Course Catalogue

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The course tackles a highly topical issue - nationalism and its relationship to gender - enabling students to critically engage with current public debates on the global surge of right-wing populist forces and, more specifically, with recent gendered developments in anti-immigration politics in European societies. The course engages with feminist theories of nationalism, which have conceptualized the ways in which women are mobilized by nationalist movements as well as the relationship between feminisms and nationalisms across different contexts including Europe, the Americas and Asia.

10 x 2-hour sessions

In order to take this course, students need to have met the requirements for entry into the Sociology Honours Programme. This means achieving a grade of 'D' or better in Sociology 1A and 1B and a 'C' or better in Sociology 2A and 2B. Students also have to comply with the College of Social Science regulations for progression to Honours.

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4,000-word essay as summative assessment (100%).

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. Where, exceptionally, reassessment on Honours courses is required to satisfy professional/accreditation requirements, only the overall course grade achieved at the first attempt will contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

The specific aims of this course are to prepare the students for further study and research in the field of sociology, with particular reference to gender and sexuality, masculinities/femininities, nationalism and ethnicity. The course will engage with historical studies as well as with materials focusing on different contexts such as Latin America, Australia and Asia. The students will be encouraged to explore the relevance of sociological knowledge of gender, nationalism and ethnicity to social policy and to non-academic contexts.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Identify and evaluate key concepts and debates relating to the sociological analysis of gender and nationalism and its development since the 1990s;

■ Conceptualize the relationship between gender relations and nationalist mobilizations, by drawing on theoretical and empirical research;

■ Critically analyze how nationalist discourses and practices are gendered and sexualized across different geographical and historical contexts;

■ Demonstrate an awareness of methodological, ethical and political issues associated with sociological research in the field of gender and nationalism;

■ Assess arguments about the gendered nature of current public and political debates on nationalism, populism and multiculturalism.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.