POL 368 Global Gender Issues (3 credits)

Women have long struggled and are still striving for political, economic and social equality throughout the world. How did this inequality come about and to what extent does it still persist? To answer the former question, we will explore essentialist and feminist explanations and develop an understanding of multiple feminisms that exist today in different parts of the world. In responding to the latter, we will explore the conditions for women globally, by investigating the nature of female participation in authoritarian systems as well as in established and emerging democracies of different cultural settings. Moreover, we will examine the ways in which women wield political power, their involvement in the economy, and their particular domestic and international security concerns. Lastly, we will explore the extent to which women’s rights are human rights and whether a universal understanding of these rights is desirable or possible. Satisfies the Globalization overlay requirement.