Diversifying the “Gender & Politics” Curriculum and Connecting Theories to Action

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Session Description

Gender and politics/election courses are heavily focused on U.S. cases. How can we diversify gender politics curriculum to include comparative perspectives as well as integrating discussion of race, ethnicity, sexualities, and other politicized identities? How can we deepen students' understanding of the theories related to gender and politics, and promote civic engagement, community awareness, and involvement?

This roundtable discussion will feature American and comparative politics faculty who teach gender and politics courses at research-focused universities and teaching-focused regional comprehensive universities. The panelists will share their experiences teaching non-US focused courses, incorporating comparative perspectives into previously US-focused courses, and addressing intersectionality, and will discuss using service-learning pedagogy to connect academic theories to action. Questions for discussion might include:

1) What kind of topics do you discuss in your gender and politics course? What kinds of texts, films, and photos do you use to bring in a comparative framework to your course given the US focus of most textbooks? How does your course address the interactions between gender and other political identities and hierarchies? What has worked and what challenges have you encountered?

2) Does your pedagogical approach to this course differ from that you use in other political science courses? If so, how and why? What kind of innovative assignments or activities do you use in your course to make the topics relevant to students, and to connect the theories and action?

3) What sorts of students typically enroll in your course? Do course enrollments reflect or depart from general department demographics? How? What challenges and opportunities does this present?

4) What strategies do you use for teaching the politics of marginalized groups (women, racial minorities, etc.) and of societies outside the US to American students from more privileged groups? Or even in classes where privileged individuals are in the minority, but are less open to the course material?

5) If you have used service-learning and community engagement in this course, what motivated you to do so and how did you structure the activities and assignments? Do you include an orientation? A code of conduct/community standard? How did you work with the campus resources and local actors to design the course? What worked and what did not? Where did you look for resources? How did students respond act to the assignment?

Sub Unit

• DIVISION 10: Political Science Education

Cosponsor

• DIVISION 31: Women and Politics Research

Chair

• Young-Im Lee California State University-Sacramento

Presenters

• Anna M. Mahoney Tulane University

• Robin L. Turner Butler University

• Brittany N. Perry Texas A&M University

• Sarah Khan Yale University

• Farida Jalalzai Oklahoma State University