Gender and International Development

Catalog description

This course examines gendered processes of economic and social change in the Global South in a context of rapid globalization. We will study how gender inequities and inequalities shape and are shaped by economic restructuring, environmental change, international migration, the global spread of ideas and culture, and the shifting goals of International Development agencies. Readings and discussions are organized around three main learning units: 1) Approaches to Gender in Development; 2) Gender, Work, and Identity in the Global Economy; and 3) Rights, Reproduction and the Body. Particular attention will be paid to representations of women and men by Western organizations acting in the name of Feminism and/or Development, and to the responses of feminist communities in the South to these portrayals. In studying these issues, we will resist the tendency to conflate "gender" with "women", instead looking comprehensively at the identities, rights, and lived experiences of diverse gendered identities. We will carefully consider differences using an intersectional frame that considers social factors such as sexuality, race, economic class, and legal status. Students will explore issues through diverse materials including reports, articles, book chapters, documentaries, presentations, and popular media.