Feminist Theory Course

Lesson 1 • Early Women's Rights Movements

Traces organised advocacy for women's rights from the 18th century onward. Connects historical activism to the emergence of formal feminist theory.

Lesson 2 • First-Wave Feminist Texts

Examines foundational texts that articulated women's subordination and demanded change. Students practise close reading of primary sources as theoretical evidence.

Lesson 3 • Defining Feminism and Its Scope

Clarifies what feminism is, what it critiques, and why it matters as a field. Grounds students in shared terminology before engaging theoretical debates.

Lesson 1 • Comparing Reform and Revolution

Directly contrasts liberal and radical strategies for achieving gender justice. Students evaluate which framework better addresses specific forms of inequality.

Lesson 2 • Radical Feminist Theory

Analyses radical feminism's argument that patriarchy is the primary system of oppression requiring root-level transformation. Introduces key radical feminist concepts and debates.

Lesson 3 • Applying These Frameworks to Cases

Students apply liberal and radical lenses to real-world gender issues to test each framework's explanatory power. Develops analytical practice central to the course.

Lesson 1 • Class, Gender, and Solidarity

Explores how class position shapes women's experiences of gender oppression and political organising. Students evaluate strategies for cross-class feminist solidarity.

Lesson 2 • Reproductive Labour and Care Work

Focuses on the feminist analysis of unpaid reproductive and care labour as economically significant. Connects this analysis to contemporary debates on wages for housework.

Lesson 3 • Marxist Feminism and Capitalism

Analyses how capitalism and private property underpin women's subordination in Marxist feminist thought. Connects Engels's foundational arguments to later feminist elaborations.

Lesson 1 • Intersectionality as Analytical Tool

Introduces Kimberlé Crenshaw's intersectionality framework and its application to law, policy, and lived experience. Students practise using intersectionality as an analytical method.

Lesson 2 • Expanding Intersectional Analysis

Extends intersectionality to include disability, sexuality, class, and nationality as axes of analysis. Students build complex, multi-axis analyses of social inequality.

Lesson 3 • Race, Gender, and Systems of Power

Examines how race and gender interact within systems of slavery, colonialism, and structural racism. Deepens students' understanding of how multiple oppressions co-constitute each other.

Lesson 1 • Poststructuralism and Feminist Theory

Introduces poststructuralist concepts—discourse, deconstruction, subject formation—and their feminist applications. Prepares students to read theoretically dense feminist texts.

Lesson 2 • Language, Representation, and Power

Analyses how language and cultural representation produce and reinforce gendered norms. Students apply discourse analysis to texts, media, and institutional language.

Lesson 3 • Critiques of Postmodern Feminism

Evaluates objections that postmodern feminism undermines political agency and material analysis. Students weigh these critiques to develop a nuanced theoretical position.

Lesson 1 • Global Feminist Movements in Practice

Analyzes how transnational and postcolonial theories inform real global feminist campaigns. Students evaluate the effectiveness of cross-border feminist organizing.

Lesson 2 • Transnational Feminist Frameworks

Examines transnational feminism's focus on global economic and political structures affecting women. Students apply this framework to issues crossing national borders.

Lesson 3 • Postcolonial Feminist Critique

Introduces postcolonial feminist challenges to Western feminism's universalizing assumptions. Students analyze how colonial legacies shape gender relations globally.

Lesson 1 • Heteronormativity and Gender Norms

Analyzes how heteronormativity enforces gender conformity and marginalizes non-normative lives. Students apply this concept to institutions, culture, and everyday practice.

Lesson 2 • Queer Feminist Political Strategies

Evaluates queer feminist approaches to political organizing beyond identity-based models. Students assess how queer politics challenges and enriches feminist strategy.

Lesson 3 • Queer Theory's Feminist Roots

Traces queer theory's emergence from feminist and gay liberation thought. Students understand the intellectual genealogy connecting feminist and queer frameworks.

Lesson 1 • Feminist Policy Analysis

Applies feminist frameworks to evaluate policies affecting gender equity in institutions and society. Students practice identifying gendered assumptions embedded in policy design.

Lesson 2 • Feminist Critique of Media and Culture

Applies feminist theory to analyze media, popular culture, and digital spaces as sites of gender production. Students produce original cultural criticism using course frameworks.

Lesson 3 • Feminist Organising and Movement Building

Examines feminist organizational models, coalition strategies, and movement sustainability. Students connect theoretical commitments to practical organizing principles.

Lesson 4 • Feminist Research Methodologies

Introduces feminist approaches to research design, data collection, and knowledge production. Students understand how feminist epistemology shapes methodological choices.