Gender and Cross-Disciplinary Research Methods

Catalog description

In this course, students will read and discuss key texts that outline philosophies and methods of feminist knowledge production. Students will engage with foundational feminist epistemologies, such as standpoint theory, situated knowledges, and intersectionality, to understand the complex relationships between gender, race, class, and other categories that shape the distribution of power both within and outside the academy. They will explore research methods across fields while examining important debates about a researcher’s role and responsibilities to her/his/their subjects and the public. Research ethics regarding data collection, interpretation, and dissemination will be discussed. Quantitative and qualitative approaches will be included. Applying these interdisciplinary theories of knowledge production, students will develop a research proposal. During weekly writing workshops, students will draft, peer-review, and revise portions of a research proposal that address the question, methods, literature review, and significance of that project. Students will also develop an abstract related to this project and submit it to a conference.