Intersectionality: Critical Perspectives on Inequality and Power (GEN360)

The objective of this course is to pursue critical understandings of social inequity and structures of oppression through variables such as race, gender, class, sexuality, age, ability, and citizenship status. The theory of intersectionality emerges from the scholarship and activism of Black feminist thinkers who introduced it as an analytical tool to define, understand, and challenge the multiple forms of oppression that simultaneously impede the value and freedoms of Black women’s everyday lives. At once indebted to and in dialogue with this early Black feminist theory, this course explores the complexities of marginalized identities and unequal access to power and ressources through a series of themes that reveal the overlapping and thus intersecting logics of social domination and exploitation. By shifting from foundational texts that employ an intersectional framework to more contemporary works in critical race theory and postcolonial theory this course emphasizes the correlation between past and present struggles for social change.

There will have to be a minimum of 20 registered students (GEN360 and GEN560 combined) by August 20 for the course to run autumn 2025.

During the course we will acquire knowledge of how intersectionality emerges from Black feminist theory and critical race studies. During the course we will investigate how intersectional thinking from the onset sought to interrupt universal understandings of womanhood and to problematize the dominance of whiteness within feminist activism and scholarship. The concept of intersectionality will help us to intelligently engage with and assess an array of social and political themes, such as racism, sexism, legacies of colonialism, Indigenous displacement and resistance, reproductive justice, economic exploitation, and national belonging. Readings will draw our attention to a number of national contexts, including the Nordic region. In this way, intersectionality will guide our understandings of how systemic inequities are methodically maintained and actively disputed across a variety of social and political demographics. The course is relevant for students who are interested in both gaining a strong grasp of how structures of oppression operate and investigating mechanisms for social change by using the theoretical and analytical lens made available through intersectionality.

Upon successful completion of this course, the student should have the following learning outcomes in terms of knowledge, skills and general competencies:

Knowledge

Students should acquire

• knowledge about intersectionality as a theoretical and analytical framework.
• knowledge of how multiple axes of social division such as gender, race, sexuality, age, class, intersect and how these may be articulated and discussed in complex ways.
• knowledge of contemporary debates around intersectionality and how the concept is used to present social critique and to promote social change.

Skills

Students should be able to

• analyze and critically discuss intersectionality as a theoretical framework.
• analyze inequality as the effect of multiple axes of social division through an intersectional lens.
• comprehensively discuss the politics of domination, power, and social inequity, in addition to being able to assess the ways an intersectional framework can be employed in endeavors for social change.

Competencies

Students are expected to

• be familiar with core texts in intersectionality.
• have acquired theoretical knowledge about social inequity and systemic oppression and be able to use intersectionality as an analytical perspective for evaluating inequity.
• be able to apply intersectional perspectives to the ways they reflect upon the organization of power and privilege as it relates to social, political, and cultural events as well as their everyday lives.

Ingen

Introduction to Gender Studies (GEN340/GEN540), or equivalent.

The course requires active participation, and students will have to submit two written assignments during the semester and participate in one activity. Students will have to pass this 3-part compulsory assignment in order to qualify for the final exam. The language for the coursework is English.

The course consists of weekly sessions. These sessions will include lectures, seminars, group work and individual work adapted to different modes of study. All students are expected to read the syllabus and participate in group discussions and thereby develop analytic reflections in a productive environment with fellow students. This will be done on and off campus and the course coordinator will facilitate a digital learning platform (Canvas). The working language for this course is English.

The literature for this course consists of a collection of articles and book chapters made available in Leganto (approx 700 pages). Information about the article collection can be found on Canvas before the start of the course. Any changes to the curriculum will be announced on Canvas before the start of the course.

All students with study rights at UiS, including international students.

This course can be taken as a part of the Minor in Gender Studies (30ECTS)

General university admissions certification (GSK).

The faculty decides whether early dialogue will be held in all courses or in selected groups of courses. The aim is to collect student feedback for improvements during the semester. In addition, a digital course evaluation must be conducted at least every three years to gather students’ experiences.

Book Chapter The Legacy of Slavery: Standards for a New Womanhood Davis, Angela Y. (1944-), The Legacy of Slavery: Standards for a New Womanhood, New York, Random House, 271, 1981, 3-29, isbn:0394510399, Article The Social Construction of Black Feminist Thought Author(s): Hill Collins, Patricia, 14(4), 1989, 745-773, Book Chapter The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House Lorde, Audre, The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House, [London], Silver Press, 227 sider, 2017, 89-93, isbn:9780995716223, Article Racism and Women's Studies Smith, Barbara, Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, 1979, 48-51, Article Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiskrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics Crenshaw, Kimberlé W. , U. CHI. LEGAL F, 139, 1989, 139-167, Article The Combahee River Collective Statement The Combahee River Collective, 1977, View online Article Hegemonic Feminism Revisited: On the Promises of Intersectionality in Times of the Precarisation of Life de los Reyes, Paulina ; Mulinari, Diana, Stockholm, Routledge, 183-196, NORA : Nordic journal of women's studies, 3, 28, 2020-07-02, 183-196, View online Book Chapter Intersectionality as an ethical commitment Withaeckx, Sophie, Intersectionality as an ethical commitment, United Kingdom, Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, 2023, 90-107, isbn:9781800378049, View online Book Chapter At the Margins of Institutional Whiteness: Black Women in Danish Academia Diallo, Oda-Kange Midtvåge , A. Emejulu & F. Sobande, At the Margins of Institutional Whiteness: Black Women in Danish Academia, London :, Pluto Press, 1 online resource (251 pages), [2019]; ©2019, 219-228, isbn:1-78680-458-1, Article Before and after: terror, extremism and the not- so-new Norway McIntosh, Laurie, African and Black Diaspora: An International Journal, 1, 7, 2014-01-02; 2008, 70-80, Article Engendering 'race' in calls for diasporic community in Sweden Sawyer, Lena, Feminist Review, 1, 90, 2008, 87-105, Article The Best Colony in the World Egede Lynge, Aviâja , 2006, View online Article Colonialism as Seen from a Former Colonized Area Petersen, Robert, MADISON, University of Wisconsin Press, 118-126, Arctic anthropology, 2, 32, 1995-01-01, 118-126, View online Book Chapter Colonialism, racism and exceptionalism Petterson, Christina, Kristín Loftsdóttir,, Lars Jensen (red.), Colonialism, racism and exceptionalism, London, [England] ; New York, New York :; London, [England] ; New York, New York :, Routledge, 1 online resource (195 p.), 2016.; ©2012, 29-41, isbn:1-315-54727-9; 1-4094-8396-7; 1-134-76442-1; 1-134-76435-9; 1-283-57261-3; 9786613885067; 1-4094-4482-1, Book Chapter Godthåb, 1952 Thiesen, Helene,, Stephen James Minton (translator.), Godthåb, 1952, London ; New York :; London ; New York :, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 1 online resource (227 pages), [2023]; ©2023, 66-82, isbn:9781032149356, View online Article Do We Need Decolonial Feminism in Sweden? Tlostanova, Madina ; Thapar-Björkert, Suruchi ; Knobblock, Ina, Stockholm, Routledge, 290-295, NORA : Nordic journal of women's studies, 4, 27, 2019-10-02, 290-295, View online Book Chapter Saami Women at the Threshold of Disappearance: Elsa Laula Renberg (1877–1931) and Karin Stenberg’s (1884–1969) Challenges to Nordic Feminism Svendsen, Stine H. Bang, Saami Women at the Threshold of Disappearance: Elsa Laula Renberg (1877–1931) and Karin Stenberg’s (1884–1969) Challenges to Nordic Feminism, Cham, Springer International Publishing, 155-176, 155-176, isbn:9783030534646, View online Book Chapter Like a Mother to Them: Stratified Reproduction and West Indian Childcare Workers in New York Colen, Shellee, Like a Mother to Them: Stratified Reproduction and West Indian Childcare Workers in New York, 380-396, Book Chapter What is Care? Dowling, Emma,, What is Care?, London ; New York :; London ; New York :, Verso, 1 online resource (161 pages), [2021]; ©2021, 21-46, isbn:9781786630346, View online Article Wages Against Housework Federici, Silvia, 1975, Article Care, politics, and the political: the case of the COVID-19 global pandemic FitzGerald, Maggie, ABINGDON, Routledge, 588-608, International feminist journal of politics, 3, 26, 2024-05-26, 588-608, View online Article Colonial Care: Care in the Service of Whiteness Prattes, Riikka, Essays in Philosophy, 1-2, 24, 2023, 41-47, View online Article Unearned advantages? Redefining privilege in light of childhood Barajas, Sebastian, ABINGDON, Routledge, 24-36, Children's geographies, 1, 20, 2022-01-02, 24-36, View online Article Childism and philosophy: A conceptual co-exploration Biswas, Tanu ; Wall, John ; Warming, Hanne ; Zehavi, Ohad ; Kennedy, David ; Murris, Karin ; Kohan, Walter ; Saal, Britta ; Rollo, Toby, London, England, SAGE Publications, Policy futures in education, 0, 2023-06-26, 1-19, View online Article Intersectional Tensions in Theorizing Adultism Liebel, Manfred ; Meade, Philip, New York, Caddo Gap Press, 96-123, Taboo (New York, N.Y.), 1, 22, 2024-04-01, 96-123, View online Article The Color of Childhood: The Role of the Child/Human Binary in the Production of Anti-Black Racism Rollo, Toby, Los Angeles, CA, SAGE, 307-329, Journal of black studies, 4, 49, 2018-05-01, 307-329, View online Article Colonial Reproductive Coercion and Control in Kalaallit Nunaat: Racism in Denmark’s IUD Program Dyrendom Graugaard, Naja ; Pihl Sørensen, Victoria E. ; Stage, Josefine Lee, 1-16, NORA : Nordic journal of women's studies, 2025-01-08, 1-16, View online Article From the Womb to the Borders: The Politics of Carcerality in Social Reproduction Mulinari, Paula, 1-13, NORA : Nordic journal of women's studies, 2024, 1-13, View online Article Why Palestine is a feminist issue: a reckoning with Western feminism in a time of genocide Pratt, N ; Jabiri, A ; Ajour, A ; Shoman, H ; Aldossari, M ; Ababneh, S, Informa UK Limited, 2025-01, View online Article Reproductive Justice as Intersectional Feminist Activism Ross, Loretta J., PHILADELPHIA, Taylor & Francis, 286-314, Souls (Boulder, Colo.), 3, 19, 2017-07-03, 286-314, View online Article Racing the nation: towards a theory of reproductive racism Siddiqui, Sophia, London, England, SAGE Publications, 3-20, Race & class, 2, 63, 2021-10, 3-20, View online Book Chapter Integrating Disability, Transforming Feminist Theory Garland-Thomson, Rosemarie, Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, Integrating Disability, Transforming Feminist Theory, Bloomington, Indiana ; Indianapolis, Indiana :; Bloomington, Indiana ; Indianapolis, Indiana :, Indiana University Press, 1 online resource (337 p.), 2011.; ©2011, 13-47, isbn:0-253-00518-3, Book Chapter Care During COVID. Photo Essay on Interdependence Healy, Kennedy; Molkentin, Marley, Wong, Alice., Care During COVID. Photo Essay on Interdependence, New York :, Vintage Books, 1 online resource (309 pages), 2024.; ©2024., 48-57, isbn:9780593469743; 0593469747, Article Crip Theory: A Useful Tool for Social Analysis Mery Karlsson, Mikael ; Rydström, Jens, Stockholm, Routledge, 1-16, NORA : Nordic journal of women's studies, ahead-of-print, ahead-of-print, 2023, 1-16, View online Blog Transformative Justice. A Brief Description Mingus, Mia, Leaving Evidence, 2019, View online Article Integrating Race, Transforming Feminist Disability Studies Schalk, Sami ; Kim, Jina B., CHICAGO, The University of Chicago Press, 31-55, Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 1, 46, 2020-09-01, 31-55, View online Book Abolition. feminism. now. Davis, Angela Y., Gina Dent (author.), Chicago, Illinois :, Haymarket Books, 1 online resource (179 pages), [2022]; ©2022, isbn:9780241543757, Excerpt from the book is attached View online Article It's All in the Family: Intersections of Gender, Race and Nation Hill Collins, Patricia, Urbana, George Mason University, 65-65, Hypatia, 2, 23, 1998, 62-82, View online Book Chapter But I Love My Family! Lewis, Sophie A., But I Love My Family!, London, Verso, 122 sider, [2022]; ©2022, 7-21, isbn:9781839767197, Article Why abolition Roberts, Dorothy, Hoboken, USA, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 229-241, Family court review, 2, 61, 2023-04, 229-241, View online Article Abolition of the family: the most infamous feminist proposal Weeks, Kathi, London, England, SAGE Publications, 433-453, Feminist theory, 3, 24, 2023-08, 433-453, View online Article Fragments of the Future. Decolonization in Sami Everyday Life Dankertsen, Astri , Roskilde Universitet, KULT, 14, 2016, 23-37, View online Book Chapter ‘Home is where the cat is’: The here-there of queer (un)belonging Dima, Ramona & Simona Dimitriu , ‘Home is where the cat is’: The here-there of queer (un)belonging, Routledge, 2023, 118-135, isbn:9781032151113, View online Book Chapter Dimensions of Diaspora: Women of Color Feminism, Black Europe, and Queer Memory Discourses El-Tayeb, Fatima., Dimensions of Diaspora: Women of Color Feminism, Black Europe, and Queer Memory Discourses, Minneapolis, Minn. :, University of Minnesota Press, 1 online resource (302 p.), 2011., 43-80, isbn:9781452947242, View online Book Chapter Creating Communities of Belonging and Naming the 'Common' Keskinen, Suvi (author.), Creating Communities of Belonging and Naming the 'Common', London, Taylor & Francis (Unlimited), 2022, 36-57, isbn:9780367432461, View online Article On Love, the Palestinian Way: Kinship, Care and Abolition in Palestinian Feminist Praxis Ihmoud, Sarah, London, Pluto Journals, 206-224, State crime, 2, 12, 2024-02-16, 206-224, View online Article Writing Letters as Counter-Archiving: An Afro-Nordic Feminist Care Practice Kollektiv Omsorg: Oda-Kange Midtvåge Diallo, Jasmine Kelekay, Maimuna Abdullahi, Lena Saywer, Middletown, CT :, Wesleyan University Press,, Meridians, 1, 22, 2023, 180-203, Book Chapter Queer Sámi Conversations: Making Room for Safer Spaces Stubberud, Elisabeth & Tuula Sharma Vassvik, Mathias Danbolt; Britt Kramvik; Christina Hætta, Queer Sámi Conversations: Making Room for Safer Spaces, Sámi allaskuvla / Sámi University of Applied Sciences, 2024, 18-41, isbn:9788273670571, View online

The course description is retrieved from FS (Felles studentsystem). Version 1