Магистратура 2020/2021

Гендерная политика в России

Статус: Курс по выбору (Политика. Экономика. Философия)

Направление: 41.04.04. Политология

Кто читает: Департамент политики и управления

Где читается: Факультет социальных наук

Когда читается: 2-й курс, 1, 2 модуль

Формат изучения: без онлайн-курса

Преподаватели: Бурмакова Ольга Петровна, Костерина Ирина Владимировна

Прогр. обучения: Политика. Экономика. Философия

Язык: английский

Кредиты: 5

Контактные часы: 52

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The “Gender Politics in Russia” course consists of several lectures and seminars where students will learn the basics of gender theory and various approaches to gender and feminist analysis. Emphasis will be put on the particularities of the Russian ‘gender order’, which is quite specific - despite the fact that Russia was one of the first countries that granted women all rights (political, reproductive, social and civil), the current situation is more complicated, and progressive gender attitudes could coexist with neo-conservative ones. The Russian gender order has many intersections with the global world, and above all with Europe and the Americas, but at the same time there are many local specifics that immediately catch the eye of foreigners. The course will examine the situation of women, men and LGBT* people in Russia through the prism of political, economic, social and cultural institutions and practices. Certain cultural phenomenon, as well as movies and online projects illustrating the complex structure of gender relations, will be considered as examples.

Learning Objectives

• Understanding of the basics of gender studies and feminist theory
• Familiarity with the specifics of gender in the context of Russian culture and politics
• Knowledge of different aspects of gender and sexuality in Russia
• Development of analytical tools for research in the area of gender and sexuality in Russia

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Understanding of basic concepts of gender studies and feminist theory
• Familiarity with methodological approaches to definition and analysis of gender
• General understanding of the Soviet/Russian gender order
• Assessment of the relations between gender and economics and public sphere
• Application of feminist approaches to analysis of gender in Russia
• Familiarity with theoretical approaches to analysis of masculinity
• Evaluation of specifics of masculinity in Russia
• Comparative analysis of gender relations in Russia and other contexts
• Critical understanding of issues of sexuality and body in the Russian context
• Knowledge of the history of family in Russia and theoretical approaches to its analysis
• Critical understanding of gender in Russia in the global contexts

Course Contents

• Lecture 1. Course introduction: main approaches to gender studies
  Basic concepts of gender theory: Sex and gender, male and female, sexuality, gender order, gender inequality, gender display. Methodological approaches to definition and analysis: Biological determinism (Freud; Geddes and Thompson, etc). Sex roles theories (Parsons). Sociological interactionism (Goffman). Structural and constructivist approach in the analysis of gender relations. Gender studies, women’s studies, feminist’s studies: what’s the difference.
• Lectures 2 & 3. Gender and gender relations in Russia: from the late 19th to the 21st century
  Features of the Soviet/Russian gender order. Soviet ethocratic order. Soviet gender contracts. ‘Working mother” concept. "Soviet" fatherhood and parenthood. Partiarchal bargain. Late Soviet gender roles, masculinity crisis. Neopatriarchy and neoconservatism. Gender-based violence.
• Lecture 4. Gender, Economics and the Labor Market
  The public sphere and gender division of labor. The impact of economics and employment on gender relations. How gender relations affect the economy. Gender division of the labor market. Discrimination, ‘Glass Ceiling’ and ‘sticky floor’, Double Load, Gender pay gap. Care economy in Russia.
• Lectures 5 & 6. Feminist approaches to gender analysis. Feminist movement in the world and in Russia
  The history of the feminist movement and its impact on the study of gender relations. Classic feminism: Simone de Beauvoir. The radical, Marxist and psychoanalytic feminisms of the second wave. Post-feminism and post-structuralism. Intersectional feminism. Feminist theory. Feminism in Russia - Pussy Riot case and others.
• Lecture 7. Features of Russian masculinity
  Masculinity Studies: Theoretical Approaches and History. Russian masculinity: from the breadwinner to the crisis What is the difference between Russian men? Gender socialization of boys and school. Homophobia and violence. Risky behavior and toxic masculinity. New trends in Russian masculinity.
• Lecture 8. Gender, nationality and ethnicity
  Cultural features of gender relations. Russian and non-Russian in Russia in terms of gender and hierarchies. Decolonial turn and its possibilities in Russia.
• Lectures 9 and 10. Gender, body and sexuality
  Gender and power. Sexuality research. Gender, physicality and reproductive practices. The transformation of intimacy. Sexual rights and identities.
• Lecture 11. Family and family policy in Russia
  Features of Russian family policy. Family in the USSR and the late Soviet Union. Parenthood and family roles. Marriages, divorces and types of family relations in the 21st century.
• Lecture 12. Russian gender as a global / local project: new challenges
  Migration. Precariat. Transformation of family relationships. Biopolitics. Digitalization and Gender.

Assessment Elements

• Participation in class during lectures
• Essay
  Late submission: a grade point will be distracted for every day of delay. No submission will be accepted after the exam.
• Exam
• Participation in class during seminars

Interim Assessment

• Interim assessment (2 module)
  0.3 * Essay + 0.4 * Exam + 0.1 * Participation in class during lectures + 0.2 * Participation in class during seminars

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Ace West Don H. Zimmerman, Candace West, & Don H. Zimmerman. (2009). Accounting for doing gender.
• Anna Batori. (2019). Lynne Attwod, Elisabeth Schimpfössl and Larina Yusupova (eds.): Gender and Choice After Socialism. https://doi.org/10.17892/app.2019.0009.137
• Ashwin, S. (2000). Gender, State and Society in Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia. Routledge.
• bell hooks. (2015). Talking Back : Thinking Feminist, Thinking Black: Vol. New edition. Routledge.
• Charlie Walker, & Steven Roberts. (2018). Masculinity, Labour, and Neoliberalism : Working-Class Men in International Perspective. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Gradskova, Y., Kondakov, A., & Shevtsova, M. (2020). Post-socialist Revolutions of Intimacy: An Introduction. Sexuality & Culture, 24(2), 359–370. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-020-09706-8
• Hartmann, H. (2006). Chapter 13: The Unhappy Marriage of Marxism and Feminism. In Inequality: Classic Readings in Race, Class, & Gender (pp. 179–190). Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Lisa Disch, & Mary Hawkesworth. (2016). The Oxford Handbook of Feminist Theory. Oxford University Press.
• Raewyn W. Connell. (1987). Gender and Power : Society, the Person and Sexual Politics. Polity.
• Sabine Broeck, & Carsten Junker. (2014). Postcoloniality - Decoloniality - Black Critique : Joints and Fissures. Campus Verlag.
• Salmenniemi, S. (2012). Rethinking Class in Russia. Routledge.
• Scott, J. W. (1986). Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis . American Historical Review, 91(5), 1053. https://doi.org/10.2307/1864376
• Temkina, A., & Zdravomyslova, E. (2003). Gender Studies in Post-Soviet Society: Western Frames and Cultural Differences. Studies in East European Thought, 55(1), 51–61. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021857831011
• Temkina, A., & Zdravomyslova, E. (2015). The Sexual Scripts and Identity of Middle-Class Russian Women. Sexuality & Culture, 19(2), 297–320. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-015-9272-7

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Beauvoir, S. de, Malovany-Chevallier, S., & Borde, C. (2011). The Second Sex (Vol. 1st ed). New York: Vintage. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=745281
• Butler, J. (2007). Gender Trouble : Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=881409
• Essig, L. (1999). Queer in Russia : A Story of Sex, Self, and the Other. Durham, NC: Duke University Press Books. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=681884
• Fausto-Sterling, A. (1992). Myths of Gender : Biological Theories About Women and Men: Vol. 2nd ed. Basic Books.
• Jemima Repo. (2016). The Biopolitics of Gender. Oxford University Press.
• Levitt, S. D., & Dubner, S. J. (2006). Freakonomics : A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything: Vol. Revised and expanded ed. HarperCollins.
• Mohanty, C. T. (1988). Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses. https://doi.org/10.1057/fr.1988.42
• Rhein, W. (1998). The Feminization of Poverty: Unemployment in Russia. Journal of International Affairs, 52(1), 351.
• Therborn, G. (2004). Between Sex and Power : Family in the World 1900-2000. London: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=114938
• Uspenskai︠a︡, V. I., Ekonen, K., & Saarinen, A. (2013). Women and Transformation in Russia. Routledge.
• Vannoy, D. (1999). Marriages in Russia: Couples During the Economic Transition : Couples During the Economic Transition. Praeger.
• Wolf, N. (2008). The Beauty Myth : How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women. HarperCollins.