Women,Gender,Sexuality Studies 697R - ST-Rom,Rhet,Realtes/Women&Sust

The 2014 United Nations Survey Report on the role of women in development makes a strong case for linking gender equality and sustainable development. Neither concerns about gender equality nor sustainability are new, but are re-emerging as part of the post-2015 sustainable development agenda. This class examines perceived and existing links between economic development, women, and gender from various perspectives. Informed by feminist theories of power and politics we will engage with the following questions: How did concerns about "third world women" enter discussions about international development and social change? How have feminists concerned with gender and power explained and addressed the roles and needs of ?third world women?? How have concerns over women and gender been adopted/adapted by development institutionsand interventions, and with what results? What role are women and gender playing in environmental debates about around climate change, food security, etc. How have women across the world organized to address their concerns, and with what results? This upper-level course invites a understanding of the racialized and gendered dimensions of persistent social, economic and political inequalities. We will strive to reject the many binaries (theory-practice, men-women, structure-agency, etc) that plague the gender and development field and aim for a self-reflexive solidarity with feminist struggles for social change.