Modules and Structure

Modules and Structures

 Classes are delivered by a course team that combines extensive academic and practitioner experience in the areas covered by the course. The programme offers students an exciting combination of engagement with academic debates and ideas, hands-on practical assignments and professional and fieldwork experience. In addition to taught modules and the research paper, practical workshops are offered throughout the year to strengthen academic research and writing skills and other aspects of professional development.

The MA involves completion of 90 credits (ECTS) including a research paper (20 credits). In the first semester, fulltime students take five core modules. Students will undertake two research-focused modules, and modules on women’s human rights, gender and feminist theory, and the gender dimensions of globalisation, including in-depth discussion of key concepts and practice, and initiatives to advance gender equality, in each domain, to build fundamental knowledge critical to understanding and addressing gender inequality internationally. In the second semester students undertake a further research module and part two of Gender and Feminist Theorising, and choose 20 additional credits from a range of options. Information on each available module is included below. Part-time students normally complete 45 credits of coursework in the first year, and 25 credits of coursework and the research paper in the second year.

Modules are assessed on the basis of learning journals, practical assignments, in-class presentations, and final essays and, in the case of the Professional Experience module, a portfolio. Teaching and learning sessions are organised around weekly seminars in which active student participation is paramount, encouraged and supported. Seminars are designed around inputs and guidance from lecturers, multimedia resources, group discussions, presentations.

Semester One - Core modules

Feminist and Gender Theorising I: Key Concepts in Context (5 ECTS)

This module provides an interdisciplinary introduction to feminist and gender theory through an exploration of the ‘waves’ of feminist thought, including selected influential thinkers and their writings on social, cultural and political ideas, structures, events and practices. Students are guided in thinking critically about the development of ideas and theory and indeed about the concept of feminist waves themselves. Key ideas and approaches will be examined through discussion and debate in small groups or ‘communities of learning’. This module provides a solid foundation in theorising and deepens knowledge on key concepts, ideas and practices which will be further developed in Semester II – Feminist and Gender Theorising II: Debates and Issues in Contemporary Feminism.

Gender Perspectives on Globalisation (10 ECTS)

This course focuses on globalisation from a gender perspective. It will examine the dynamics between gender inequality and the socio-economic and political processes of globalisation. We will focus on how the changing nature of production with global flows of capital and people, have a gender differentiated impact on the lives of women in different locations. A key theme of globalisation and gender literature has been the increase in women’s economic participation, and its implications for women’s empowerment, due to the expanding global economy. However today globalisation is undergoing a crisis with the twin pandemics of COVID19 and systematic racism with serious consequences for gender and racial equality., Key questions that will be discussed in the course include a) is whether globalisation has led to increased empowerment of women, b) if a global elite transcending national borders is dominant, c) if neo-liberal paradigm is on the decline, and thus undermining the pace of globalisation and d) what will the post lockdown economy and society look like. Women’s and other minorities’ responses or resistance to globalisation will also be discussed, particularly their activism in various local and transnational contexts – through grassroots organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOS), and international forums. Discussion of policy responses will be woven throughout the course, with a specific focus on the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 adopted by Member States of the UN in 2015 and whose progress is closely monitored currently give we are now less than a decade away from 2030.

Research Methods & Methodology (10 ECTS)

This module aims to provide you with a methodological and practical grounding in research. It will equip you with the principles, skills and techniques of social research, enabling you to design and conduct a piece of research and to understand the foundations of research approaches you will encounter. The purpose of the course is, foremost, to make you ‘research minded’ and introduce you to key aspects of quantitative and qualitative research methods. As future practitioners it will also assist you with the acquisition of skills required to review and critically evaluate research/policy reports and to better understand the role of research and its dissemination in various practice/policy settings.

The module is delivered through a combination of lectures and workshops, and includes in-class exercises. Since social research is practical by nature, the course will also assist you in developing practical research skills, including the effective use of qualitative research tools, questionnaire survey design, analysis of quantitative and qualitative data, presentation of findings, and research report write-up. There will be a number of additional contributors, who will discuss their experiences of undertaking research.

Gender, Women and Human Rights (5 ECTS)

This module offers a broad introduction to international human rights concepts, mechanisms, organisations, and practices with particular reference to women and gender. Students will gain an understanding of the different elements of the international human rights paradigm, including: fundamental ideas and principles that underpin human rights (e.g. equality, non-discrimination, universality, indivisibility); the content and practice of human rights norms and mechanisms (e.g. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights or the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women); the role of states and governments, how they are held accountable, and their relation to human rights monitoring institutions (e.g., the UN Human Rights Council); and the dynamics of human rights advocacy, the central role of human rights non-governmental organisations (NGOs) (e.g., Amnesty International) and individual activists. Students will have the opportunity to examine a selection of timely human rights issues and challenges in particular contexts.

Research Workshops I (5 ECTS)

This module provides the opportunity for students to engage in a series of workshops relevant to the development of their Research Papers. The workshops are led by academic staff with diverse research experience. The workshop topics include academic writing, critical thinking, and the development of a research proposal, along with workshops focused on specific fields of research.

Semester Two – Core Module

Feminist and Gender Theorising II: Debates and Issues in Contemporary Feminism (5 ECTS)

In this module we build on the knowledge developed in Feminist and Gender Theorising I, with a focus on the application of theory to contemporary issues and debates within feminism. Classes will examine ‘special topics’ in feminist and gender theorizing, such as the gendered body and celebrity culture, feminism and the environment, the politics of gender identity, and intersectional categories of significance. The focus during this part will be to deepen understanding and develop skills in logic, argumentation and application of theory. There will be fewer required readings assigned during this period as students will be expected to engage in more critical thinking. ‘Communities of learning’, small groups of students, will work together for the purposes of discussion, peer-learning, and completion of group activities.

 Research Workshops II (5 ECTS)

This module will enable the student to acquire the knowledge, comprehension, abilities and perspectives needed for conducting independent research. The module will allow the student to work under supervision while developing their writing, research, analytical skills and completing a research paper. The overall goal is for the student to display the knowledge and capability for independent work at postgraduate level.

Option Modules

Applied Gender Analysis (5 ECTS)

This module introduces approaches and tools that are used in developing, implementing and monitoring policy frameworks and NGO programmes. Students will engage in critical discussion of gender mainstreaming as a strategy for advancing gender equality in both policy and programme. Participants in this module will also gain experience in a variety of practical tools – gender analysis frameworks, gender proofing, gender auditing, and gender budgeting – used by development practitioners.

Women, Conflict and Human Security (5 ECTS)

This module examines the gender dimensions of armed conflict, peace and security issues. The module is organised around three inter-related streams: 1) introduction to gender and feminist International Relations, 2) International political and legal developments relating to gender and conflict, and 3) the gendered impacts of conflict.

Initial sessions introduce a cross-disciplinary literature on gender and conflict, drawing on scholarship in feminist sociology, international relations and socio-legal studies. This includes consideration of the role of gender norms and identities in shaping meaning and practice in the nexus of conflict, peace and security. Lectures will consider the ways in IR has traditionally been shaped according to gendered assumptions and the ways in which feminist IR scholars have challenged gender norms in both the study and practice of IR, particularly in relation to conflict, resolution and peacebuilding. Subsequent sessions examine key concepts and developments in relevant domains of international law, especially provisions of the UN Charter and international humanitarian law, which set the parameters of discourse and practice in relation to armed conflict.

Gender, Sexuality and Global Health (10 ECTS)

This module considers current global health crises created by the worldwide drive to privatize healthcare, the rise of disease pandemics, particularly HIV/AIDS, as well as other complex emergencies. Given the recent COVID-19 crisis, the course will undertake a case study of the global pandemic. Students consider the deeply gendered dynamics, impacts and human rights dimensions of such crises, and explore the interconnections between sex, biology and gender for sexuality and reproductive health. They explore the different ‘solutions’ available vis-à-vis policy, human rights standards, and cultural practice and the roles therein of public, private and civil society actors, locally and globally.

Human Rights and Development (5ECTS)

This course provides an overview and illustration of the connections between human rights and global development. It takes an inter-disciplinary and gender- sensitive approach to human rights and development in theory and practice. It explores in detail key substantive aspects of development and rights. Topics to include: 1) the historical, political and social context 2) The Right to Development 3) Rights to food, health and education 4) the environment, sustainability and (in)justice 5) participation and indivisibility of rights 6) the human development and capabilities paradigm and 7) new approaches to measuring, monitoring, evaluating and new rights advocacy.

History and Narrative in Gender Research (5 ECTS)

This module will examine how to conceptualise, reconstruct and contextualise life-story narratives. It aims to demonstrate the critical and creative potential of life-story research with reference to Disciplinary and personal interests. Lectures will draw upon international digitised resources, feminist archives, and academic and public archives and databases. Contextual topics include, for instance, questions of citizenship, working-class representation, politics and personal lives, slave narratives, emigrant narratives, international agency and influence. Students will consult private and public sources, such as diaries, letters, photographs, film, census returns, military reports, parliamentary debates, institutional records, oral history and public memorials. There is scope for students to conduct interviews and to produce podcasts. Analysis of such methods and resources will enable students to reconstruct narratives, including life-stories of family, feminist, social and political personalities, and to question contextual discourses and debates. In so doing, the Module aims to contribute to ways of transforming knowledge production.

Professional Placement (10 ECTS)

Community learning and research collaborations involves a circa 6 week placement spent with a partner organization or working on a research project, as an assessed component of the MA experience. The module aims to enhance the civic engagement, collaborative, and student-led dimensions of the programme. Students may be partnered with a well-established NGO or agency concerned with social issues, development, equality or human rights where they have opportunities to bring their knowledge, critical analysis and a gender lens to assist in meeting the needs of the organisation and the groups it serves. Community partners include organisations engaged in research, education, advocacy, policy processes and/or service provision in areas relevant to the MA themes, at local, national and/or international levels. Examples of participating partners include: Amnesty International, Connemara Community Radio, Front Line Defenders, Galway Rape Crisis Centre, Galway City Partnership, National Women’s Council of Ireland, Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre, Trócaire and Safe Ireland. Students may also work on research projects. These research placements provide students with the opportunity to develop skills in collaboration and team work, research activities including methods, planning and dissemination. Research-based placements may also involve interaction with community organisations who are stake-holders or funders in the research.
Note 1: Please note that the availability of NGO placements is dependent on organisations who have the capacity to host students. While every effort will be made to place students who wish to undertake the module, a NGO placement cannot be guaranteed. A research-based placement or Independent Study Project will be recommended where an NGO placement cannot be organised.

Field-Based Experience (5 ECTS)

There are two options for students of the MA Gender, Globalisation and Rights to gain field-based experience. Students may undertake a research-focused experience working with Teagasc (the Irish Agriculture and Development Authority) on a funded research project, gaining skills in fieldwork, research and analysis. Alternatively, students may undertake a field trip to Brussels where they will learn about EU policy making, lobbying, civils society organisations and archives.