SOC 275 - Gender, Social Justice and Transnational Activism

Transnational feminist activism has a long history, dating back at least to the suffrage movement. But undeniably it has taken new forms under current socioeconomic, political, and cultural processes of globalization. Robin Morgan’s famous book, “Sisterhood is Global,” (1984) envisioned a worldwide network of activists working together for women’s rights. Yet this utopian vision of global sisterhood has been consistently interrogated, examined, and reimagined. Not only has the world changed dramatically - through rampant globalization, the rise of social media and the ever present Internet, and new forms of neoliberal social control - but “Third World” feminists in both the global north and the global south still question Western conceptualizations of feminism and women’s solidarity. These feminist activists and scholars examine differences among women around race, class, sexuality, and nationality, and locate these differences in complex systems of identity, political economy, and knowledge production. This has revealed deep divisions, but also radical possibilities for sustainable social justice. Transnational feminists focus on the connections between women’s situated lives and their changing relationships with the movement of people, capital and ideas. In this course we will contend with the politics of difference, debate its challenges, and imagine possible futures for transnational gender justice.

Prerequisites: SOC 110 Sociology of Gender   OR WGS 110 Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies  OR SOC 160 Global Cultures and Identities  OR SOC 167 Problems of Globalization  OR SOC 200 - Class, Status and Power  OR SOC 265 Social Movements: Quest for Justice  

Anticipated Terms Offered: PERIODICALLY