COURSE SYLLABUS
POLS/LSJ 327: Women’s Rights as Human Rights
M/W 11:30 am -1:40 pm
on Zoom: https://washington.zoom.us/j/99109075846
Instructor: Julia Wejchert
Email: jwejch@uw.edu
Office hours: M/W 10:30-11:30 am on Zoom https://washington.zoom.us/j/97643573275
Course Format: This is a synchronous online course. Pre-recorded lecture videos that will be posted on Canvas on Monday and Wednesday. There will be live online (Zoom) seminars on Monday and Wednesday 11:30 am – 1:40 pm as noted on the course schedule.
Course Description: Human rights offer people around the world a language they can use to make claims in ways that are more powerful than simply making a request. Women’s rights are human rights, yet women’s rights claims have often not been taken as seriously as other human rights claims. Still, people around the world have continued to use this rights language to stand up to atrocities and to demand justice and equality for people of all genders.
This course will acquaint students with many complex issues—political, social, economic, and legal—that shape women’s rights around the world. It has a comparative focus rather than a United States focus—students will be asked to think critically about various areas of women’s rights while thinking comparatively about the different countries and settings that they exist within. It will focus on a number of policy areas and how they intersect with gender and women’s rights including health, labor, gender based violence, and more. The course also critically examines the limits and benefits of data science approaches for women’s human rights. There are no pre-requisites for the course.
Students will have the opportunity to research a women’s rights topic of their choosing that is related to the course content. The course will feature interactive learning opportunities in utilizing primary (data, court cases, treaties, policy reports etc) and secondary (peer reviewed journal articles and books) sources for conducting research.
Students will be assessed via in class participation, a series of low stakes assignments, a short paper in the middle of the quarter, and a research paper & presentation.
Course Learning Goals and Objectives:
- Analyze and examine global women’s rights issues
- Critically assess the limits and benefits of using data to attain women’s human rights
- Critically assess policy approaches and solutions for global women’s rights issues
- Analyze and examine the impact of gender data on society and policy makers
- Construct and conduct an independent research project using data to examine a women’s rights issue
- Acquire and apply skills to share your research analysis through a Research Paper and presentation
Course Canvas site: This will be a place to look for this syllabus, announcements, research links, reading questions, and assignments: https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/1597696
Research Resources: You will find extensive research resources on the course website. These include how-to tips and videos on conducting social science research using library resources and web-based resources. You also will find information on research specific to the course’s topic on women’s human rights and gender data collection and analysis. We will focus on publicly available databases with an emphasis on gender indicators.
Required Reading: There are two types of required readings for this course. First, there is one required book: The Seductions of Quantification by Sally Engle Merry which is available at the UW Bookstore or through online retailers. Second, a set of required readings including peer reviewed journal articles and primary sources are available through the Course Canvas site under Modules.
Required Lectures: Lectures will be posted each week as pre-recorded videos and will be uploaded to the Course Canvas site. It is advisable to do the readings and view the lecture videos in line with the course schedule as laid out in the syllabus.
Two important points. First, lectures cover major points taught in the course and may raise important points from the readings, but they are not an adequate substitute for reading assignments. Conversely, material presented in lectures is not always covered in the readings. You are expected to have read the readings assigned in the schedule below and to be ready to discuss the relevant materials in a knowledgeable way. Failure to keep up with readings will limit your ability to learn from the lecture videos and live seminar interactions. Second, some of the reading assignments are difficult and may take more time than you might otherwise expect. I urge you to stay on schedule. The syllabus tells you what to read and when. I am here to help you understand the material covered in this course. Please don’t hesitate to come visit me in my office hours if you have any questions, concerns or comments.
Assessment:
Short Paper (4-5 pages) (25%) (due July 20)
Research Presentation (5 minutes) (20%) (in class August 8 or 10)
Research paper (9-10 pages) (35%) (due August 17)
Low-stakes Assignments/Participation (20%) (see course schedule & canvas assignments for due dates of low-stakes assignments)
Assessment in this course will be based on the above criteria. Receiving a zero on any one of the three main course assignments, will result in a failing grade for the course. In addition to your performance on the papers, 20 percent of your course grade will be based on your class participation and the short assignments noted in the class schedule. Please inform me as soon as possible of any circumstances that will affect your ability to meet assignment deadlines. I am here to help. The syllabus marks clearly when assignments are due, enabling all students to schedule their quarter accordingly. If you have conflicting commitments, please speak with me as soon as possible so accommodations can be made.
Research and Writing: This course aims to develop research skills. In particular, students will be instructed in and given time to utilize library resources in order to develop and complete a research paper. Further, students will also be asked to do a significant amount of writing and your ability to formulate and express a rigorous argument will be central to your success. You are encouraged to speak with to me about your writing and to visit the Odegaard Writing Center, which is open for virtual and in-person appointments during the summer quarter (https://depts.washington.edu/owrc/). Subsequently, students are expected to produce polished papers that are thoroughly revised, proofread, and spell-checked. Students are expected to cite their sources properly, and failure to do so will result in a grade reduction and a possible zero on the assignment.
Access and Accommodations: Your experience in this class is important to me, and it is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. Remote learning and this time of pandemic presents challenges to all of us. Please reach out immediately if you need any extra assistance to support your learning in this course. If you experience barriers based on disability, please seek a meeting with DRS to discuss and address them. If you have already established accommodations with DRS, please communicate your approved accommodations to your instructor at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your needs in this course. Disability Resources for Students (DRS) offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities. Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, your instructor(s) and DRS. If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary or permanent disability that requires accommodations (this can include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), you are welcome to contact DRS at 206-543-8924, Mary Gates Hall 011, uwdrs@uw.edu or disability.uw.edu.
Religious Accommodation: Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.
washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious accommodations-request/).
Counseling and Support: The Counseling Center and Hall Health are excellent resources on campus that many UW students utilize. Students may get help with study skills, career decisions, substance abuse, relationship difficulties, anxiety, depression, or other concerns.
- Counseling Center https://www.washington.edu/counseling/
- Hall Health https://wellbeing.uw.edu/
Academic Conduct: I will enforce strictly the University of Washington’s Student Conduct Code, including the policy on plagiarism. Violations of the Student Conduct Code, including plagiarism, can result in a variety of disciplinary actions, including suspension or permanent dismissal from the University. The entire code can be found at http://www.washington.edu/cssc/for-students/academic- misconduct/
I am here to help you utilize proper citation techniques, please seek out my assistance. This course will use the SimCheck platform to help support student learning and proper citation practices. Students will be given the chance to check and edit their research paper in advance. The Political Science Writing Center has an excellent handout on best practices for citation and how to avoid plagiarism. http://depts.washington.edu/pswrite/Handouts/Plagiarism.pdf
Notice: The University has a license agreement with SimCheck, an educational tool that helps prevent or identify plagiarism from Internet resources. Your instructor may use the service in this class by requiring that assignments are submitted electronically to be checked by SimCheck. The SimCheck Report will indicate the amount of original text in your work and whether all material that you quoted, paraphrased, summarized, or used from another source is appropriately referenced.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Week 1: Women’s Rights as Human Rights: History, Theory, Laws and Data
This lesson introduces women’s rights as human rights: it’s origins as both a movement and a policy approach. The lesson identifies the key historical developments of the women’s human rights movement and also a set of pre-requisite factors for attaining women’s human rights. I will also introduce key international laws and conventions governing women’s rights. The lesson also examines the theoretical approaches to studying women’s human rights. Finally, I will introduce students to the role data science plays in policies and societal understandings of women’s rights. This discussion will provide a basis for the critical questions and approaches we will continue to engage as we examine substantive areas of women's human rights throughout the course.
Wednesday, June 22
- Bunch, Women's Rights as Human Rights
- Merry, The Seductions of Quantification, Chap 1 (A World of Quantification)
No live class on 6/22
**Reading assignment #1 is due 6/22. Please post your response to the discussion board**
Week 2: Women’s Rights and Health
This lesson examines the ways in which women's health and access to healthcare can affect the status of women's rights. If girls are not surviving childhood and women are not surviving childbearing years, civil and political rights are meaningless. We will also critically examine the inequalities experienced in global crises (e.g. COVID-19 pandemic) and the role that data collection and analysis can play in government and societal responses.
Monday, June 27***
- Artiga et al., Racial Disparities in Maternal and Infant Health
- United Nations, COVID-19 and Ending Violence Against Women and Girls
- Yasmin, The Ebola Rape Epidemic No One is Talking About
***Monday's class will be largely introductory, so try to read these by Wednesday, but I don't expect you to have read them by Monday
Wednesday, June 29
- D’Ignazio & Klein, Introduction: Why Data Science Needs Feminism (their book Data Feminism, MIT 2020) Tuesday, April 12
Week 3: Women’s Rights and Labor
This lesson looks at the experiences women have in the labor force and in relation to the labor force. It addresses the key role of care labor—often performed by women—in supporting other forms of labor, as well as the tendency for care work to be uncounted and undervalued. It also brings an intersectional lens to care work to consider how middle- and upper-class women in the paid workforce often rely on care labor performed by intersectionally-marginalized women.
Monday, July 4
University Holiday- no class
Wednesday, July 6
- UN policy brief on care work & COVID
- Parreñas, Migrant Filipina Domestic Workers and the International Division of Reproductive Labor
- Merry, The Seductions of Quantification, Chap 2 (Indicators as a Technology of Knowledge)
**Research assignment #1 due in canvas 7/6**
Week 4: Women’s Rights and Global Trafficking
This lesson focuses on the issue of global trafficking and the effects on women’s rights. We will cover labor trafficking and sex trafficking and explore this phenomenon at the local, state and international level. Data collection and analysis of human trafficking patterns is particularly challenging. We will discuss new developments in data science in the area of trafficking and critically reflect on issues of measurement and policy development and impact.
Monday, July 11
- Merry, The Seductions of Quantification, Chap 5 (Measuring the Unmeasurable: The US Trafficking in Persons Reports)
Wednesday, July 13
- Merry, The Seductions of Quantification, Chap 6 (Knowledge Effects and Governance Effects of the Trafficking in Persons Reports)
**Research assignment #2 due in canvas 7/13**
Week 5: Women’s Rights and Violence
This lesson will cover the issue of women’s rights and violence against women. The lesson is both historical and contemporary covering major innovations in international laws and domestic legal instruments regarding gender-based violence. Gender violence has always played a role in wartime atrocities, but we are beginning to open the chapter on justice as both perpetrators and victims are better understood. The lesson also couches this examination of gender violence and human rights in a larger conversation on the role of data and data science in responding to this persistent violation. The lesson includes the opportunity to explore the role of an international court in adjudicating gender violence claims and the use of large n qualitative databases to examine these legal cases.
Monday, July 18
- Merry, The Seductions of Quantification, Chap 3 (Measuring Violence against Women) (focus on pp. 44-top of p. 52 & mid pp. 70-74)
- Merry, The Seductions of Quantification, Chap 4 (Categorizing Violence against Women: The Cultural Work of Commensuration)
Wednesday, July 20
- Cichowski, The ECHR, Amicus Curiae and Violence Against Women
**Short paper due 7/20**
Week 6: Women’s Rights and Violence continued
Monday, July 25–
no live class.
Watch Running for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women by Rosalie Fish, TedXYouth@Seattle
(trigger warning: violence, sexual violence, suicide, police violence)
Watch two videos from the Seattle Times video series posted under the lecture videos module as well
(trigger warning: discussions of violence, sexual violence & rape, sex trafficking)
Work on research papers
Wednesday, July 27
- Urban Indian Health Institute, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls Report (2016)
Week 7: Women’s Rights and the Environment
This lesson explores the connections between the environment, natural resource management, access to clean water and women's empowerment. Building on our discussion in the previous lessons, we focus on the basic needs and infrastructure and how these provide the foundation for women’s attainment of rights and equal status. Clean water and sanitation are inextricably linked to women's empowerment. This lesson puts in stark relief the need to ground rights reforms firmly in a larger discussion of access to basic life needs. We cannot build one without the other. The lesson explores global indicators related to climate change and identifies gender data gaps on the environment.
Monday, August 1
- McDonald, Women and the Right to Water (speech, United Nations Human Rights Council)
- United Nation Foundation’s Data2X, Mapping Gender Data Gaps in the Environment
Wednesday, August 3
- Arora-Jonsson, Virtue and Vulnerability: Discourses on Women, Gender, and Climate Change
Week 8: Presentations
The remaining weeks of class will be focused on research presentations and turning in the research paper. All students will sign up for a presentation on either August 8 or August 10. This 5-minute presentation can take the form of a live presentation such as a traditional powerpoint presentation, or a video. We will discuss this more in week 3.
Monday, August 8
No readings, in class presentations
Students who are not presenting will complete research presentation feedback assignment in class
Wednesday, August 10
No readings, in class presentations
Students who are not presenting will complete research presentation feedback assignment in class
Week 9: Papers
Monday, August 15
I will hold extra office hours for one-on-one meetings on Monday, August 15 so that you can come and talk to me as you finish your papers.
Wednesday, August 17
No class meeting, final papers due.
**Final paper due August 17**