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Feminism (PHIL20046)
Undergraduate level 2Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
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Contact information
Winter Term
Overview
Availability | Winter Term |
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“Feminism is for everybody”! “Men have no place on the women’s march!”. "If your feminism isn’t intersectional, it’s bullshit!” “It is not the job of feminism to care about all injustice everywhere!”. “Feminism is about women’s equality with men!”. “Feminism isn’t about equality with men, it’s about women’s liberation from what men have created!” These are all familiar claims, and yet they pull in completely different directions. What is feminism? Who is it for? Can men be feminists? What is intersectionality, and must feminism be intersectional? What are the orthodoxies of mainstream feminism, and do they hold up under scrutiny? In this subject we’ll critically consider a range of feminist arguments (with an emphasis on second wave feminism). We’ll also consider a range of applied topics like prostitution, surrogacy, inclusion of transwomen, beauty norms, and feminist tactics.
Intended learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this subject should:
- Achieve a sound comprehension of the major views in feminist theory (liberal, radical, 1st - 3rd wave) and their contemporary political applications
- Acquire a familiarity with some key texts from which these views come
- Demonstrate understanding of feminist theory on which to build further expertise in the Level-3 course 'Race and Gender'
- Learn to deploy the methods of critical analysis and argument employed in analytic philosophy.
Generic skills
- Acquire strong skills in critical analysis and argument
- Improve upon general reasoning
- Strengthen written communication.
Last updated: 5 December 2023