PO3GAP: Gender and Politics

Module code: PO3GAP

Module provider: Politics; School of Philosophy, Politics and Economics

Credits: 20

Level: Level 3 (Honours)

When you'll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Dr Alice Baderin, email: a.baderin@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 28 October 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

The module introduces students to the study of gender and politics. Drawing on research mainly from political science, but also from gender studies and other social science fields, the module asks students to critically examine how gender is manifested in the political domain. Some questions we explore are “why do women remain under-represented in politics?” “Are voters sexist?” And how do stereotypes about masculinity and femininity shape political campaigns or political leadership. The module covers a broad range of topics and pays attention to how gender intersects with other identities such as race, ethnicity and sexuality. The module also exposes students to a variety of different research methods that are used in the field of gender and politics and students are asked to apply one of these methods in their case study report.  

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Understand how gender shapes political behaviour, political institutions, and political processes
2. Have an understanding of key concepts and theories related to the role of gender in politics
3. Have developed knowledge of key findings in the study of gender and politics
4. Be familiar with the various methods through which to study gender and politics and will be able to apply either a qualitative or quantitative method to their case study
5. Develop critical skills allowing them to evaluate theories and empirical findings

Module content

This list may vary over time, but a representative set of topics are: 

• The study of gender and politics 
• Gender and political representation 
• Gender and elections / voting behaviour 
• Gender and political candidacy 
• Gender and political leadership 
• Masculinity in politics 
• Gender quotas  
• Gender and media reporting about politics 

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module is structured around seminar-based learning and will consist of two-hour seminars covering substantive topics. Students will be asked to conduct reading to prepare for seminars and will at times be asked to conduct pre-seminar assignments such as finding a real-world example to illustrate readings or watching a video clip. These assignments are not assessed. The seminars will cover discussions of theoretical frameworks and concepts and involve the application of these in the form of short research or group assignments. The module has a strong research focus and hence seminars will also be used to practice different types of research methods, such as qualitative text analysis, visual analysis or the analysis of numerical data. We will also view videos or listen to audio clips in seminars.  

Study hours

At least 22 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: /cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

• Students are offered the opportunity to send an essay outline to the module convenor on which they will receive formative feedback 
• Toward the end of the teaching semester students will be asked to submit a 1-page summary of their case study report and will review feedback from peers and the module convenor on this summary 

Reassessment

Additional costs