The Hebrew University Logo
Syllabus Gender and Colonialism in Britain and France - 54625
òáøéú
Print
 
close window close
PDF version
Last update 03-09-2023
HU Credits: 2

Degree/Cycle: 2nd degree (Master)

Responsible Department: European Studies

Semester: 1st Semester

Teaching Languages: Hebrew

Campus: Mt. Scopus

Course/Module Coordinator: Yuval Tal

Coordinator Email: yuval.tal@mail.huji.ac.il

Coordinator Office Hours: By appointment

Teaching Staff:
Dr. yuval tal

Course/Module description:
Gender discourses and inequalities played crucial roles in the history of French and British colonialism. This course will examine how gender metaphors, gender relations, and gender politics influenced colonial expansion, how they affected social and political relations between the colonizers and the colonized, and how gender images and relations shaped gender politics and hierarchies in metropolitan France and Britain. During the course we will study topics such as: Sexual Orientalism, colonial gender inequalities, miscegenation and “mixed-race” marriage, colonial sexual violence, colonial feminism, and gender relations during decolonization.

Course/Module aims:
Students will become familiar with the major questions and themes in the history and historiography of gender and colonialism. In addition, students will improve or acquire methodological skills in the history and theory of gender studies and learn how to create analytical interpretations combining both gender, postcolonial, and social theories.

Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
Students will become familiar with the major questions and themes in the history and historiography of gender and colonialism. In addition, students will improve or acquire methodological skills in the history and theory of gender studies and learn how to create analytical interpretations combining both gender, postcolonial, and social theories.

Attendance requirements(%):
100

Teaching arrangement and method of instruction: Class discussion

Course/Module Content:
1. Introduction

2. Colonialism and Gender History

Mrinalini Sinha, “Gender in the Critiques of Colonialism and Nationalism: Locating the 'Indian Woman',” in Joan Scott ed. Feminism and History: Oxford Readings in Feminism. New York, 1996, 477-504.

3. Sexual Orientalism

Edward Said, Orientalism. New York, 1978. Chapter 2-IV [Pilgrims and Pilgrimages]

4. Gender and Power

Ann Laura Stoler, “Carnal Knowledge and Imperial Power: Gender, Race, and Morality in Colonial Asia,” in Joan Scott ed. Feminism and History: Oxford Readings in Feminism. New York, 1996, 209-266.

5. Colonial Masculinities

Mrinalini Sinha, Colonial Masculinity: The "Manly Englishman" and the "Effeminate" Bengali in the Late Nineteenth Century. Manchester, 1995, 33-68.


6. Colonial Pleasure and Metropolitan Respectability

Deborah Cohen, Family Secrets: Shame and Privacy in Modern Britain. New York, 2013, 13-46.

7. Sexual Consent and “Mixed-Race” Children

Elizabeth Thornberry, “The Problem of African Girlhood: Raising the Age of Consent in the Cape of Good Hope, 1893–1905,” Law and History Review 38:1 (2020), 219-240.

8. The “Muslim Family” and French citizenship in Colonial Algeria

Judith Surkis. Sex, Law, and Sovereignty in French Algeria, 1830–1930. New York, 2019, 90-118.

9. Sexual Violence

Elizabeth Thornberry, “Rape, Race, and Respectability in a South African Port City: East London, 1870-1927,” Journal of Urban History 42:5 (2016), 863-880.

10. Reproduction and the Civilizing Mission

Lynn M. Thomas, Politics of the Womb: Women, Reproduction, and the State in Kenya. Berkeley, 2003, 52-78.

11. Feminism in a Colonial Society

Sara Rahnama. “Hijabs and Hats in Interwar Algeria,” Gender & History 32:2 (2020), 429-446.

12. Anti-Colonialism and the Challenge to Liberal Feminism

Lynn M. Thomas, Politics of the Womb: Women, Reproduction, and the State in Kenya. Berkeley, 2003, 79-103.

13. Decolonization and Gender Politics in France

Todd Shepard, Sex, France, and Arab Men, 1962-1979. Chicago, 2019, 19-41.

Required Reading:
1. Introduction

2. Colonialism and Gender History

Mrinalini Sinha, “Gender in the Critiques of Colonialism and Nationalism: Locating the 'Indian Woman',” in Joan Scott ed. Feminism and History: Oxford Readings in Feminism. New York, 1996, 477-504.

3. Sexual Orientalism

Edward Said, Orientalism. New York, 1978. Chapter 2-IV [Pilgrims and Pilgrimages]

4. Gender and Power

Ann Laura Stoler, “Carnal Knowledge and Imperial Power: Gender, Race, and Morality in Colonial Asia,” in Joan Scott ed. Feminism and History: Oxford Readings in Feminism. New York, 1996, 209-266.

5. Colonial Masculinities

Mrinalini Sinha, Colonial Masculinity: The "Manly Englishman" and the "Effeminate" Bengali in the Late Nineteenth Century. Manchester, 1995, 33-68.


6. Colonial Pleasure and Metropolitan Respectability

Deborah Cohen, Family Secrets: Shame and Privacy in Modern Britain. New York, 2013, 13-46.

7. Sexual Consent and “Mixed-Race” Children

Elizabeth Thornberry, “The Problem of African Girlhood: Raising the Age of Consent in the Cape of Good Hope, 1893–1905,” Law and History Review 38:1 (2020), 219-240.

8. The “Muslim Family” and French citizenship in Colonial Algeria

Judith Surkis. Sex, Law, and Sovereignty in French Algeria, 1830–1930. New York, 2019, 90-118.

9. Sexual Violence

Elizabeth Thornberry, “Rape, Race, and Respectability in a South African Port City: East London, 1870-1927,” Journal of Urban History 42:5 (2016), 863-880.

10. Reproduction and the Civilizing Mission

Lynn M. Thomas, Politics of the Womb: Women, Reproduction, and the State in Kenya. Berkeley, 2003, 52-78.

11. Feminism in a Colonial Society

Sara Rahnama. “Hijabs and Hats in Interwar Algeria,” Gender & History 32:2 (2020), 429-446.

12. Anti-Colonialism and the Challenge to Liberal Feminism

Lynn M. Thomas, Politics of the Womb: Women, Reproduction, and the State in Kenya. Berkeley, 2003, 79-103.

13. Decolonization and Gender Politics in France

Todd Shepard, Sex, France, and Arab Men, 1962-1979. Chicago, 2019, 19-41.

Additional Reading Material:

Grading Scheme :
Essay / Project / Final Assignment / Home Exam / Referat 80 %
Active Participation / Team Assignment 20 %

Additional information:
 
Students needing academic accommodations based on a disability should contact the Center for Diagnosis and Support of Students with Learning Disabilities, or the Office for Students with Disabilities, as early as possible, to discuss and coordinate accommodations, based on relevant documentation.
For further information, please visit the site of the Dean of Students Office.
Print