95731 - Geography, gender and Ethic (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

Geography, gender, and ethics" is an advanced course of cultural geography. The course aims to provide students with an in-depth and critical knowledge of some of the topics and perspectives which lie at the core of contemporary geographical debates, such as gender studies and ethical issues. At the end of the course, students are expected to know the development of these subjects and perspectives within today’s geographical debates as well as the intersection of these topics and other fundamental topics in the field of cultural geographies, such as mobility.

Course contents

The course will address two main thematic pathways:

1) contemporary evolution of feminist and gender debates in the geographical field.

2) the intersection between gender geographies and ethics.

The topics addressed will be:

– feminisms, methodology, and ethics in geographical research: concept of positionality, etc.

– contribution of feminist and gender studies to ethical issues concerning, for example, subjectivity, difference, and the overcoming of culture/nature.

– feminisms, transfeminisms, and more-than-human and posthuman geographies

– geographies, feminisms, and concepts such as "trans-species"

– ecofeminisms.

 

Readings/Bibliography

1)

 1a.

Bonfiglioli S. e Minca C. (2022) "Geografie della differenza", in Minca C. (ed.) Appunti di geografia, Milano, Wolters Kluwer, pp. 373-442 (chapter 9).

or, if the previous essay has already been studied or has to be studied for another course:

Bonfiglioli S. (2023) Soglie, zone, margini: geografie liminari femministe e postumane, Documenti geografici, 2 (1/2023), pp. 107-129 (online journal open access).

 

1b.

 Borghi R. e dell'Agnese E. (2009) "Genere", in dell'Agnese E. (ed.), Geo-grafia. Strumenti e parole, Milano, Unicopli, pp. 291-315 (available also on line on HAL open access).

 

2)

• Amoore L. (ed.) (2020) Merely feminist: Politics, partiality, gender, and geography. Progress in Human Geography, new virtual issue.
• Rose G. (1993) Feminism and Geography: The Limits of Geographical Knowledge. Cambridge: Polity Press.
  
• Braidotti R. (2014) Il postumano. La vita oltre l’individuo, oltre la specie, oltre la morte. Roma: DeriveApprodi.
• Haraway D.J. (1995) Manifesto cyborg. Donne, tecnologie e biopolitiche del corpo. Milano: Feltrinelli.
• Haraway D.J. (2019) Chthulucene: sopravvivere su un pianeta infetto. Roma: Nero.
• hooks b. (2020) Elogio del margine – Scrivere al buio (intervista di M. Nadotti a b. hooks). Napoli: Tamu.
• Mies M. & Shiva V. (2014) Ecofeminism. London-New York: ZedBooks (o altre edizioni).

  

Teaching methods

Traditional lectures aiming to involve students in discussing and interpreting the issues addressed. Furthermore, attending students are requested to present the contents of one or more chapters taken from one of the books indicated in the section 'Readings/Bibliography'.

Students who intend to take the exam as 'attending students' are expected to attend lectures regularly and to actively participate also by presenting a text.

 

Assessment methods

The exam will be oral both for attending and non-attending students.

 

ATTENDING STUDENTS

Attending students are required to study for the exam:

– the contents of the lectures, including the slides

+

– two books chosen among those indicated at the entry 2) of the section 'Readings/Bibliography'.

The exam will consist of answering some questions about the contents of the lectures and of the read texts. The questions will concern:

- the contents – concepts, themes, analysed texts, issues – of the lectures;

- the contents of each book: concepts, themes, topics of single or several chapters;

- some topics which both the lectures and the read texts deal with. A critical analysis of the different perspectives on these topics may be requested.

 

NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS

Non-attending students are required to study for the exam:

– the essays indicated at the entry 1) of the section 'Readings/Bibliography': one of the two essays indicated at the entry 1a + the essay indicated at the entry 1b.

+

– two books chosen among those indicated at the entry 2) of the section 'Readings/Bibliography'.

The exam will consist of answering some questions about the contents of the read texts. The questions will concern:

- the contents of each book: concepts, themes, topics of single or several chapters;

- some topics shared by more than one book. A critical analysis of the different perspectives on these topics may be requested.

 

EVALUATION CRITERIA (applying to the examination of both non-attending and attending students)

The evaluation will take into consideration:

1) the level of knowledge of the contents: how well they have been deepened and critically understood;

2) how rich and correct the discursive articulation of the contents is;

3) the use of appropriate terminology.

The evaluation of each of the three criteria will contribute to determine the final grade, which will be assigned according to the following evaluation scale:

. 18-21, if the performance is, on the whole, sufficient;

. 22-24, if the performance is, on the whole, satisfactory;

. 25-27, if the performance is, on the whole, good;

. 28-30, if the performance is, on the whole, very good;

. 30 cum laude, if the performance is, on the whole, excellent.

Teaching tools

Slides, images, movies, class discussions.

Office hours

See the website of Stefania Bonfiglioli