Rethinking politics: gender and feminism
G Robinson
12 points * 2 hours per week * Second semester * Clayton
This subject examines modern political thinkers and feminist responses to their work. It investigates the major works of modern political theory and the way the category `woman' has been conceived. In particular, it examines the main contemporary feminist challenges to these perspectives by considering the fundamental assumptions upon which modern political theory is based inasmuch as these construe the ways in which modern men and women are conceptualised and expected to act as rational political subjects. The main purpose of this subject is to understand the significance of gender in modern political thought and to critically assess the value of contemporary feminist analyses.
Assessment
Written (6000 words): 60% * Examination(3 hours): 40%
Recommended texts
Barret M and Phillips A Destabilizing theory: Contemporary feminist debates CUP, 1992
Kennedy E and Mendus S (eds) Women in Western political philosophy 1987
Moller O S Women in Western political thought Princeton, 1979
Pateman C and Grosz L Feminist challenges: Social and political theory Sydney, 1986