Women in Politics

In this course, we explore the various ways in which gender as a social and political category has impacted politics in the United States. We examine the history of the women’s suffrage movement and the development of feminist theory. Through Carole Pateman’s The Sexual Contract and Shatema Threadcraft’s Intimate Justice, we reassess core questions of justice, equality, and freedom. We examine Kimberlé Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality and other developments in legal theory as we investigate the relationship between the body, identity, and the law. Students will also participate in a mock-debate on a contemporary issue of relevance.