Unit information: Woman and Nation in 2015/16

Unit name	Woman and Nation
Unit code	MODL23017
Credit points	20
Level of study	I/5
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Professor. Glynn
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	School of Modern Languages
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

This unit aims to provide a comparative introduction to cultural representations of women in the discourse of three distinct national contexts, and considers how those representations relate to the reality of women’s’ lives and to their roles and responsibilities within the nation. The precise comparative contexts studied may vary from year to year, but the ranges of national contexts available for inclusion are Italy, Germany, Chile and the Czech Republic.

The unit will open with an introduction to Nira Yuval Davis’s theorization of the burden of representation placed upon women within nationalist discourse and of the role women are called upon to play as cultural reproducers and border guards of the nation. From there, the course will proceed to explore three main topics within the three different national contexts studied: women and the making of the nation; women under authoritarianism; women’s rights within the nation. These topics provide a solid common ground for comparative investigation and understanding to develop, while also allowing for exploration of issues distinct to a given cultural context. Weekly lectures will provide an outline of how a particular issue manifests in the national context under examination, while seminars are devoted to developing students’ understanding of the issue through the analysis of diverse text types (legislation, iconography, cultural production).

In addition to developing students’ understanding of the often ambiguous relationship between the representation of women and the role played by women within a national context, the unit aims to develop students’ intercultural awareness through the comparative study of diverse contexts. It also seeks to develop their critical and communicative skills, through close analysis of a diverse range of texts and through the completion of formal assessment tasks.

Aims:

• To introduce students to a significant body of knowledge of a complexity appropriate to second year level. The content matter will normally include one or more of the following: literature; social, cultural or political history; linguistics; cultural studies; film, television or other media.

• To facilitate students’ engagement with a body of literature, including secondary literature, texts, including in non-print media, primary sources and ideas as a basis for their own analysis and development. Normally many or most of these sources will be in a language other than English and will enhance the development of their linguistic skills.

• To develop further skills of synthesis, analysis and independent research, building on the skills acquired in units at level C.

• Some options may prepare students for the experience of the Year Abroad.

Intended Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will have an understanding of the often ambiguous relationship between the representation of women and the role played by women within the context of the nation. Students will broaden their knowledge of women’s place in the world through the study of a wider range of contexts than is normally facilitated through the existing degree structure. In addition, students will be equipped with the critical tools necessary for comparative analysis of diverse cultural contexts. They will further develop their analytical and interpretive skills through the close study of diverse text types, and they will hone their communication skills through the delivery of the assessed commentary and essays.

Teaching Information

Normally one lecture hour and one seminar hour per week across one teaching block (22 contact hours), often with student presentations. In units with a smaller number of students the lecture hour may be replaced by a second seminar or a workshop. Units involving film may require students to view films outside the timetabled contact hours.

Assessment Information

one 1500 word commentary (25%), one 2500 word essay (75%)

Reading and References

Primary texts will be provided in the course pack.

Secondary reading includes the following key texts:

Nira Yuval Davis, Gender and Nation (London: Sage, 1997)

Sita Ranchod-Nilsson and Mary Ann Tétreault (ed.), Women, States, and Nationalism: At Home in the Nation? (London: Routledge, 2000)

Mirna Cicioni and Nicole Prunster, Visions and Revisions: Women in Italian Culture (Oxford: Berg, 1993).

Ute Frevert, Women in German History: From Bourgeois Emancipation to Sexual Liberation (Oxford: Berg, 1989)

Hana Hašková and Zuzana Uhde (ed.), Women and Social Citizenship in Czech Society: Continuity and Change (Prague: Institute of Sociology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 2009).

Karin Rosemblatt, Gendered Compromises: Political Cultures and the State in Chile, 1920-1950 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2000).