everything.study
GEN&WS 514

FEMINIST GEOGRAPHY: METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES

3 credits.

An introduction to foundational approaches to feminist qualitative research in human geography. Research is not separate from a social world that historically has been and continues to be shaped by (settler) colonial, racialized, gendered, sexualized, and class-inflected relations of power (among others). Research practices and "findings" have been and continue to be used to inform and rationalize relations of oppression, exploitation, and violence. For feminist researchers, then, questions of power, difference, and social change are central to how we design and conduct research. Engages in political-ethical discussions about the positionality and responsibilities of ourselves as researchers, and how our knowledge production can reproduce and challenge prevailing relations of power.

Prerequisites & course information

Requisites: Junior standing Course Designation: Core GenEd - Social & Behavioral Science Breadth - Social Science Level - Advanced L&S Credit - L&S Liberal Arts and Science Grad 50% - Counts toward 50% graduate coursework requirement Repeatable for Credit: No Last Taught: Spring 2025 Learning Outcomes: 1. Discuss the interplay between epistemology and methodology. Audience: Undergraduate 2. Explain clearly how their epistemological positions inform their methodological decisions. Audience: Graduate 3. Discuss the political dynamics shaping knowledge production, and how feminist, decolonial, and anti-racist projects have reshaped these dynamics. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 4. Discuss the historical constructions of ‘the field,’ and how feminist critiques and research practices challenge expectations regarding field work experiences. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 5. Discuss how feminist research ethics extend researchers’ ethical obligations of beneficence, respect for research subjects, and justice (Belmont Report). Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 6. Evaluate the virtues, dilemmas, and limitations of common qualitative methods. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 7. Develop a compelling rationalization for research questions and methodologies (design) for your qualitative project. Audience: Undergraduate 8. Articulate how feminist principles influence your research questions and methodologies. Audience: Graduate 9. Explain how social positionality shapes the research process, and develop a practice of self-reflexivity. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad Learning Outcomes: 1. Discuss the interplay between epistemology and methodology. Audience: Undergraduate 2. Explain clearly how their epistemological positions inform their methodological decisions. Audience: Graduate 3. Discuss the political dynamics shaping knowledge production, and how feminist, decolonial, and anti-racist projects have reshaped these dynamics. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 4. Discuss the historical constructions of ‘the field,’ and how feminist critiques and research practices challenge expectations regarding field work experiences. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 5. Discuss how feminist research ethics extend researchers’ ethical obligations of beneficence, respect for research subjects, and justice (Belmont Report). Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 6. Evaluate the virtues, dilemmas, and limitations of common qualitative methods. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 7. Develop a compelling rationalization for research questions and methodologies (design) for your qualitative project. Audience: Undergraduate 8. Articulate how feminist principles influence your research questions and methodologies. Audience: Graduate 9. Explain how social positionality shapes the research process, and develop a practice of self-reflexivity. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad

Sources
Catalogue variants