Feminism: Theory & Practice

By Ningombam Shreema Devi | Department of Political Science, Nambol Sanoi College, Manipur

Learners enrolled: 642

This course will introduce various theories of patriarchy. It will discuss theories of sex/gender debate and the concept of biological determinism which is the ideological foundation of patriarchy. This course will explore various strands of feminism namely Liberal, Marxist, Socialist, Radical and other new feminist schools like post modern feminism and ecofeminism. The course provides a detail analysis of feminism in western countries like France, Britian and USA. The course will also explore Feminism in the Socialist Countries: China, Cuba and erstwhile USSR. Feminist issues and women’s participation in anti-colonial and national liberation movements with special focus on India will also be discussed elaborately.

The third section of the course deals with feminism in Indian experience. It deals with Traditional Historiography and Feminist critiques. The course will have an in-depth analysis of Social Reforms Movement and position of women in India tracing History of Women’s struggle in India. The course will also deal with Family in contemporary India in terms of patrilineal and matrilineal practices. Other topics covered are Gender Relations in the Family, Patterns of Consumption: Intra Household Divisions, entitlements and bargaining and Property Rights. The course will help in Understanding Woman’s Work and Labour – Sexual Division of Labour, Productive and Reproductive labour, Visible - invisible work – Unpaid (reproductive and care), Underpaid and Paid work and Methods of Computing women’s work. The course will also discuss the nature of female-headed households.

Students will gain a vast knowledge of the concept of feminism and its method of study. This is essential in building a sexually egalitarian society. The aim of the course is to explain contemporary debates on feminism and the history of feminist struggles. It outlines the basic theoretical and conceptual tools students will need in order to view social structures and relations as producers and repositories of gender inequality. The course will sensitise the student on gender issues, feminist theorisation of polity and society and the history of feminist movement in west and India. In this course, students will gain advanced understanding of theoretical debates about gender and feminism. You will learn to identify strengths and weaknesses within these theories to recognise and classify arguments used to support gender equality. You will acquire knowledge about how theories established within specific disciplines and situations develop and change in an interdisciplinary and political context. You will also learn how to critically analyse the structures and practice of feminist theories. This course will also support the development of more general academic skills, such as critically examining theories from different scholarly fields, analyse and discuss explicit and implicit theoretical assumptions, and to identify problems and possibilities within feminist theories.

Summary

Course Status :	Ongoing
Course Type :	Core
Language for course content :	English
Duration :	15 weeks
Category :	Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit Points :	5
Level :	Undergraduate
Start Date :	15 Jul 2024
End Date :	31 Oct 2024
Enrollment Ends :	31 Aug 2024
Exam Date :	15 Dec 2024 IST
Exam Shift :	Shift 1

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.

Page Visits

Course layout

WEEK 1	1	1 Patriarchy
		2 Origin and concept of Patriarchy
		3 Patriarchy and its ideological foundation: Biological Determinism
	2	1 Feminist critique of Patriarchy
		2 The social construction of gender
		3 Gender as performative
		4 Sex and gender Discrimination: Biologism versus Social Constructivism
	3	First Wave Feminism
	4	Second Wave Feminism
WEEK 2	5	Third Wave Feminism
	6	Public-Private Divide and Feminism
	7	Feminist criticism of Public Private Distinction
	8	Feminism and the concept of power
WEEK 3	9	Feminism and the concept of empowerment
	10	Introduction to Liberal and Radical Feminism
	11	Liberal Feminism
	12	Radical Feminism
WEEK 4	13	Marxist/Socialist Feminism
	14	Marxist Feminism and Post Modern feminism
	15	Post-modern Feminism
	16	Cultural Feminism
WEEK 5	17	Introduction to Ecofeminism and Black Feminism
	18	Black Feminism
	19	Eco-Feminism
	20	Postcolonial Feminism
WEEK 6	21	Islamic feminism
	22	Feminist Discourse and its Discontent
	23	Critique of Feminist Theory
WEEK 7	24	Feminism in the West
	25	Feminism In India
	26	Third World Feminism
WEEK 8	27	Feminism in Britain in 19th century
	28	Feminism in Britain in 20th and 21st century
	29	Women’s Movement in post Independent India
WEEK 9	30	Women’s studies and Women’s movement in India
	31	1 Women and caste system in India
		2 Dalit Women and their Problem
	32	1 Women and State
		2 Women and Indian State
WEEK 10	33	Traditional Historiography and Feminist Critiques
	34	Social Reforms Movement and Position of Women in India
	35	1 Women and Social Reform movements in the 19th Century India
		2 Women Reforms Movement and their Position in India
WEEK 11	36	History of Women’s Struggle in India
	37	Feminist Perspective on Family
	38	1 Family as a social system, socialization within the family
		2 Family in Contemporary India : Patrilineal and Matrilineal Practices
WEEK 12	39	Feminist Views on Family in India
	40	Gender Equality
		Gender Relations in the Family: Patterns of Consumption
	41	Intra Household Divisions
WEEK 13	42	Entitlements and Bargaining
	43	Property Rights
	44	Sexual Division of Labour
WEEK 14	45	Productive and Reproductive Labour
	46	1 Visible and Invisible work
		2 Women and work in India: The concept of visible and invisible work
		3 Why women’s work is not visible
	47	1 Reproductive and care work: An introduction
		2 Unpaid (Reproductive and Care)
		3 Care as a political concept
WEEK 15	48	Underpaid and Paid Work
	49	Methods of Computing Women’s Work
	50	Female Headed Households

Books and references

1.Beauvoir, Simone de. The Second Sex. Translated by H. M. Parshley. New York: Vintage Books. 1989.

2.Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble: Feminism and Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge. 1990.

3. “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory.” Theatre Journal, vol. 40, no. 4. 1988, pp.519-531. Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press.

4.Menon, Nivedita. Seeing Like a Feminist. United Kingdom: Penguin Random House Private Limited. 2012.

5.Merleau-Ponty, Maurice. "The Body in its Sexual Being," in The Phenomenology of Perception. Translated by Colin Smith. Boston: Routledge and Kegan Paul. 1962.

Instructor bio

Ningombam Shreema Devi

Department of Political Science, Nambol Sanoi College, Manipur

Ningombam Shreema Devi is currently working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science, Nambol L. Sanoi College, Manipur. She has experience of teaching Political Science to undergraduate students for more than 11 years. She has been teaching Political Theory and Western Political Thought and other chapters related to women. She has received her MA and M. Phil degree from University of Delhi, New Delhi with specialisation in the area of International Relations. Her areas of interest are Northeast India, Gender Issues and Women’s Issues in the contemporary society of Manipur. To her credit, she has published articles in many journals. She has also contributed a few chapters in books. Along with these, she has presented a good number of papers in national and international conferences and seminars. In addition to these, she has attended and delivered lectures in workshops and conferences as resource person. She is also the co-author of an anthology of poems titled 'Tattooed with Taboos' dealing with women’s issues in Northeast India.