GV522-7-AU-CO:
Gender and Armed Conflict
2024/25
Government
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Postgraduate: Level 7
Current
Thursday 03 October 2024
Friday 13 December 2024
15
23 April 2024
Requisites for this module
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War narratives and studies of political violence have traditionally focused on the roles and actions of men. Women, to the extent they are considered, have typically been framed as innocent bystanders and victims. Yet, women often actively participate in civil wars and in terrorist campaigns, either as civilian supporters of these groups or as armed fighters.
Women are therefore both willing to and capable of engaging in the same violent actions as their male counterparts during wartime. Intriguingly, there is also evidence that the inclusion of women in political processes--particularly in positions of authority--may help promote peace, resolve political conflicts, and increase stability after armed conflict.
In addition to acknowledging the profound impact that civil conflicts have on women (including sexual violence and displacement), this course explores the many important roles that women often play in terrorist and rebel organizations and examines women's potential contributions to post-war peace building and conflict resolution.
The objective of the course is that students gain a better understanding of the roles women play in the production and resolution of political violence and the manner in which gender and gender attitudes influence war and armed conflict.
The aims of this module are:
- To introduce students to alternative theoretical lenses—such as feminist and critical gender perspectives—in contemporary security and conflict studies.
- To engage with a wide range of applied empirical material relating to the role of women in armed conflict, including in-depth case analyses and quantitative datasets measuring women’s participation in armed conflict or other phenomena related to gender and armed conflict (e.g., data on sexual violence or women’s representation).
- To evaluate contemporary conflicts and security policies using the theoretical lenses and empirical material introduced in the module through classroom discussion investigative research beyond the classroom.
- To develop research, analytical, and presentation skills through a formal research paper that includes systematic qualitative or quantitative analysis of a question related to the course themes and materials and presenting the findings in a colloquia format.
By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:
- Identify and describe the history of women’s participation in the national militaries of the US, European states, and other countries.
- Identify and describe the various roles that women play in historical and contemporary armed resistance movements.
- Identify and explain the various sources of the gendered nature of recruitment and participation in armed groups.
- Discuss the use and implications of gendered imagery during armed conflict and evaluate the effectiveness of such imagery as a propaganda tool.
- Compare, evaluate, and critique different theoretical perspectives on the influence of gender on armed conflict prevalence, resolution, and dynamics.
- Evaluate the affects and potential externalities associated with efforts to increase women’s participation in conflict resolution, peacekeeping, and post-conflict governance.
- Synthesize relevant information from the module (as well as external sources), critique existing arguments regarding a topic related to the course themes, and apply arguments and empirical materials from the course to a question through an independent research paper.
Syllabus Information
- Research and Analysis on Gender and Conflict (discussion of positivist versus post-positivist approaches to the study of gender and politics).
- Women in State Armed Forces and National Militaries.
- Female Combatants in Counter-insurgency Operations.
- Women in Armed Resistance Movements.
- Gendered Recruitment and its Implications.
- Gendered Symbolism and Imagery in Wartime.
- Women as Victims and Perpetrators of Atrocity.
- Women, Gender and Peacekeeping.
- Women in Post-conflict Politics and Society.
- Conclusion, Review, and Reflections.
The module will be delivered via:
- Two 1-hour sessions per week.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
Group Presentation |
|
25% |
| Coursework |
In Class Test |
|
35% |
| Coursework |
Essay |
|
40% |
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Prof Reed Wood, email: reed.wood@essex.ac.uk.
Professor Reed Wood
Please contact govpgquery@essex.ac.uk
Yes
No
Yes
No external examiner information available for this module.
Available via Moodle
No lecture recording information available for this module.
Government
* Please note: due to differing publication schedules, items marked with an asterisk (*) base their information upon the previous academic year.
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