B4813 - Feminist Critiques of Political and Social Thought (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course students will acquire a knowledge of the ways in which women had historically criticized the theoretical justification of their subordination articulated in Western political and social thought. By applying the fundamental tools of feminist and post-colonial theories, the course will provide an historical analysis of political and social concepts – such as authority, freedom, rights, citizenship, society, labor – as the expression of gendered relations of power.

Course contents

Feminist Critiques and the Politics of the Algorithm

The module is a component of the Integrated Course (IC) in Critical Theory. It introduces students to the politics of the algorithm by explaining how social relations are embedded in—and reproduced by—algorithm-driven technologies. A close reading of some of the most recent contributions of feminist political theory to the understanding and critique of the politics of the algorithm is combined with selected classic texts of feminist political thought from the second half of the twentieth century. Algorithmic operations—such as search engine ranking, facial recognition, recommendation systems, and matching systems—are explained and interpreted through a feminist lens in order to investigate how algorithms redefine key political concepts such as identity, gender and sexual difference, and recognition within the field of tension between masculine domination, racist discrimination, capitalist exploitation, and women's claims to freedom.

PowerPoint slides and selected readings will be uploaded to Virtuale before the beginning of the course. Reading these materials is not compulsory, but it is recommended in order to encourage informed discussion during class.

Week 1: Introduction to the Politics of the Algorithm

The first week is devoted to providing students with the conceptual tools necessary to understand and define the politics of the algorithm. What is an algorithm? What are the main social and political concerns raised by the widespread application of artificial intelligence?

Week 2: Feminism Confronts Technology

The second week provides an overview of different feminist approaches to science and technology, emphasizing the material-semiotic dimension of feminist critique.

Week 3: Data Feminism

The third week focuses on Data Feminism, one of the main feminist "technical" responses to the forms of domination and discrimination produced by algorithms. Data feminism is introduced by tracing its theoretical roots through the discussion of categories such as "white supremacist capitalist patriarchy", "performativity", and "intersectionality".

Week 4: Algorithmic Identities

Starting from case studies—such as Meta's management of users' self-identification and recommendation systems—the fourth week focuses on the feminist critique of the algorithmic codification of identities.

Week 5: Algorithmic Recognition

Starting from case studies—such as discrimination produced by facial recognition systems and the algorithmic allocation of social services—the fifth week focuses on the feminist critique of neoliberal identity politics and its algorithmic reproduction.

Readings/Bibliography

SECTION A: Mandatory Readings (for all students)

· Kate Crawford, Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence, New Haven, Yale University Press, 2021: Introduction, Chapter 3, and Chapter 4.

· Tarleton Gillespie, "Algorithm", in Benjamin Peters (ed.), Digital Keywords: A Vocabulary of Information Society & Culture, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 2016, pp. 18–30 [uploaded to Virtuale].

· Donna Haraway, "A Cyborg Manifesto", in Simians, Cyborgs, and Women: The Reinvention of Nature, New York, Routledge, 1991 [uploaded to Virtuale].

· Sandra Harding, The Science Question in Feminism, Ithaca, NY, Cornell University Press, 1986: Preface and Chapter 1 [uploaded to Virtuale].

SECTION B

Attending students are required to choose one of the following texts for their final paper. Non-attending students are required to choose two texts from the following list for the oral examination.

· Ruha Benjamin, Race after Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code, Cambridge, Polity Press, 2019.

· Meredith Broussard, More Than a Glitch: Confronting Race, Gender, and Ability Bias in Tech, Cambridge, MA, The MIT Press, 2023.

· Jessie Browne, Stephen Cave, Eleanor Drage, and Kanta Dihal (eds.), Feminist AI: Critical Perspectives on Algorithms, Data, and Intelligent Machines, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2023 (Open Access: https://academic.oup.com/book/55103 ).

· Wendy Hui Kyong Chun, Discriminating Data: Correlation, Neighborhoods, and the New Politics of Recognition, Cambridge, MA – London, The MIT Press, 2021.

· Catherine D'Ignazio and Lauren F. Klein, Data Feminism, Cambridge, MA – London, The MIT Press, 2020.

· Catherine D'Ignazio, Counting Feminicide: Data Feminism in Action, Cambridge, MA – London, The MIT Press, 2024 (Open Access: https://direct.mit.edu/books/book/5767/Counting-FeminicideData-Feminism-in-Action ).

· Donna Haraway, Simians, Cyborgs, and Women: The Reinvention of Nature, New York, Routledge, 1991.

· Safiya Umoja Noble, Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism, New York, New York University Press, 2018.

· Sadie Plant, Zeros + Ones: Digital Women and the New Technoculture, London, Fourth Estate, 1997.

· Judy Wajcman, Technofeminism, Cambridge – Malden, MA, Polity Press, 2004.

Teaching methods

The course is taught through lectures and class discussion. Students are expected to participate actively by asking questions and contributing to collective discussion.

Assessment methods

Students enrolled in this module as part of an Integrated Course (IC) must complete both parts of the examination within the same examination session. The final mark will be determined by the average of the marks obtained in the two components, together with the overall evaluation of the two instructors.

Students who attend at least 75% of the classes are considered attending students. Students who attend less than 75% of the classes are considered non-attending students.

Attending students

Attending students are required to submit a final paper (5,000–7,000 words, including footnotes and bibliography) based on all the mandatory readings listed in Section A and one text chosen from Section B of the course bibliography.

Through a critical reading and discussion of the selected texts, the paper should demonstrate an understanding of the distinctive contribution of feminist perspectives on science and technology, the key features of the politics of the algorithm and artificial intelligence, and the ways in which the chosen text analyses and critiques the reproduction of power through technology.

Papers with incomplete bibliographies will not be assessed.

Students may supplement the required bibliography with additional scholarly sources in order to provide examples or strengthen their arguments. However, supplementary readings may not replace the texts included in the course bibliography.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

A limited, declared, and non-substantive use of artificial intelligence is permitted for support activities such as summarising or rephrasing. The substantive use of AI to produce any part of the assessed work is not permitted.

Accordingly, papers must go beyond merely summarising the assigned readings. They are expected to include properly referenced quotations (with page numbers), close textual analysis, and a clear, well-developed argument.

Any permitted use of AI tools must be explicitly acknowledged in a short statement appended to the paper.

The paper must be submitted by email to the instructor at least one week before the examination date. It will not be discussed during the oral examination. Students will receive their mark by email before the examination.

Any recognised academic referencing style may be used, provided it is applied consistently throughout the paper.

The cover page must include the student's name, student ID number, email address, the title of the course, the date of submission, and an indication of whether the student is enrolled in the Integrated Course in Critical Theory.

Non-attending students

Non-attending students are required to take an oral examination based on the compulsory readings and the selected texts. Questions will assess both knowledge of the assigned readings and the student's ability to discuss them critically.

Assessment criteria

In all cases, assessment will focus primarily on students' ability to engage critically with the readings included in the course bibliography, to use relevant examples effectively, and to establish connections between the themes addressed in the readings and, where applicable, those discussed during the lectures.

Assessment will also take into account the student's overall understanding of the topics covered in the course, their capacity for critical analysis, and their confident and accurate use of the appropriate terminology.

The assessment will evaluate:

• factual knowledge of the subject;
• the ability to summarise and critically analyse themes and concepts;
• familiarity with the terminology associated with the subject and the ability to use it accurately and effectively.

Marking criteria

An excellent or good mark will be awarded to students who demonstrate accurate and appropriate academic language, a thorough knowledge of the subject, and the ability to discuss the chosen topic or readings critically and coherently.

A satisfactory mark will be awarded to students who demonstrate adequate language proficiency and a satisfactory understanding of the assigned readings, together with the ability to summarise their main arguments.

A failing mark will be awarded where linguistic proficiency is inadequate or where knowledge of the chosen topic or assigned readings is fragmentary or insufficient.

Examination sessions

Examinations are held in the following months of the academic year (one session per month):

• January
• February
• April
• June
• July
• September
• October
• November

All examination sessions are open to all students.

Teaching tools

PowerPoint slides will be used to support the lectures and will be made available on Virtuale before each class.

 

Students with learning disorders and\or temporary or permanent disabilities:

please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Office hours

See the website of Paola Rudan