Course info

Background and Purpose

As part of its Mobilization Programme to end gender-based violence in the Eastern Caribbean, The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and its partners have engaged a number of strategies to challenge the beliefs, practices and arrangements which perpetuate gender-based discrimination at the community, national and regional levels. One specific strategy, in this regard, is the training of Caribbean Gender Advocates who will work alongside UN Women’s Multi Country Office for the Caribbean, government and civil society partners to support strategic interventions toward the elimination of gender-based discrimination and (more specifically) gender-based violence. The purpose of this course is to introduce a group of Caribbean Gender Advocates, many of whom are actively engaged in gender and development work in the region, to key conceptual, theoretical and analytical approaches in gender studies in the Caribbean. These approaches will be applied as participants examine a number of thematic issues in gender studies. This course is intended to enhance the capacity of Caribbean Gender Advocates as they continue/begin to work alongside the aforementioned entities toward eliminating gender-based inequalities and gender-based violence.

Course Description and Themes

This course examines gender as a key organising feature of society with special emphasis on its salience in the Caribbean. Gender will be interrogated as a relation of power; as occurring simultaneously with other axes of power (such as class, race, ethnicity, ability, and nation); as an identity relation (femininity, masculinity, transgender, gender-normative and gender nonconforming); as socially produced; and as an analytical category/tool. In addition, the ways in which gender and sexuality are imbricated personally, socially and politically will be discussed. Participants will apply the conceptual, theoretical and analytical tools of gender, introduced at the start of the course, to address the following themes:

• Caribbean Families
• Media and Popular Culture
• Sexuality, Bodies and LGBTQI Activism in the Caribbean
• Gender-Based Violence
• Christianity, Gender Equality & Gender-Based Violence
• Education
• The State: A Focus on Political Participation, Law and Policies

Through a series of scholarly resources, state produced policies and laws, new and traditional media, fiction and audio-visual aids (for example, films, advertisements, songs and music videos) participants will critically analyse the above themes by applying key concepts and explanations developed in gender studies. The course is intended to enhance the capacity of Caribbean Gender Advocates as they continue to work alongside Caribbean governments, CSOs and UN Women toward the elimination of gender-based inequalities and violence.

Main Objective

The main objective of this course is to introduce and apply key concepts and tools developed in feminist/gender/masculinity/sexuality studies to address gender relations and gender inequalities in Caribbean societies in support of the work of Gender Advocates.

Specific Learning Outcomes/Objectives

By the end of this course participants will be able to:

• Explain key concepts, ideas and tools of feminist/gender/masculinity/sexuality studies
• Apply the concepts, ideas and tools of feminist/gender/masculinity/sexuality studies to Caribbean realities in the areas of the family, media, popular culture, sexuality, gender-based violence, Christianity and the state
• Examine how gender intersects other relations of power/markers of difference in Caribbean societies
• Apply the tools of gender analysis to address gender inequalities and gender-based in support of work with various stakeholder groups and communities in the Caribbean
• Evaluate the state of gender relations in Caribbean societies
• Apply key concepts, analysis and tools in the development of educational and training sessions

This online course requires participatory interactive learning. A series of active learning strategies, including interactive lectures (accompanied by PowerPoint presentations), tutorials, group work, individual presentations and video presentations, will be utilised to achieve the learning outcomes. Participants will also be required to undertake independent research. Lectures will introduce and analyse the literature, provide an understanding of key concepts, and synthesise and conceptualise the reading assignments and other course material. Lectures will be complemented by an online discussion forum, group work, individual presentations and tutorial discussions. Participants should complete the required reading/s before the scheduled class. All assignments should be typed and submitted by the deadline. Attendance is mandatory and will be taken.

Course Assessment