Teaching Plan Information

Presentation

This course will provide an overview of some of the main problems and challenges of contemporary thought in relation to the social and political world. Following some main contemporary philosophers and theorists, the course will introduce the key concepts of feminist thinking, the framework of situated epistemologies and intersectionality theory. This critical framework will firstly serve as the basis to study the foundations of the modern state and the notion of citizenship through the social/sexual contract, the dichotomies between the public and the private spheres and the relation between nations and gender. Secondly it will serve to analyse imperalism and colonialism from a philosophical perspective, presenting the main postcolonial and decolonial ideas. Finally the course will address philosophical debates on global neoliberalism, migration and its implications for social justice.

Associated skills

1. Comprehension of philosophical and theoretical articles.

2. Identification of the main ideas and arguments of a text.

3. Contextualisation of the texts in time and place.

4. Reconstruction and critique of philosophical arguments.

5. Development and application of original ideas.

6. Oral and written communication of knowledge in a clear and articulate way.

7. Discussion of ideas in a respectful way.

8. Identification and critically engagement with the current state of a particular philosophical debate.

9. Use of specialised terminology in contemporary philosophy.

10. Writing rigorous short essays in philosophy at an intermediate level.

11. Ethical commitment.

Learning outcomes

This course will give the student an overview of some main philosophical and theoretical problems of contemporary thought. Students will be exposed to different philosophical traditions and styles. By reading and discussing relevant texts and topics, the course aims at providing students with the main tools to understand and discuss contemporary philosophical questions as well as to engage in critical and original thinking.  

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG1. No poverty

SDG5. Gender equality

SDG10. Reduced inequalities.

Prerequisites

This course is taught in English and places emphasis on reading and listening comprehension as well as on writing. For this reason it is essential that the students enrolled in the course have a good command of English. 

Contents

1. Feminist thought

• Key concepts: sex, gender, sexuality
• Situated and feminist epistemologies
• The intersectional perspective

2. The modern state and the concept of citizenship

• The social/sexual contract 
• The public/private division
• Gender and nation

3. The colonial world: imperialism and eurocentrism. 

• Postcolonial and decolonial thinking from the Global South
• Decoloniality and gender
• Border thinking

4. Global neoliberalism and migration

• Productive and reproductive work 
• The redistribution vs. recognition debate
• Precarious lives and global chains care

Teaching Methods

This is an in person course that includes plenary sessions and seminars. In the regular plenary sessions the instructor will present the main topics of the course and students are invited to ask questions and engage in discussion. By the end of the course there will also be 4/5 plenary sessions devoted to group project presentations (see Evaluation section).

In the seminars we will discuss readings previously assigned. The list of texts will be available at the beginning of the course. It is important that students carefully read and prepare the material before the seminar, having in mind that some texts are complex and require time for preparation. 

Students' responsibilities and academic performance

• Students have the obligation to keep up with the program and contents of the Aula Global, as well as with any notifications posted by the instructor.
• It is expected from students that they participate and engage in class discussions. Discussing ideas with colleagues and the instructor will help to prepare the written essay and the group project. 
• Please do not overuse email. Assignments, course mechanics and course information will be published through Aula Global. Use email only if your instructor tells you to do so, or in exceptional cases as in emergencies. Students are encouraged to ask their questions and doubts during office hours (and by previous appointment with the professor).
• To use somebody else’s words or ideas without citing their origin is plagiarism and it is seriously penalised. Plagiarism in either of the essays will automatically result in a “fail” in the whole course (more information about what counts as plagiarism will be provided).

Evaluation

The evaluation of this course involves doing three obligatory evaluation activities:

• Mid term essay (30%): an essay of 1.000 words approximately to be handed in by the middle of the trimester (more information at Aula Global). The instructor will provide a list of possible questions to develop and readings to comment. Students will be provided with material on how to write philosophical essays and other advices for clear presentation and argumentation. Asking questions to the professor during the writing process are encouraged.

• Group projects (20%): in agreement with the instructor, each group of students will have to choose and develop a research topic related to the contents of the course, work on it during the course and present it in class during the group project sessions of the last two weeks of the course. More instructions will be available at Aula Global. 

• Final exam (50%): final exam about all the contents of the course. In case the situation with the pandemics requires it, the final exam would be online. 

Students must necessarily do the three evaluation tasks in order to be evaluated. If the mean of the grades does not reach a 5, students have right to take the recovery exam and/or to present the failed mid term commentary at the recovery date. The group project cannot be repeated. 

Bibliography and information resources

• Anzaldúa, Gloria (1987). Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza. San Francisco: Spinsters/Aunt Lute.
• Butler, Judith (1999) Gender Trouble, Routledge.
• Butler, Judith (1998) “Merely Cultural”, New Left Review I/227. 
• Carastathis, Anna. (2014). “The Concept of Intersectionality in Feminist Theory.” Philosophy Compass 9(5): 304–14. 
• Crenshaw, Kimberlé (1989). “Demarginalizaing the intersection of race and sex: a black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory, and antiracist politics”. University of Chicago Forum 140, 139-167.
• De Beauvoir, Simone (1999) The Second Sex, Vintage Classics.
• Fanon, Franzt (1967). Black Skin White Masks. New York: Grove Press.
• Fraser, Nancy (1998). “Heterosexism, Misrecognition and Capitalism: A Response to Judith Butler”. New Left ReviewI/228.  
• Harding, Sandra (ed.) (2004). The feminist standpoint theory reader. New York and London: Routledge.
• Locke, John (1967). Two Treatises of Government (ed. Laslett). 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Lugones, Maria. “The Coloniality of Gender”, XX (ed. Wendy Harcourt), The Palgrave Handbook of Gender and Development. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, pp.13-33.
• Pateman, Carole (1988). The sexual contract. Standford: Stanford University Press.
• Quijano, Alonso (2000). Coloniality of Power, Eurocentrism, and Latin America. Nepantla:Views from South 1, 533–580
• Said, Edward (1978). Orientalism. New York: Vintage Books.
• Yeates, Nicola (2005). “Global Care Chains: a Critical Introduction”, Global Migration Perspectives 44. 
• Yuval-Davis, Nira (1997). Gender and Nation. London: SAGE Publications. 

Teaching Plan Information

Presentation

This course will provide an overview of some of the main problems and challenges of contemporary thought in relation to the social and political world. Following some main contemporary philosophers and theorists, the course will introduce the key concepts of feminist thinking, the framework of situated epistemologies and intersectionality theory. This critical framework will firstly serve as the basis to study the foundations of the modern state and the notion of citizenship through the social/sexual contract, the dichotomies between the public and the private spheres and the relation between nations and gender. Secondly it will serve to analyse imperalism and colonialism from a philosophical perspective, presenting the main postcolonial and decolonial ideas. Finally the course will address philosophical debates on global neoliberalism, migration and its implications for social justice.

Associated skills

1. Comprehension of philosophical and theoretical articles.

2. Identification of the main ideas and arguments of a text.

3. Contextualisation of the texts in time and place.

4. Reconstruction and critique of philosophical arguments.

5. Development and application of original ideas.

6. Oral and written communication of knowledge in a clear and articulate way.

7. Discussion of ideas in a respectful way.

8. Identification and critically engagement with the current state of a particular philosophical debate.

9. Use of specialised terminology in contemporary philosophy.

10. Writing rigorous short essays in philosophy at an intermediate level.

11. Ethical commitment.

Learning outcomes

This course will give the student an overview of some main philosophical and theoretical problems of contemporary thought. Students will be exposed to different philosophical traditions and styles. By reading and discussing relevant texts and topics, the course aims at providing students with the main tools to understand and discuss contemporary philosophical questions as well as to engage in critical and original thinking.  

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG1. No poverty

SDG5. Gender equality

SDG10. Reduced inequalities.

Prerequisites

This course is taught in English and places emphasis on reading and listening comprehension as well as on writing. For this reason it is essential that the students enrolled in the course have a good command of English. 

Contents

1. Feminist thought

• Key concepts: sex, gender, sexuality
• Situated and feminist epistemologies
• The intersectional perspective

2. The modern state and the concept of citizenship

• The social/sexual contract 
• The public/private division
• Gender and nation

3. The colonial world: imperialism and eurocentrism. 

• Postcolonial and decolonial thinking from the Global South
• Decoloniality and gender
• Border thinking

4. Global neoliberalism and migration

• Productive and reproductive work 
• The redistribution vs. recognition debate
• Precarious lives and global chains care

Teaching Methods

This is an in person course that includes plenary sessions and seminars. In the regular plenary sessions the instructor will present the main topics of the course and students are invited to ask questions and engage in discussion. By the end of the course there will also be 4/5 plenary sessions devoted to group project presentations (see Evaluation section).

In the seminars we will discuss readings previously assigned. The list of texts will be available at the beginning of the course. It is important that students carefully read and prepare the material before the seminar, having in mind that some texts are complex and require time for preparation. 

Students' responsibilities and academic performance

• Students have the obligation to keep up with the program and contents of the Aula Global, as well as with any notifications posted by the instructor.
• It is expected from students that they participate and engage in class discussions. Discussing ideas with colleagues and the instructor will help to prepare the written essay and the group project. 
• Please do not overuse email. Assignments, course mechanics and course information will be published through Aula Global. Use email only if your instructor tells you to do so, or in exceptional cases as in emergencies. Students are encouraged to ask their questions and doubts during office hours (and by previous appointment with the professor).
• To use somebody else’s words or ideas without citing their origin is plagiarism and it is seriously penalised. Plagiarism in either of the essays will automatically result in a “fail” in the whole course (more information about what counts as plagiarism will be provided).

Evaluation

The evaluation of this course involves doing three obligatory evaluation activities:

• Mid term essay (30%): an essay of 1.000 words approximately to be handed in by the middle of the trimester (more information at Aula Global). The instructor will provide a list of possible questions to develop and readings to comment. Students will be provided with material on how to write philosophical essays and other advices for clear presentation and argumentation. Asking questions to the professor during the writing process are encouraged.

• Group projects (20%): in agreement with the instructor, each group of students will have to choose and develop a research topic related to the contents of the course, work on it during the course and present it in class during the group project sessions of the last two weeks of the course. More instructions will be available at Aula Global. 

• Final exam (50%): final exam about all the contents of the course. In case the situation with the pandemics requires it, the final exam would be online. 

Students must necessarily do the three evaluation tasks in order to be evaluated. If the mean of the grades does not reach a 5, students have right to take the recovery exam and/or to present the failed mid term commentary at the recovery date. The group project cannot be repeated. 

Bibliography and information resources

• Anzaldúa, Gloria (1987). Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza. San Francisco: Spinsters/Aunt Lute.
• Butler, Judith (1999) Gender Trouble, Routledge.
• Butler, Judith (1998) “Merely Cultural”, New Left Review I/227. 
• Carastathis, Anna. (2014). “The Concept of Intersectionality in Feminist Theory.” Philosophy Compass 9(5): 304–14. 
• Crenshaw, Kimberlé (1989). “Demarginalizaing the intersection of race and sex: a black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory, and antiracist politics”. University of Chicago Forum 140, 139-167.
• De Beauvoir, Simone (1999) The Second Sex, Vintage Classics.
• Fanon, Franzt (1967). Black Skin White Masks. New York: Grove Press.
• Fraser, Nancy (1998). “Heterosexism, Misrecognition and Capitalism: A Response to Judith Butler”. New Left ReviewI/228.  
• Harding, Sandra (ed.) (2004). The feminist standpoint theory reader. New York and London: Routledge.
• Locke, John (1967). Two Treatises of Government (ed. Laslett). 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Lugones, Maria. “The Coloniality of Gender”, XX (ed. Wendy Harcourt), The Palgrave Handbook of Gender and Development. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, pp.13-33.
• Pateman, Carole (1988). The sexual contract. Standford: Stanford University Press.
• Quijano, Alonso (2000). Coloniality of Power, Eurocentrism, and Latin America. Nepantla:Views from South 1, 533–580
• Said, Edward (1978). Orientalism. New York: Vintage Books.
• Yeates, Nicola (2005). “Global Care Chains: a Critical Introduction”, Global Migration Perspectives 44. 
• Yuval-Davis, Nira (1997). Gender and Nation. London: SAGE Publications.