Spring 2016
WMNST 607
Privilege and Oppression: Gender, War, and Peace
Dr. Huma Ahmed-Ghosh
ghosh@mail.sdsu.edu
Office hrs. Tuesdays 4.00---6.40 p.m.
& by appointment
Class room: AL 318
Office: AL 346
Privilege and Oppression is an interdisciplinary course that discusses hierarchies of
women’s relation to war, peace and militarism, the theoretical debates over women as
“essentially” maternal and therefore more pacific; dependence of military policy on
notions of masculinity and femininity; war and militarism providing women’s greater
opportunities for advancement and equality; relationship between war, militarism, gender
inequality and racism; similarity and difference between personal violence against
women and state supported violence; relationship between feminism and peace activism.
The last few decades have seen more research on issues of masculinity, women’s
organizing and participation in peace processes during and after conflict. Through the
lens of privilege and oppression we will address the above issues as gendered
dichotomies persist in the waging of wars and making of peace. Using a feminist lens,
this course talks about the myriad ways in which ordinary women’s lives are impacted.
Goals of the course
---------- Analyze the larger context of war and its gender implications
---------- Identify issues of power created through cultural constructions of
masculinities and femininities
---------- Summarize the role of women’s movements in nationalist and liberatory
movements
---------- Examine the gendered consequences of war
---------- Critique the assumptions about maternalism and pacifism in women’s peace
activism
Required books: Available at KB Book Store.
Carol Cohn------Women and Wars
Black Board articles
Course requirements
1 Presentation + paper
2 Term papers
Lead discussion
Participation
Community events
25
40
15
10
10
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Week 1
Jan. 26
Introduction: Complicating Gender, War and Peace
Carol Cohn: Chapter 1
Nira Yuval-Davis: Gender, the National Imagination
Ni Aolain, Haynes, and Cahn. Ch. 1 (Before, During and After
Conflict,
Ch. 2 Gender and the Forms and Experience of Conflict (in On the
Frontlines)
Film: The 4th World War
Week 2
Identities, Nationalism and Gender
February 2
Albanese: Nationalism, War and Archaization of Gender Relations in
the Balkans
Cynthia Cockburn: The Continuum of Violence
Ahmed-Ghosh: Afghan Women Stranded at the Intersection of---
______________________________________________________________________
Week 3
Feb. 9
Masculinities in Conflict/Terrorism
Laura Sjoberg: Gendering Empire’s Soldiers
Liz Philipose: The Politics of Pain
Jennifer Heeg Maruska: When Are States Hypermasculine?
Gentry & Sjoberg. Ch 3: Triple Transgressions at Abu Ghraib
Film: Abu Ghraib—Dan Rather—60 minutes—start at 5.33
Week 4
Racialized Others/Prostitution and Nationalism
Feb. 16
Richard Fogarty: Race and Sex
Marie-Anne Matard-Bonucci: Italian Fascism’s Ethiopian Conquest
Margo Okazawa-Rey. Warring on Women: Understanding Complex
Inequalities of Gender, Race, Class, and Nation
Hee-Kang Kim: The Comfort Women System
Film: Arirang Special/Japan’s War Crimes Haunt the Japanese/
Korean Comfort Women and US Military #1
______________________________________________________________________
Week 5
Complexities of Mothering and War
Feb. 23
Sara Ruddick: Maternal Thinking as a Feminist Standpoint
2
Alison Bailey: Mothering, Diversity and Peace Politics
Linda Pershing: Blaming the Mother
Farhat Haq: Militarism and Motherhood
Guest Speaker: Victoria Gonzalez
______________________________________________________________________
Week 6
March 1
Israel and Palestine
Sophie Richter-Devroe: Defending Their Land, Protecting Their Men:
Palestinian Women’s Popular Resistance after the Second
Intifada
Kotef and Amir: (En)Gendering Checkpoints: Checkpoint Watch and
the Repercussions of Intervention
Sasson-Levy, Levy and Lomsky-Feder: Women Breaking the
Silence: Military Service, Gender, and Antiwar Protest
Shalhoub-Kevorkian: Counter-Spaces as Resistance
Newsweek-Speaker: Farid Abdul-Nour
________________________________________________________________________
Week 7
March 8
International Women’s Day—Assignment Due
No Class
Week 8
Sexual Violence in Conflict (combine film with readings)
March 15
Teresa Iacobelli: The Sum of Such Actions
Liz Kelly: The Everyday/Everynightness of Rape
Elizabeth Jean Wood: Sexual Violence During War
Megan Gerecke: Explaining Sexual Violence in Conflict Situations
Karen Engle: The Grip of Sexual Violence: Reading United Nations
Security Council Resolutions on Human Security
R. Charli Carpenter: Representations of Bosnian “War babies”
Film: Bosniaks Genocide—YouTube
Speaker: Annika Frieberg
_____________________________________________________________________
Week 9
Gendered Violence and Conflict /Domestic Violence
March 22
Carol Cohn: Chapters 2 (W and Pol. Eco), 3 (Health)
Aisling Swaine: Beyond Strategic Rape and Between the Public and
Private
3
Sanja C´opic. Wife abuse in the countries of the former Yugoslavia
McWilliams & Ni Aolain: ‘There Is a War Going On You Know’ Addressing the Complexity of Violence Against Women in
Conflicted and Post Conflict Societies
Spring Break
________________________________________________________________________
Week 10
Militarized Femininities
April 5
Miranda Alison. Women as Agents of Political Violence: Gendering
Security. Security Dialogue.
Hamilton: The gender politics of political violence: women armed
activists in ETA
Gentry & Sjoberg: Ch 6: Gendered Perpetrators of Genocide
Moaveni NY Times article
Film: ISIS Rojava
______________________________________________________________________
Week 11
Displacement
April 12
Carol Cohn: Chapter 4
Hyndman: Chapter 9
Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh: “Ideal” Refugee Women and Gender
Equality Mainstreaming in the Sahrawi Refugee Camps:
“Good Practice” for Whom?
NY Times article: On Perilous Migrant Trail, Women Often Become
Prey to Sexual Abuse
Speaker: Cheryl O’Brien
Film: At the End of the Gun
IRC—Sharon Kennedy
_________________________________________________________________
Week 12
April 19
Peace Building as a Gendered Process
Carol Cohn: Chapters 8, 9
Cheryl de la Rey: Peacebuilding as a Gendered Process
Ni Aolain, Haynes, and Cahn: Ch 3:The Significance of
Security: Realizing Peace;
Ch 4: Engendering International
Intervention
Film: Pray the Devil Back to Hell
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Week 13
International Frameworks and Post-conflict
April 26
Chinkin and Charlesworth
Otto: The Exile of Inclusion: Reflections on Gender Issues in
International Law Over the Last Decade
Barrow: UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820:
constructing gender in armed conflict and international
humanitarian law
Bell and O'Rourke: Peace Agreements or Pieces of Paper? The
Impact of UNSC Resolution 1325 on Peace Processes and Their
Agreements.
__________________________________________________________________
Week 14
Student Presentations
May 3
___________________________________________________________________
Week 15
Student Presentations
May 10
__________________________________________________________________
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Assignments
All assignments have to be typed, edited, stapled and handed in on time.
Please keep a map of the world with you to locate the countries we discuss in class.
Lead discussion: You need to pick a week to lead the discussion. This will entail
formulating 1 or 2 discussion questions covering all the readings for your selected week
and sending them to the students via blackboard by 8.00 a.m. Friday or Saturday before
your class.
Community Events
Students are expected to attend least two events colloquia and/or community events
relevant to Women's Studies. This is worth 10% of your grade.
Presentations and Term Papers:
For all your term papers you need to choose one conflict area or country to work on
throughout the semester. Details of all assignments will be discussed in class.
Assignment 1. Due March 8. (7-10 pages)
Pick a country/region and war. Based on your selection discuss contextualize the conflict
through one of the issues of masculinities discussed in this course. From your class
readings and with additional resources discuss the impact of the conflict on women’s
lives. Give a brief historical and cultural background of the region. Detail the political
history of the conflict in your region.
Assignment 2. Due April 5. (7-10 pages)
Interview a woman who has migrated to USA because of conflict in her home country.
The interview should be geared towards her gendered experiences of fleeing and settling
down in this country.
Or
Continuing with your country/conflict, elaborate on gendered violence in the conflict---relate it to women’s status in general and again historically contextualize the perpetuation
of gendered violence.
Assignment 3
In continuation with research on your specific war or country, discuss the situation of
women and children in refugee camps created through war. Discuss the war, region of
refugee camps, women’s situation and the assistance or lack of in the camps.
Or
Describe and analyze a women’s peace movement. Give the historical background of the
conflict and the effectiveness or lack of effectiveness of that organization. You can also
choose a women’s movement that was active in a nationalist struggle against colonialists.
This assignment is coupled with your presentation which will encompass your other
papers. The idea is for all of you to share your research in different countries. Your
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presentation should be interactive, creative, engaging and intelligent. The presentation
should be 10-12 minutes long.
Class Etiquette
 Arrive on time. Coming to class late and leaving early will count for an absence.
 Much of our learning, interacting, and critical growth will occur during class,
which requires that you be present. One excused absence is allowed per
semester.
 Food and beverages are okay, but please try not to be distracting!
 No late work. Under exceptional circumstances, extensions may be given, but
only with prior permission (Do not ask for extensions in front of the whole
class!!)
 Before entering the classroom, please turn off all cell phones, laptops, and any
other devices that may disrupt class. The use of cell phones for any reason
(including text messaging, checking voicemail/email, or browsing the web) will
not be tolerated. You will be asked to leave the class for the day and will lose
attendance points.
 We will often be covering topics that may be personally or politically
controversial, so respect for the opinions of all in the classroom is tremendously
important. Even, and especially, while disagreeing with an assigned text or a
classmate, remember to listen with openness and be courteous.
 We are operating from a class standpoint that social and individual inequality,
biases, and injustices do exist in our society. However, we will certainly allocate
class discussions to exploring the various manifestations of racism, sexism,
classism, homophobia, and other forms of discrimination.
Disability
In order to receive disability-related accommodations students must be registered
with the Center for Student Disability Services..
Religious Holidays
Students whose religious obligations will require them to miss class any time this
semester should inform the instructor during the first week of class.
Cheating and plagiarism are serious offenses. You are plagiarizing or cheating if you:
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for written work, copy anything from a book, article or website and add or paste it
into your paper without using quotation marks and/or without providing the full
reference for the quotation, including page numbers, etc.
for written work, summarize / paraphrase in your own words ideas you got from a
book, article, or the web without providing the full reference for the source
(including page number in the humanities)
for an oral presentation, copy anything from a book, article, or website and
present it orally as if it were your own words. You must summarize and
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paraphrase in your own words, and bring a list of references in case the professor
asks to see it
use visuals or graphs you got from a book, article, or website without providing
the full reference for the picture or table
recycle a paper you wrote for another class
turn in the same (or a very similar paper) for two classes
purchase or otherwise obtain a paper and turn it in as your own work
copy off of a classmate
use technology or smuggle in documents to obtain or check information in an
exam situation
In a research paper, it is always better to include too many references than not enough.
When in doubt, always err on the side of caution. If you have too many references it
might make your professor smile; if you don’t have enough you might be suspected of
plagiarism!
If you have any question or uncertainty about what is or is not cheating, it is your
responsibility to ask your instructor.
If a faculty member suspects a violation of academic integrity and, upon investigation,
confirms that violation, or if the student admits the violation, the faculty member MUST
report the violation.
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