Gender Issues in Development

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2010:

For the purposes of considering requests for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.

The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website : http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

As an arguably fundamental cross-cutting theme in development theory and practice today, gender issues and perspectives have moved significantly from the political and economic empowerment strategies of feminist activism in the 1970s. What began as a concern with women’s ongoing discrimination and disadvantage and the lack of visibility of women and their particular needs from development became a broader concern with the nature of relations between men and women. Discussions will focus on contemporary actions and approaches, feminist critiques, and the ‘embedding’ of gender in practices of development agencies, international organisations, non-government organisations and state level actors. Case studies will consider the social construction of masculinity, femininity and the approaches to gender issues by various actors and stakeholders, particularly in relation to the former colonised world. It will critically explore key concepts applied in development practice such as ‘gender sensitive’ and ‘gender mainstreaming’, and, the appropriateness of tools and techniques such as ‘gender analysis’ for understanding culture, expressed in the construction of gender identities and inequalities.

Students who successfully complete this subject should

• be aware of the theory and practice of development, theories of social change and development in the light of challenges to traditional roles;
• be able to understand the principles underlying certain key development problems;
• appreciate the political and social implications of both the problems and their management solutions;
• understand key concepts as gender related concepts as applied in the development practice
• understand the difficulties in applying some of the theoretical solutions to development problems.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.