Multiculturalism and the Human Rights of Women

Catalog description

This course is designed to explore how gender and race -related social and cultural constructs have shaped the balance of power and privilege in liberal societies, and to assess the role of the law in perpetuating and/or combating the marginalization of women, with a special emphasis on those who belong to racial, cultural and religious minorities. Questions to be examined include the following: is the partnership of feminism and multiculturalism necessarily agonistic? In a culturally diverse world, what constitutes gender (in)equality? To which extent should democracies accommodate communal cultures inimical to liberal gender equality? How can democracies promote the political representation of minority women? How do gender and race related stereotypes shape the regulation of womens sexual and reproductive rights? Are there emerging international standards of protecting human rights that take into account the intersection of gender, race, religion and culture?