POST-3881H: Gender Globalization & Resistance

Instructor: Pamela McKane

Course Code: POST 3881

When Taken: Winter 2022

Class Notes: Gender and Development.docx

Major Assignment: Ineffective Outsiders to Effectively Changing Local Norms.docx

This class, cross-listed with both POST and IDST, focused on the role of women in globalization, with a particular focus on women in developing countries. This is an area often forgotten in classical feminist literature studied in my politics classes at Trent, and this class was a welcome remedy to this missing content. For my major research project I looked into FGM (Female Genital Mutilation). I selected this topic because I believe it is one with a great deal of nuance, and that sparks debates around who has the right to determine what feminism is and is not. In particular with FGM, there are constant conversations happening regarding if preventing FGM is being culturally insensitive, or if it is protecting vulnerable girls. To add to this debate, I looked at ways in which international organizations, and local groups are becoming involved in campaigns against FGM. A particularly enlightening part of my research was looking at how different campaign structures impact the reception of organizations, and the importance of local people being involved in local campaigns at all stages, from development to implementation, instead of being included only in the implementation phase.