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Syllabus:

Critical Perspectives on Nordic Gender Equalities, 15 credits

Swedish name: Critical Perspectives on Nordic Gender Equalities
This syllabus is valid: 2017-12-11 and until further notice
Course code: 2KC009
Credit points: 15
Education level: Second cycle
Main Field of Study and progress level: Gender Studies: Second cycle, has only first-cycle course/s as entry requirements
Law: Second cycle, has only first-cycle course/s as entry requirements
Grading scale: Pass with distinction, Pass, Fail
Responsible department: Umeå Centre for Gender Studies (UCGS)
Revised by: Director of Umeå Centre for Gender Studies (UCGS), 2017-12-05

Contents

This course deals with gender equality as political ideal and practice in the Nordic region. Taking a historical departure the course will address questions such as: How and when was the issue of gender equality put on the political agenda in the Nordic countries? How is gender equality understood and practised today? Are Nordic countries still to be conceived as egalitarian? Drawing on various research fields such as post-structuralist feminist theory, postcolonial theory as well as critical perspectives on violence, class and sexuality the course will explore the ideal of gender equality from different angles. Special emphasis is put on examining the ways in which present day Nordic societies in general and gender equality in particular are marked by processes of postcoloniality, heteronormativity and neoliberalism. This is a cross-disciplinary course and will be able to enrich and complement courses in many different programmes. The course is organized around active student participation and consists of lectures, seminars and written examinations. The course is taught in English.

Expected learning outcomes

Module 1: Gender and Politics in the Nordic countries (7,5 ECTS)

After the course the student shall be able to

- describe the history of Nordic politics of gender equality as well as be able independently identify and compare central divisions in Nordic feminist research on gender equality and politics.

- orally and in writing present an independent and critical analysis of different conceptualisations of gender equality.

Module 2: Critical Perspectives on Nordic Gender Equality (7,5 ECTS)

After the course the student shall be able to

- describe and independently compare the different feminist analytical positions presented during the module.

- orally and in writing present an independent and critical analysis of Nordic gender equality related to processes of heteronormativity, colonialism, class and neo-liberalism.

Added to this, the student should be able to contribute to qualified analytical comments at seminars and lead discussions.

Required Knowledge

To be admitted to the course applicants must have completed three semesters of full time studies, equivalent to 90 ECTS, of which at least 15 ECTS must be an independent project or four semesters of full time studies equivalent to 120 ECTS.

English proficiency equivalent to English A/5 from Swedish Upper secondary education.

Form of instruction

Teaching is conducted through lectures and seminars. Major part of the scheduled lectures and seminars are compulsory, and students who are unable to participate may be given extra examination tasks. Emphasis is placed on students’ independent work.

Examination modes

The course will be examined gradually through active participation in seminars, and through individual oral, and written examination. The examination of module 1 consists of one written assignment. The examination of module 2 consists of one individual written assignment. For both modules and the course as a whole, the following grades are given: Fail (U), Pass (G) and Pass with distinction (VG). In order to be awarded Pass for the entire course, it is necessary that all examinations and all compulsory teaching sessions have been passed. In order to achieve Pass with distinction on the whole course, this grade is demanded on module one and two.

A re-sit examination can be offered at the earliest ten days and at the latest three months after publishing information about the first examination. One more examination will be offered within the next year. A student who has passed the examination is not eligible for a new examination to raise grades. The option of a re-examination based on the original course syllabus will be available for at least two years after a student registered for the course. All in all, a student is given five chances of fulfilling the course examination. A student has the right to change examiner after failing two examinations for a course module, unless there are strong arguments against this. Course diplomas will be issued within 60 days after a passed examination.

Academic credit transfer

This course cannot be credited for other courses in gender studies at Umeå University. A course with the same name (7,5 ECTS), given during Autumn 2006, can be given credits for in this course corresponding to 7,5 ECTS. For further information we recommend contact with the director of studies.

Literature

Women-friendly policy paradoxes? Childcare policies and gender equality visions in Scandinavia
Borchorst Anette
Included in:
Gender equality and welfare politics in Scandinavia
Bristol : Policy : 2008 : xi, 244 s. :
Mandatory
Reading instructions: pp 27-42

“ The claim of economic citizenship: the concept of equality in a historical context
Carlsson Wetterberg Christina, Melby Kari
Included in:
Gender equality and welfare politics in Scandinavia
Bristol : Policy : 2008 : xi, 244 s. : 43-62 pages
Mandatory

Introduction
Currell Susan
Included in:
Popular eugenics
Athens, Ohio : Ohio University Press : c2006. : x, 406 p. : 1-16 pages
Mandatory
Reading instructions: p 1-16

The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism
Esping-Andersen Gösta
Included in:
The welfare state
Cambridge : Polity Press in association with Blackwell : 2000 : xi, 403 s. : 160-174 pages
Mandatory

Families in the 21st century
Esping-Andersen Gøsta
1. uppl. : Stockholm : SNS förlag : 2016 : 113 s. :
ISBN: 9789186949815
Mandatory
Search the University Library catalogue

Eugenics and the Welfare State : Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland
Michigan State University Press : 2005 :
Mandatory

A Scandinavian Model? Gender Equality Discourses on Multiculturalism.
Langvasbråten Trude
Included in:
Social politics
Champaign, Ill. : Published by the University of Illinois Press in cooperation with the Swedish Council for Social Research : 1994- : 15 (1) : 32-52. (20 pages) pages
Mandatory

Gender and Welfare Regimes
Lewis Jane
Included in:
Social politics
Champaign, Ill. : Published by the University of Illinois Press in cooperation with the Swedish Council for Social Research : 1994- : Vol. 1(1994)- :
Reading instructions: pp. 160-177

Masculinity studies and male violence: Critique or collusion?
McCarry Melanie
Included in:
Women's studies international forum
Oxford : Pergamon P. : 1982- : 30 : 404-415 pages
Mandatory

Women-friendly policy paradoxes? : Childcare policies and gender equality visions in Scandinavia
Melby Kari, Borchorst Anette
Included in:
Gender equality and welfare politics in Scandinavia
Bristol : Policy : 2008 : xi, 244 s. :
Mandatory
Reading instructions: pp. 27-42

A nordic Model of gender equality? Introduction
Melby Kari, Carlsson Wetterberg Christina, Ravn Anna-Birte
Included in:
Gender equality and welfare politics in Scandinavia
Bristol : Policy : 2008 : xi, 244 s. : 1-26 pages
Mandatory

National Strategy to Prevent Violence in Intimate Relations
The Danish Government :
http://www.lige.dk/no_cache/gender-equality-work-in-denmark/news/single-news/artikel/national-strategy-to-prevent-violence-in-intimate-relation/
Mandatory

Trouble in Paradise: Exploring Patterns of Research and Policy Response to Men's Violence in Denmark and Sweden
Pringle Keith, Balkmar Dag, Iovanni LeeAnn
Included in:
Nora
London : Taylor & Francis : 1998- : 18 : 105-121 pages
Mandatory

Approaches to gender mainstreaming: What's the problem represented to be?
Bacchi Carol, Eveline Joan
Included in:
Mainstreaming politics
Adelaide, S. Aust. : University of Adelaide Press : c2010. : xviii, 368 p. :
Mandatory

Mainstreaming and neoliberalism: a contested relationship.
Bacchi Carol, Eveline Joan
Included in:
Mainstreaming politics
Adelaide, S. Aust. : University of Adelaide Press : c2010. : xviii, 368 p. :
Mandatory

Postmodern Exposures, Feminist Hesitations.
Brown Wendy
Included in:
States of injury
Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press : 1995 : xiii, 202 s. : 30-51. (21 pages) pages
Mandatory

Suffering Rights as Paradoxes.
Brown Wendy
Included in:
Constellations
Oxford : Blackwell Publishers : 1997- : Vol 7 : 230-241. (11 pages) pages
Mandatory

Representations of Equality : Processes of Depoliticization of the Citizen-Subject
Edenheim Sara, Rönnblom Malin
Included in:
Gendered Citizenship and the Politics of Representation
London : Palgrave Macmillan UK : 2016. : XVII, 312 p. 2 illus. :
Mandatory

Women's questions on the agenda : the politicisation of gender equality in Sweden
Florin Christina, Nilsson Bengt
Included in:
Different paths to modernity
Lund : Nordic Academic Press : 2005 : 368 s. :
Mandatory

Feminism, capitalism and the cunning of history
Frazer Nancy
Included in:
New left review.
London,c 1960- : 1960- : Vol. 56 : 20 s. pages
Mandatory

Equality politics out of the subaltern
Honkanen Kattis
Included in:
Critical studies of gender equalities
Göteborg ;a Stockholm : Makadam : 2008 : 223 s. :
Mandatory
Reading instructions: pp 204-219

Discursive Dynamics in Gender Equality Politics: What about ‘Feminist Taboos’?
Lombardo Emanuela, Meier Petra, Verloo Mieke
Included in:
The European journal of women's studies
London : Sage : 1999- : 17 : 105-123 pages
Mandatory

Conflict, danger and Difference. Nordic heterosexual couples converse about gender equality and fairness.
Magnusson Eva
Included in:
Critical studies of gender equalities
Göteborg ;a Stockholm : Makadam : 2008 : 223 s. : 161-179. (17 pages) pages
Mandatory

In the land of equality?
Raevaara Eeva
Included in:
Critical studies of gender equalities
Göteborg ;a Stockholm : Makadam : 2008 : 223 s. :
Mandatory
Reading instructions: pp 75-93

De-politicising gender? : constructions of gender equality in Swedish regional policy
Rönnblom Malin
Included in:
Critical studies of gender equalities
Göteborg ;a Stockholm : Makadam : 2008 : 223 s. :
Mandatory
Reading instructions: pp 112-143

Management and gender diversity : intertwining categories and paradoxes
Staunæs Dorthe, Søndergaard Dorte Marie
Included in:
Critical studies of gender equalities
Göteborg ;a Stockholm : Makadam : 2008 : 223 s. :
Mandatory
Reading instructions: pp 135-160

Queering the family. Critical reflections on state regulated heteronormativity in the Scandinavian countries.
Stormhoj Christel
Included in:
Lambda nordica
Stockholm : Föreningen Lambda nordica : 1989- : 3-4 (8) : 38-56. (18 pages) pages
Mandatory

From threat to promise. The changing position of gender quota in the Swedish debate on Women's Political representations.
Törnqvist Maria
Included in:
Critical studies of gender equalities
Göteborg ;a Stockholm : Makadam : 2008 : 223 s. : 75-93. (18 pages) pages
Mandatory

Do Muslim Women really need saving? Antropological reflections on Cultural Relativism and its Others.
Abu Lughod Lila
Included in:
American anthropologist
Washington N.W., D.C. : American Anthropological Assoc. : 1888- : Vol. 1 (1888)-11 (1898) ; N.S., 1 (1899)- : Vol 104. Issue 3. : 783-790. (6 pages) pages
Mandatory
Reading instructions: pp. 783-790

Action Plan against Domestic Violence 2012
Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Security. : 2012 :

Mandatory

Women-friendly policy paradoxes? Childcare policies and gender equality visions in Scandinavia
Borchorst Anette
Included in:
Gender equality and welfare politics in Scandinavia
Bristol : Policy : 2008 : xi, 244 s. :
Mandatory
Reading instructions: pp 27-42

Immigrant Women Facing Male Partner Violence : Gender, Race and Power in Swedish Alien and Criminal Law
Burman Monica
Included in:
feminists@law
Canterbury : University of Kent : 2 :
Mandatory

The requirement to speak : Victim stories in Swedish policies against honour-related violence
Carbin Maria
Included in:
Women's studies international forum : h [Elektronisk resurs] b a multidisciplinary journal ...
Oxford : Pergamon P. : 1982- : 46 : 107-114 pages

Mandatory

“ The claim of economic citizenship: the concept of equality in a historical context
Carlsson Wetterberg Christina, Melby Kari
Included in:
Gender equality and welfare politics in Scandinavia
Bristol : Policy : 2008 : xi, 244 s. : 43-62 pages
Mandatory

Introduction
Currell Susan
Included in:
Popular eugenics
Athens, Ohio : Ohio University Press : c2006. : x, 406 p. : 1-16 pages
Mandatory
Reading instructions: p 1-16

The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism
Esping-Andersen Gösta
Included in:
The welfare state
Cambridge : Polity Press in association with Blackwell : 2000 : xi, 403 s. : 160-174 pages
Mandatory

Families in the 21st century
Esping-Andersen Gøsta
1. uppl. : Stockholm : SNS förlag : 2016 : 113 s. :
ISBN: 9789186949815
Mandatory
Search the University Library catalogue
Reading instructions: pp 40-68

Eugenics and the Welfare State : Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland
Michigan State University Press : 2005 :
Mandatory

Discourses on honour-related violence in Finnish policy documents
Hong Tuuli
Included in:
Nora
London : Taylor & Francis : 1998- :
Mandatory

The exotic North : gender, nation branding and post-colonialism in Iceland
Kristín Loftsdóttir
Included in:
Nora
London : Taylor & Francis : 1998- :
Mandatory

A Scandinavian Model? Gender Equality Discourses on Multiculturalism.
Langvasbråten Trude
Included in:
Social politics
Champaign, Ill. : Published by the University of Illinois Press in cooperation with the Swedish Council for Social Research : 1994- : 15 (1) : 32-52. (20 pages) pages
Mandatory

Masculinity studies and male violence: Critique or collusion?
McCarry Melanie
Included in:
Women's studies international forum
Oxford : Pergamon P. : 1982- : 30 : 404-415 pages
Mandatory

A nordic Model of gender equality? Introduction
Melby Kari, Carlsson Wetterberg Christina, Ravn Anna-Birte
Included in:
Gender equality and welfare politics in Scandinavia
Bristol : Policy : 2008 : xi, 244 s. : 1-26 pages
Mandatory

National Strategy to Prevent Violence in Intimate Relations
The Danish Government :
http://www.lige.dk/no_cache/gender-equality-work-in-denmark/news/single-news/artikel/national-strategy-to-prevent-violence-in-intimate-relation/
Mandatory

Trouble in Paradise: Exploring Patterns of Research and Policy Response to Men's Violence in Denmark and Sweden
Pringle Keith, Balkmar Dag, Iovanni LeeAnn
Included in:
Nora
London : Taylor & Francis : 1998- : 18 : 105-121 pages
Mandatory

Paradoxes of (In)equality "Something is rotten in the gender equal state of Sweden".
Towns Ann
Included in:
Cooperation and conflict
Johanneshov : Scandinavian University Books : 1965- : June, Vol 37 Issue 2 : 157-180. (23 pages) pages
Mandatory

Colonial complicity: The ’postcolonial’ in a Nordic context
Vuorela Ulla
Included in:
Complying with colonialism
Aldershot : Ashgate : 2009. : 1 Online resource (ix, 276 s.) : 19-34 pages
Mandatory

Guiding migrants in the realm of Gender Equality.
Vuori Jaana
Included in:
Complying with colonialism
Aldershot : Ashgate : 2009 : 276 s. : 207-225. (18 pages) pages
Mandatory

Action plan to combat men's violence against women, violence and oppression in the name of honour and violence in same-sex relations.
Government Communication 2007/08:39. : 2007 :
Mandatory

Approaches to gender mainstreaming: What's the problem represented to be?
Bacchi Carol, Eveline Joan
Included in:
Mainstreaming politics
Adelaide, S. Aust. : University of Adelaide Press : c2010. : xviii, 368 p. :

Mainstreaming and neoliberalism: a contested relationship.
Bacchi Carol, Eveline Joan
Included in:
Mainstreaming politics
Adelaide, S. Aust. : University of Adelaide Press : c2010. : xviii, 368 p. :
Mandatory

Postmodern Exposures, Feminist Hesitations.
Brown Wendy
Included in:
States of injury
Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press : 1995 : xiii, 202 s. : 30-51. (21 pages) pages
Mandatory

Suffering Rights as Paradoxes.
Brown Wendy
Included in:
Constellations
Oxford : Blackwell Publishers : 1997- : Vol 7 : 230-241. (11 pages) pages
Mandatory

Representations of Equality : Processes of Depoliticization of the Citizen-Subject
Edenheim Sara, Rönnblom Malin
Included in:
Gendered Citizenship and the Politics of Representation
London : Palgrave Macmillan UK : 2016. : XVII, 312 p. 2 illus. :

Women's questions on the agenda : the politicisation of gender equality in Sweden
Florin Christina, Nilsson Bengt
Included in:
Different paths to modernity
Lund : Nordic Academic Press : 2005 : 368 s. :
Mandatory

Feminism, capitalism and the cunning of history
Frazer Nancy
Included in:
New left review.
London,c 1960- : 1960- : Vol. 56 : 20 s. pages
Mandatory

Discursive Dynamics in Gender Equality Politics: What about ‘Feminist Taboos’?
Lombardo Emanuela, Meier Petra, Verloo Mieke
Included in:
The European journal of women's studies
London : Sage : 1999- : 17 : 105-123 pages
Mandatory

Conflict, danger and Difference. Nordic heterosexual couples converse about gender equality and fairness.
Magnusson Eva
Included in:
Critical studies of gender equalities
Göteborg ;a Stockholm : Makadam : 2008 : 223 s. : 161-179. (17 pages) pages
Mandatory

In the land of equality?
Raevaara Eeva
Included in:
Critical studies of gender equalities
Göteborg ;a Stockholm : Makadam : 2008 : 223 s. :
Mandatory
Reading instructions: pp 75-93

De-politicising gender? : constructions of gender equality in Swedish regional policy
Rönnblom Malin
Included in:
Critical studies of gender equalities
Göteborg ;a Stockholm : Makadam : 2008 : 223 s. :
Mandatory
Reading instructions: pp 112-143

Management and gender diversity : intertwining categories and paradoxes
Staunæs Dorthe, Søndergaard Dorte Marie
Included in:
Critical studies of gender equalities
Göteborg ;a Stockholm : Makadam : 2008 : 223 s. :
Mandatory
Reading instructions: pp 135-160

Queering the family. Critical reflections on state regulated heteronormativity in the Scandinavian countries.
Stormhoj Christel
Included in:
Lambda nordica
Stockholm : Föreningen Lambda nordica : 1989- : 3-4 (8) : 38-56. (18 pages) pages
Mandatory

From threat to promise. The changing position of gender quota in the Swedish debate on Women's Political representations.
Törnqvist Maria
Included in:
Critical studies of gender equalities
Göteborg ;a Stockholm : Makadam : 2008 : 223 s. : 75-93. (18 pages) pages
Mandatory

Equality politics out of the subaltern
Honkanen Kattis
Included in:
Critical studies of gender equalities
Göteborg ;a Stockholm : Makadam : 2008 : 223 s. :
Mandatory
Reading instructions: pp 204-219