JK10002Foundations I-Seminar(SEG)
| Numbering Code | G-LET36 6JK10 LE36 | Year/Term | 2022 ・ First semester | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Credits | 2 | Course Type | special lecture | |
| Target Year | Target Student | |||
| Language | English | Day/Period | Mon.5 | |
| Instructor name | IWASHIMA FUMI (Part-time Lecturer) | |||
| Outline and Purpose of the Course |
Feminism and gender studies are often aspatial and assume western urban families as the only available model. This course introduces rural gender studies as a lens through which to consider key topics in modern society. This seminar centers on three points for considering the difference between rural and urban from gender perspectives. First, rural lifestyles and the family model were different from the ones in urban areas. Most of Japanese agriculture is conducted by small scale family farmers, similar to the EU. By the 1980s, their life and work were not separated like modern wage-earning working families. Everyday life, work, and family style were significant for constructing a gendered identity of rural people. Second, rural people and areas are the targets of policies for rural development and/or rural women’s empowerment. Finally, rural gender studies have criticized the representations of rural women by urban scholars and policymakers as a homogenized category, which colonizes rural women and deprives them of the agency. This course is divided into four parts. The first part presents basic concepts and major theories of gender studies and feminist rural studies. The second, third, and fourth parts are associated with the points I mentioned before. We focus on rural families and their work, rural policies, and the representations of rural women from feminist perspectives. |
|||
| Course Goals |
The goals of this course are -to build familiarity with the key theoretical concepts and terms on rural gender studies. -to understand historical and current major issues related to the rural lifestyle, family, and work. -to have developed skills to analyze social problems critically with gender and feminist perspectives. |
|||
| Schedule and Contents |
Week1. Introduction & Overview Ⅰ Key Concepts Week2.(1) Why does gender matter? 【Reading Assignments】 J.W. Scott, Gender and the Politics of History, Introduction; Chapter1 Week3. (2) Why does rurality matter? 【Reading Assignments】 Jo Little 2002 “Feminist theory and rural geography” in Gender and Rural Geography, Pearson Education Bock, Bettina. B.2006 Introduction: Rural Gender Studies in North and South Ⅱ Rural family, lifestyle, and their work Week4. Masculinity and gendered division of labor in the EU 【Reading Assignments】 Ian Coldwell, 2007, “Young Farmers, Masculinities and the Embodiment of Farming Practices in an Australian Setting” Rural Sociology 17(1):19-33. Week5. Farm work and femininity in the EU 【Reading Assignments】 Brandth, Berit. 2006. “Agricultural body-building: Incorporations of gender, body, and work” Journal of Rural Studies 22(1)17-27. Week6. Japanese rural families and communities 【Reading Assignments】 Rieko Tsuru, Background and Factors Promoting the Empowerment of Women in the Rural Society of Japan in A Turning Point of Women, Families and Agriculture in Rural Japan. Week7. Gendered division of labor in Japanese rural families 【Reading Assignments】 Masayuki Tanimoto 2012. “The Role of Housework in Everyday Life: Another Aspect of Consumption in Modern Japan” in Penelope Francks and Janet Hunter ed.The Historical Consumer: Consumption and Everyday Life in Japan, 1850-2000 Ⅲ Gender and rural policy Week8. Rural challenge initiatives in England in the 1990s. 【Reading Assignments】 Little, Jo and Owain Jones, 2000. “Masculinity, Gender, and Rural Policy” Rural Sociology 65(4):621-639. Week9. Rural life improvement extension service in Japan: 1950-2000. 【Reading Assignments】 Ⅳ Feminist critiques of representations of rural women Week10. Critiques from third world feminism 【Reading Assignments】 Mohanty 2011.Under Western eyes: feminist scholarship and colonial discourses Week11. Critiques from feminist rural studies 【Reading Assignments】 Sachs, Carolyn.E.1996 1. Situating Rural Women in Theory and Practice Week12. Representations of third world women in development discourse 【Reading Assignments】 Andrea Cornwall, Elizabeth Harrison and Ann Whitehead. 2007."Gender Myths and Feminist Fables: The Struggle for Interpretive Power in Gender and Development" Development and Change 38(1):1-20 Week13. Representations of rural women in a Finish magazine of rural women’s association 【Reading Assignments】 Sireni, Maarit. 2015. “Reinventing Rural Femininities in the Post-Productivist Finnish Countryside.” European Countryside 7（1）：42-56. week14. Representation of Japanese Rural Women Week15. Students Presentations |
|||
| Evaluation Methods and Policy |
Active Participation 30%(Attendance 10% & Participation 20%) Small Essay 30% Final Essay 40% |
|||
| Course Requirements | None | |||
| Study outside of Class (preparation and review) | This course requires weekly readings and you need to complete two writing assignments throughout the course. Each essays will be based on weekly readings and lecture slides. | |||
| Textbooks | Textbooks/References | All weekly readings will be available online via a link provided on KULASIS. | ||
