Poor writing will entail a reduction in the grade.
Deadlines:
Short proposal due by the end of week 6 (28th October, 1 page)
First draft due by the end of week 9 (18th November)
Final paper due by: 20th December.
The first draft of the Powerpoint for the oral presentation has to be handed in by Monday
evening the week of the presentation at the latest.

Learning outcomes
By the end of the semester, the participants will have acquired:
An awareness of the key dimensions of the field of gender and politics, and a practical
ability to detect and discuss them orally and in writing
A knowledge of key authors and themes in the field of contemporary gender and politics
Some research skills in the field of gender and politics.

Course Outline
Provisional outline. Adjustments may be made depending on the number of participants in the course

Part I:
Introduction to Gender&Politics
Week 1
Class 1
Introduction
Overview of the topic and practical modalities, questions
Required readings
Class 2
Conceptual issues introduction
The gender of politics axes of invisibility and/or exclusion: gendered agents,
identities and norms, structures and processes
Sex and gender
Required reading
(1) Beckwith, Karen (2005). "A Common Language of Gender?". Politics&Gender 1(1):
128-137. [Gender_concept Dossier G&P.pdf ok]
(2) Htun, Mala (2005). "What It Means to Study Gender and the State". Politics&Gender
1(1): 157-166. [Gender_concept Dossier G&P.pdf]
Supplementary readings (for the week).
Abbott, Pamela, Wallace, Claire and Tyler, Melissa (2005). An Introduction to Sociology. Feminist Perspectives.
London/New York: Routledge. [SES]
Bryson, Valerie (1999). Feminist Debates. Issues of Theory and Political Practice. Houndmills/London:
Macmillan Press, pp. ch. 3.
Carver, Terrell (1998). "A Political Theory of Gender. Perspectives on the 'Universal' Subject", in Randall,
Vicky and Waylen, Georgina, Gender, Politics and the State. London: Routledge, pp. 18-28 [HC ok]
Hawkesworth, Mary (2005). "Engendering Political Science: an Immodest Proposal". Politics&Gender 1(1):
141-156. [Gender_concept Dossier G&P.pdf]

Week 2
Political representation
Class 1
Women in institutional politics (1)
Required readings
(3)
Paxton, Pamela and Hughes, Melanie M. (2007). Women, Politics and Power: A
Global Perspective. Thousand Oaks: Sage, ch. 8.

(4)

Phillips, Anne (1998). "Democracy and Representation: Or, Why Should It Matter
Who Our Representatives Are?", in Phillips, Anne (ed.), Feminism and Politics.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 224-240.

Class 2
Women in institutional politics (2)
Required readings
(5) Matland, Richard and Montgomery, Kathleen (2003). Recruiting Women to National
Legislatures. A General Framework with Applications to Post-Communist Europe, in
Matland, Richard and Montgomery, Kathleen (eds), Women's Access to Political Power in
Post-Communist Europe. Oxford: OUP, pp. 19-41.
(6) Wngnerud, Lena (2009). "Women in Parliaments: Descriptive and Substantive
Representation". Annual Review of Political Science 12: 51-69.
Supplementary readings (for the week)
European Commission (2009). Women in European Politics Time for Action. Luxembourg: Office for
Official Publications of the European Communities (on-line).
Ishiyama, JohnT. (2003). "Women's Parties in Post-Communist Politics". East European Politics and Societies
17(2): 266-304.
Lovenduski, Joni (2005). Feminizing Politics. Cambridge : Polity Press.
Lovenduski, Joni and Norris, Pippa (eds) (1993). Gender and Party Politics. London: Sage.
Matland, Richard and Montgomery, Kathleen (eds), Women's Access to Political Power in Post-Communist
Europe. Oxford: OUP.
Norris, Pippa (1996) Legislative Recruitment , in LeDuc, L., Niemi, R. et Norris, P. (ds), Comparing
Democracies. Elections and Voting in Global Perspective. Thousand Oaks : Sage, pp. 184-215.
Paxton, Pamela and Hughes, Melanie M. (2007). Women, Politics and Power: A Global Perspective.
London: SAGE.
United Nations (2005). "Women in Public Office", in UNRISD, Gender Equality: Striving for Justice in an
Unequal World. Geneva: United Nations Research Institute for Social Development. ch. 9.
http://www.unrisd.org/unrisd/website/document.nsf/%28httpPublications%29/1FF4AC64C1894E
AAC1256FA3005E7201?OpenDocument

Week 3
Social movements: from local to transnational
Class 1
Women's movements: from first to third wave
Required readings
(7) Walters, Margaret (2005). Feminism. A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, pp. 56-136.
(8) Bagic, Aida (2006). "Women's Organizing in Post-Yugoslav Countries: Talking About
'Donors'", in Marx Ferree Myra and Tripp, Aili Mari (eds). Global Feminism.
Transnational Womens Activism, Organizing, and Human Rights. New York/London:
New York University Press pp. 141-165.

Class 2
4

LGBT movements
Required readings
(9)
Altman, Dennis (2002). "Globalization and the International Gay/Lesbian
Movement", in Richardson, Diane and Seidman, Steven (eds), Handbook of Lesbian &
Gay Studies. London: Sage, pp. 415-425.
(10) Long, Scott (1998). "Gay and Lesbian Movements in Eastern Europe: Romania,
Hungary, and the Czech Republic", in Adam, Barry, Duyvendak, Jan Willem and
Krouwel, Andr (eds) (1999). The Global Emergence of Gay and Lesbian Politics :
National Imprints of a Worldwide Movement. Philadelphia : Temple University
Press. [Essex]
Supplementary readings
Adam, Barry, Duyvendak, Jan Willem and Krouwel, Andr (eds) (1999). The Global Emergence of Gay and
Lesbian Politics : National Imprints of a Worldwide Movement. Philadelphia : Temple University Press
Marx Ferree, Myra et al. (2004). "Feminism and the Women's Movement: A Global Perspective", in Snow,
David A., Soule, Sarah A. and Kriesi, Hanspeter, Blackwell Companion to Social Movements. Malden
MA: Blackwell.
Pet, Andrea (2002). "The History of the Hungarian Women's Movement", in Griffin, Gabriele and Braidotti,
Rosi (eds). Thinking Differently. A Reader in European Women's Studies. London: ZED Book, pp. 361371. (HC ls)
Rupp, Leila J. (1994). "Constructing Internationalism: The Case of Transnational Women's Organizations, 18881945". The American Historical Review 99(5): 1571-1600.
Tremblay, Manon, Paternotte, David and Johnson, Carol (eds) (2011). The Lesbian and Gay Movement and the
State. Comparative Insights into a Transformed Relationship. Farnham: Ashgate.
Marx Ferree, Myra and Tripp, Aili Mari (eds). Global Feminism. Transnational Womens Activism, Organizing,
and Human Rights. New York/London: New York University Press (CEU).
Woodward, Alison E., Bonvin, Jean-Michel and Merc, Renom (2011). Transforming Gendered Well-Being in
Europe. The Impact of Social Movements. Farnham: Ashgate.

Week 4
Gender norms
Class 1
Feminity/masculinity
Required readings
(11) Goldstein, Joshua (2003). War and Gender. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
pp. 251-306 and 356-375.
(12) Mottier, Vronique (2008). "Eugenics, Politics and the State: Social Democracy and
the Swiss 'Gardening State'". Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and
Biomedical Sciences" 39: 263-269.
Class 2
Heteronormativity and the politics of sexuality
Required readings
(13) Connell, R.W. (1995). "A Very Straight Guy", in Connell, R.W., Masculinities.
Berkeley/Los Angeles: University of California Press, pp. 143-163.

(14) Birnbaum, Pierre (1992). Anti-Semitism in France: a Political History from Leon
Blum to the Present. Oxford: Blackwell, pp. (ch. 7, "Hermaphrodism and Sexual
Perversion").
Supplementary readings
Carabine, Jean (1996). "Heterosexuality and Social Policy", in Richardson, Diane (ed.), Theorising
Heterosexuality. Buckingham/Philadelphia: Open University Press, pp. 55-74. (SES)
Connell, R.W. (1999). "Making Gendered People", in Ferree, Myra Marx, Lorber, Judith and Hess, Beth B.
(eds). Revisioning Gender. Thousand Oaks: Sage, pp. 449-471. (HC ok)
Enloe, Cynthia (2000). Maneuvres: the International Politics of Militarizing Women's Lives. Berkeley:
University of California Press.
Gill, Rosalind (2007). Gender and the Media. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Harrison, Wendy Cealey (2006). "The Shadow and the Substance. The Sex/Gender Debate", in David, Kathy,
Evans, Mary and Lorber, Judith (eds). Handbook of Gender and Women's Studies. London: Sage, pp.
35-52. (HC ok)
Lorber, Judith (1999). "Embattled Terrain. Gender and Sexuality", in Ferree, Myra Marx, Lorber, Judith and
Hess, Beth B. (eds). Revisioning Gender. Thousand Oaks: Sage, pp. 416-448. (HC ok)
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, Emile, or On Education, book V.
Yuval-Davis, Nira (1997). Gender and Nation. London: Sage.

Week 5
New gender equality strategies and policies
Class 1
Gender mainstreaming and gender quotas
Required readings
(15) Squires, Judith (2007). The New Politics of Gender Equality. Houndmills : Palgrave
Macmillan, pp. 21-51.

Class 2
State feminism and advocacy
Required readings
(16) Valiente, Celia (2007). "Developing Countries and New Democracies Matter: An
Overview of Research on State Feminism Worldwide". Politics and Gender 3(4): 530541.
(17) Htun, Mala and Weldon, Laurel S. (2010). "When Do Governments Promote
Women's Rights? A Framework for the Comparative Analysis of Sex Equality Policy".
Perspectives on Politics 8(1): 207-216.

Supplementary readings
Jezerska, Zuzana (2003). " Gender Awareness and the National Machineries in the Countries of Central and
Eastern Europe", in Rai, Shirin M. (ed), Mainstreaming Gender, Democratizing the State? Institutional
Mechanisms for the Advancement of Women. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
McBride, Dorothy and Mazur, Amy G. (2010). The Politics of State Feminism. Philadelphia: Temple University
Press, pp. 71-100.
Outshoorn, Joyce and Kantola, Johanna (ed.) (2007). Changing State Feminism. Houndmills: Palgrave
Macmillan.

McBride, Dorothy Stetson and Mazur, Amy G. (2010). "Introduction to Comparative State Feminism", in Krook,
Mona Lena and Childs, Sarah (eds). Women, Gender, and Politics. A Reader. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, pp. 319-325.
United Nations (2002). Gender Mainstreaming an Overview. New York: UN.
Verloo, Mieke (2006). "Multiple Inequalities,Intersectionality and the European Union". European Journal of
Women's Studies 13 ( 3) 211-228.
Weldon, S. Laurel (2002). Beyond Bodies: Institutional Sources of Representation for Women in Democratic
Policy-Making. The Journal of Politics 64(4): 1153-1174.

Week 6
The scope of politics and of political science
Class 1
Expanding the scope of "politics"
Required readings
(18) Roseneil, Sasha et al. (2011). "Intimate Citizenship and Gendered Well-Being: The
Claims and Interventions of Women's Movements in Europe", in Woodward, Alison
E., Bonvin, Jean-Michel and Merc, Renom (2011). Transforming Gendered WellBeing in Europe. The Impact of Social Movements. Farnham: Ashgate, pp. 187-212.
(19) Plummer, Ken (2003). Intimate Citizenship. Private Decisions and Public Dialogues.
Washington: University of Washington Press, pp. 67-83.
Class 2
Political science and gender
Required readings
(20) Beckwith, Karen (2010). "Comparative Politics and the Logics of a Comparative
Politics of Gender". Perspectives on Politics 8(1): 159-167.
(21) Leckenby, Denise (2007). "Feminist Empiricism: Challenging Gender Bias and
'Setting the Record Straight'", in Hesse-Biber, Sharlene Nagy and Leavy, Patricia Lina
(eds). Feminist Research Practice. Thousand Oaks: Sage, pp. 27-52.
Supplementary readings
Brettschneider, Marla (2011). "Heterosexual Political Science". Perspectives on Politics January 2011: 23-26.
Bryson, Valerie (1999). Feminist Debates. Issues of Theory and Political Practice. Houndmills/London:
Macmillan Press.
Coole, Diana (1993). Women in Political Theory. From Ancient Mysogyny to Contemporary Feminism. New
York: Harvester Wheatsheaf.
Hesse-Biber, Sharlene Hagy (ed.) (2012). Handbook of Feminist Research: Theory and Praxis. Thousand Oaks:
Krause, Sharon R. (2011). "Contested Questions, Current Trajectories: Feminism in Political Theory Today".
Politics & Gender 7(1) : 105-111.
Krook, Mona Lena 82011). "Gendering Comparative Politics: Achievements and Challenges". Politics and
Gender 7(1): 99-105.
Mucciaroni, Gary (2011). "The Study of LGBT Politics and Its Contributions to Political Science". Perspectives
on Politics January 2011: 13-16.
Okin, Susan Moller (1998). "Gender, the Public and the Private", in Phillips, Anne (ed.), Feminism and Politics.
Oxford: Oxford University Press , pp. 116-141.
Prgl, Elisabeth (2011). "Feminist International Relations". Politics & Gender 7(1): 111-116.
(22) Yaiser, Michelle L. and Hesse-Biber, Sharlene Nagy (eds) (2004). Feminist Perspectives on Social
Research. New York: Oxford University Press.

Friday (midnight): deadline for suggestion for a topic for the final paper (2-3 paragraphs +
bibliography)

Week 7
Preparation for part II
Class 1
How to prepare and give oral presentations basic principles and exercises.

Class 2
No class public holiday (Nov 1)
Week 8
Class 1
No class preparation time for exam
Class 2 (Nov 8)
In-class exam, 1h30 (without documentation).
Part II:
Exercises and presentations of individual projects

Week 9
Class 1
Practical exercise (to be defined)
Class 2
Practical exercise (to be defined)
Sunday (midnight): deadline for the first draft of the final paper.

Week 10
Class 1
Presentations of final papers
Class 2
Presentations of final papers
Week 11
Class 1
Presentations of final papers
Class 2
Presentations of final papers

Week 12

Class 1
Presentations of final papers
Class 2
Conclusion and evaluation
December 20 (midnight): deadline for the final paper
12.8.2012/ls