Philosophy of Gender

Course content

This course constructs a philosophical framework for the interdisciplinary examination of gender. Against a historical outline of the development of contemporary gender studies, we examine biological, sociological, and psychological perspectives on gender. These theoretical perspectives are put into discussion with ethical issues concerning sexuality, selfhood, personal identity, and autonomy.

By the end of this course, you will be able to make sense of the interdisciplinary examination of gender and discuss the historical, theoretical, and ethical aspects of what it means to exist with a gender identity. Our identity is rooted in our experience of gender. This experience is deeply personal, and yet there are biological and societal aspects to the experience of gender that complicate and challenge our sense of identity. The course will provide you with a philosophical foundation for thinking critically about the complexity of human experience of gender. The most important elements of this philosophical foundation are a sense of history, conceptual clarity, and an understanding of interdisciplinary methodology.

The sessions are structured as a combination of lecture, discussion, and group work with a focus on engaging the student. Each session is framed by a systematic PowerPoint presentation of the themes and readings in question. The presentation will encourage and guide the discussion in the class. The student can expect a lively and systematically oriented teacher who will attempt to make the issues both interesting and relevant to a contemporary setting while maintaining a substantial theoretical level and the necessary historical perspective.

Education

The course is planned with physical attendance.

Bachelor students enrol: TTEASK028U

Master's students enrol: TTEKASK28U

Teaching and learning methods

Class Instruction

Literature

Principal Course Literature

Textbooks

Susan Kingsley Kent. Gender and History. London: Palgrave Macmillan
Tina Chanter. Gender: Key Concepts in Philosophy. London: Continuum 2006.

Articles and chapters in books
Katherina Jenkins. “Amelioration and Inclusion: Gender Identity and the Concept of Woman”. Ethics
126 (2016): 394-421
Sara Haslanger. Resisting Reality: Social Construction and Social Critique. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2012, ch. 1 (“On Being Objective and Being Obejctified”): 35-82.
Luce Irigary. An Ethics of Sexual Difference, trans. C. Burke and G.C. Gill. London: Continuum 2004, ch. 8 (“An Ethics of Sexual Difference”): 99-110.
Donna Haraway. “Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective”. Feminist Studies, 14: 575–600.
Judith Butler. Notes Toward a Performative Theory of Assembly. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press 2015, ch. 1 (“Gender Politics and the Right to Appear”): 24-65.
Ian Hacking. “Making Up People”. In M. Heller et al (Eds.) Reconstructing Individualism. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Talia Mae Bettcher. “Trans identities and first-person authority”. In Laurie Shrage (ed.), You've changed: Sex Reassignment and Personal Identity, pp. 98-120. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2009. 98–120.
Cressida Heyes. “Changing race, changing sex: The ethics of self-transformation”. Journal of Social Philosophy 37: 266–282.
Ásta Kristjana Sveinsdóttir. “The Social Construction of Human Kinds”. Hypatia 28 (2013): 716-732.
Toril Moi. “I am not a Feminist”. PMLA 121 (2006): 1735-41.
Sally Haslanger and Ásta Kristjana Sveinsdóttir. "Feminist Metaphysics". The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2017 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = .
Linda Martín Alcoff. Visible Identities: Race, Gender, and the Self. Oxford: Oxford University 2006, ch. 6 (“The Metaphysics of Gender and Sexual Difference”): 151-175
Anne Cambell. A Mind of Her Own: Evolutionary Biology of Women, 2^nd edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2013, ch. 1 (“Biophobia and the Study of Sexual Differences”). 1-41.
Melissa Hines. “Gender Development and the Human Brain”. Annual Review of Neuroscience 34, 2001: 69-88
Theodore Bach. “Gender Is a Natural Kind with a Historical Essence”. Ethics 122 (2012): 231-272.
Charlotte Witt. The Metaphysics of Gender. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2011, ch. 3: 27-49.
Sara Heinämaa. “A Phenomenology of Sexual Difference: Types, Styles and Persons”. In C. Witt (ed.) Feminist Metaphysics: Explorations in the Ontology of Sex, Gender and the Self, pp. 131-155. Dordrecht: Springer 2011.

Feedback form

Written

Continuous feedback during the course of the semester

Full degree students enrolled in Study Programmes at UCPH departments: Send an e-mail to evu@teol.ku.dk to sign up. Remember to attach a pre-approval form your Study Board. Application deadline 1 June and 1 December.

Visiting exchange and guest students – send an e-mail to international@teol.ku.dk to sign up.

Creditstudents – follow link

Open University students – follow link

Professionel master students – follow link

Exam

ECTS: 15 ECTS
Type of assessment: Written assignment
Type of assessment details: Undergraduate requirements (bachelor students):

Requirement to pass the course for undergraduate students (bachelor students) are: a) A syllabus of 1,200-1,500 pages. The syllabus includes both the course literature covered in connection with the course and the assignment literature on which the written homework assignment is based, which the student finds and has approved by the teacher. The syllabus (course and assignment literature combined) may not exceed 1,500 pages. b) Active participation (at least 75% of the hours attended documented by protocol) and preparation of a written home assignment with a scope of 24,000-28,800 characters, i.e., 10-12 pages, based on 600-800 pages of literature as agreed with the course teacher. The assignment is assessed by the teacher. The assessment is based on the 7-point grading scale.

Graduate requirements (candidate/master students):

Requirement to pass the course for graduate students (candidate/master students) are: a) A syllabus of 1,200-1,500 pages. The syllabus includes both the course literature covered in connection with the teaching and the assignment literature on which the written homework assignment is based, which the student finds and has approved by the teacher. The syllabus (course and assignment literature combined) may not exceed 1,500 pages. b) Active participation (at least 75% of the hours attended documented by protocol) and preparation of a written home assignment with a scope of 36,000-48,000 characters, i.e., 15-20 pages, based on 800-1,000 pages of literature as agreed with the teacher. The assignment is assessed by the teacher. The assessment is based on the 7-point grading scale.
Marking scale: 7-point grading scale
Exam period: Winter and Summer Exam

Course type

Single subject courses (day)

Workload

Category
Hours
Class Instruction
28
Preparation
122
Exam Preparation
150
Exam
120
English
420

Kursusinformation

Language: English
Course number: TTEASK028U
ECTS: 15 ECTS
Programme level: Full Degree Master
Bachelor

Bachelor choice

Full Degree Master choice

Part Time Master
Duration: 1 semester
Placement: Autumn And Spring
Price: Deltagergebyret er på: 3.750 kr. for et 7,5 ECTS kursus og 7.500 kr. for et 15 ECTS kursus.
Schedulegroup: Mondays 10:30-13
Autumn 2024: First day is Monday 26 August,

Spring 2025: First day is Monday 20 January
Studyboard: Study board of Theology

Contracting department

Theology

Contracting faculty

Faculty of Theology

Course Coordinator

René Rosfort (3-796c79477b6c767335727c356b72)

Teacher

René Rosfort

Saved on the 14-10-2024

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