Feminist Perspectives on War

Module description

This module offers foundational knowledge and key debates within feminist international relations and security studies through a discussion of pioneering and internationally recognised feminist books. Students will become more familiar with feminist thinking on imperialism, sexism, militarism, and racism as they relate to concerns of global security and war through a detailed exploration of these books and how the arguments carried out over a number of chapters, have influenced contemporary scholarship.

Each book will be discussed over two weeks. Chapters read will be brought into conversation with contemporary journal articles and other academic artefacts to show the history and legacies of feminist thinking in contemporary studies of international relations and war.

Assessment details

Essay	2000 words	60%
Individual critical reflections	3 x 300 words	40%

Educational aims & objectives

• To provide students with detailed knowledge of feminist international relations and studies of war through a critical review of key texts and their contemporary applications.
• To synthesise, compare, and discuss key academic approaches to concepts, theories and methods for the analysis of the interaction between feminism, international security and international politics.
• To engage critically with the significance of the history of feminism as an intellectual project and to foster reflection on questions of gender, international politics, justice, and global inequality.
• To encourage critical thinking on the implications of gender, as it intersects with other identity and structural markers of race and class for how we understand war and global (in)security.
• Improve communication (oral and written), analytical, problem-solving and presentation skills to a level commensurate with progression to postgraduate study, through engagement with selected readings in whole class discussions, critical reflection portfolios, and academic research assignments.

Learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete the module will:

• Have developed detailed knowledge of and the capacity to engage in debate about feminism, war and international relations.
• Be able to synthesise, compare, and discuss key academic approaches to concepts, theories and methods for the analysis of the interaction between gender, international security and international politics.
• Be able to reflect critically on the history of today’s environmental security challenges, and to explore questions of gender justice and ethics in light of this knowledge.
• Be able to think critically about the future implications of gender for how we understand and practice international relations and international security
• Have developed communication, analytical, problem-solving and presentation skills to a level commensurate with progression to postgraduate study. 

Module description disclaimer

King’s College London reviews the modules offered on a regular basis to provide up-to-date, innovative and relevant programmes of study. Therefore, modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on the course finder on our website for updates.

Please note that modules with a practical component will be capped due to educational requirements, which may mean that we cannot guarantee a place to all students who elect to study this module.

Please note that the module descriptions above are related to the current academic year and are subject to change.