The Political Economy of Gender in Latin America
POSC 44 / WAGS 04
Spring 2011
Professor Picq
W 2-4h30 pm; Chapin 103
SYLLABUS
The Political Economy of Gender in Latin America
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Professor Manuela Picq
542-5351;
Office 105, Earth Sciences
Office Hours: Tuesday 3-6 pm
Course POSC 44 / WAGS 04
Wednesday 2:00-04:30 pm
Chapin 103
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Description
Latin America has the greatest extremes of wealth of any region in the world, and gender is one of the most important factors leading to this inequality. The study of gender therefore offers a valuable window into the socio-economic structures and political systems of the region. Bringing together the disciplines of comparative politics, political economy, and gender, this course proposes to analyze the gender implications of economic and political reforms at large in Latin America, from the military dictatorships of the 1970s through the democratization of the 1980s, the neoliberal reforms of the 1990s, and the New Left. We will also explore the history and geography of women's rights in terms of political participation, agrarian reform, informal economics, reproductive rights, welfare policies, migration, and human trafficking. Beyond women's rights, the class offers a larger analysis of social movements and the politics of contestation in Latin America, the movements’ interactions with state actors and the impact of changing markets on women's empowerment.
Grading system
Assignments are described in greater detail on the course webpage (format, expectations, deadlines, etc).
Class participation 20% - Students are expected to prepare and attend all class sessions, participate in class discussions, and be active on the course blog. Unexcused absences can result in reduced credit.
Quizzes 15%- There will be two in-class quizzes. A first quiz (5%) will require students to locate Latin American countries on a map, whereas a second quiz (10%) will focus on the definition of gender-disaggregated indicators.
Essay 15% - Each student will write one individual essay during the semester. This exercise focuses on research and content as much as form and style.
Group research project: 10% - Students will do a group research project (2 people) once during the semester. The class presentation will explore the findings of joint research on court-cases of violence against women, accompanied by a page-long executive summary.
Lecture report 10%- Students are required to attend a conference and write a one-page report bridging the lecture with the course.
Final project 30% - At the end of the semester, each student will conduct a formal, in-class presentation of individual research projects combined with a five-page policy paper (proposals to present final projects in a different format/support are welcome).
Course readings are available on e-reserve
Books
Amartya Sen (1999) Development as Freedom
Peter Wade (2009) Race and Sex in Latin America. Pluto Press.
Barros, Ferreira, Molinas Vega, Chanduvi (2009) Measuring Inequality of Opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean, World Bank Report (available online)
Matthew Gutmann (1996) The Meanings of Macho: Being a man in Mexico City, Berkeley: University of California Press.
Virginia Woolf (1929) A Room of One’s Own
Javier Corrales & Mario Pecheny (2010) “The Politics of Sexuality in Latin America”
Reading and Discussion Schedule
The syllabus is subject to change
Part 1. Conceptual Approaches
Week 1. Jan 26 - Introduction
Course overview and introductions – Defining IPE and mapping gender
Week 2. Feb 2 - Measuring poverty and inequality through gender
Kelly Hoffman and Miguel A. Centeno (2003) “The Lopsided Continent: Inequality in Latin America,” Annual Revue of Sociology 29:363-90. [E]
Ricardo Hausmann & cie (2010) “The Global Gender Gap Report 2010,” World Economic Forum Report.
International Poverty Centre (2007) “Poverty in Focus 11: the Challenge of Inequality,” IPC: Brasilia. [E]
Sylvia Chant (2006) “Re-thinking the Feminization of Poverty in Relation to Aggregate Gender Indices,” Journal of Human Development Vol.7. N.2 pp.201-220 [E]
V. Spike Peterson (2005) “How (the meaning of) Gender Matters in Political Economy,” New Political Economy, Vol.10, N.4, 499-521. [E]
Quizzes- 1) Map of Latin America
2) Gender-disaggregated indicators
Week 3. Feb 9 - Opportunities and Capabilities in Latin America
Amartya Sen (1999) Development as Freedom (chapters 2/6/7) [B]
Martha Nussbaum (2005) “Women’s Bodies: Violence, Security, Capabilities,” Journal of Human Development, 6:2 [E]
Barros, Ferreira, Molinas Vega, Chanduvi (2009) “Measuring Inequality of Opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean” World Bank Report [E]
Amy Bellone Hite and Jocelyn Viterna (2005) “Gendering Class in Latin America: How Women Effect and Experience Change in the Class Structure,” Latin American Research Review, 40: 2 [E]
Part 2. Making Gender
Week 4. Feb 16 – Machos and masculinities
Matt Gutmann (1996) “The Meanings of Macho” [B]
Sylvia Chant and Matthew Gutmann (2002) “Men-Streaming Gender? Questions for Gender and Development Policy in the Twenty-First Century”
Films: Byron Hurt “Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes” [S]
Lucinda Broadbent "Macho" (Nicaragua 2000) [S]
Individual essays
Week 5. Feb 23 – Race and sex: economics, beauty, and the State
Peter Wade (2009) Race and Sex in Latin America [B]
Andrew Canessa (2008) “Sex and the Citizen” [E]
Kim Crenshaw (2001) “Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color ” [E]
Kia Coldwell (2008) “Look at Her Hair: the Body Politics of Black Womanhood in Brazil” [E]
Short-films: A Girl Like Me; Slip of the Thongue
Week 6. Mar 2 – The costs of violence against women
Nadirlene Gomes and Normelia Diniz (2008) “Males Unveiling the Different Forms of Conjugal Violence,” ACTA, 21:2 pp.262-7. [E]
Sally Cole and Lynne Phillips (2008) “The Violence Against Women Campaigns in Latin America: New Feminist Alliances,” Feminist Criminology, Vol. 3, N.2. [E]
Convention of Belem do Para [E]
Case study- Maria da Penha and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights: Rapporteurship on the Rights of Women; Report 54/01 Case 12.051 Maria da Penha.
Group presentations on selected court-cases of violence against women.
Week 7. Mar 9 – No class
Class replaced by two lectures.
Week 8. Spring Break
Part 3. The economics of violence
Week 9. Mar 23 – The political economy of care
Speaker: Cruz Bueno
Nancy Folbre (2006) “Measuring Care: Gender, Empowerment, and the Care Economy,” Journal of Human Development 7:2, 183-199 [E]
Merike Blofield (2009) “Feudal Enclaves and Political Reforms: Domestic Workers in Latin America,” Latin American Research Review, 44:1 [E]
Maxine Molyneux (2006) “Mothers at the Service of the New Poverty Agenda: Progreso/Oportunidades, Mexico’s Conditional Transfer Programme,” Social Policy and Administration, 40:4, 425-449. [E]
Film: The Maid
Week 10. Mar 30 – Linking property, income and violence
Virginia Woolf (1929) “A Room of One’s Own” [B]
Elissa Branstein and Nancy Folbre (2001) “To Honor and Obey: Efficiency, Inequality, and Patriarchal Property Rights,” Feminist Economics 7:1. [E]
Carmen Diana Deere & Magdalena Leon (2003)."The Gender Asset Gap: Land in Latin America," World Development, Vol. 31(6), 925-947, June. [E]
Bina Agarwal and Pradeep Panda (2005) “Marital Violence, Human Development and Women’s Property Status in India,” World Development Vol. 33, N.5 [E]
Week 11. Apr 6- Gender, Migration and Trafficking
Guest Speaker: Terry Ann-Jones
Wheaton, E. M., Schauer, E. J. and Galli, T. V. (2010) “Economics of Human Trafficking,” International Migration, 48:114–141 [E]
Clare Ribando, (2005) “Trafficking in Persons in Latin America and the Caribbean” CRS Report for Congress [E]
Film: Anjos do Sol
Week 12. Apr 13- From Motherhood to Orgasm: the Politics of Reproduction to Pleasure
Mala Htun (2003) Sex and the State: Abortion, Divorce and the Family Under Latin American Dictatorships and Democracies, (chapters 1/6). [P]
Brief (2010) “An Overview of Clandestine Abortion in Latin America,” and “Facts About Abortion 2009” Alan Guttmacher Institute Briefs. [E]
Ruth Dixon-Mueller (2009) “Towards an Ethics of Sexual Rights and Responsibilities” [E]
Jennifer Oriel (2005) “Sexual Pleasure as a Human Right: Harmful or Helpful to Women in the Context of HIV/AIDS?” Women’s Studies International Forum 28, 392–404 [E]
Film: Teen Mothers (Meninas) [S]
Week 13. Apr 20 – LGBT: contestation beyond feminism
Guest Speaker: Javier Corrales
Javier Corrales Mario Pecheny (2010) “Politics of Sexuality in Latin America” [B]
Barbara Sutton (2007) “Poner el cuerpo: Women’s Embodiment and Political Resistance in Argentina,” Latin American Politics and Society, 49:3, 129-162. [E]
Film: Translatina
Week 14. Apr 27 – Are we there yet? Justice, quotas and the tortuous road to equality
Roseanna M. Heath & cie (2005) “Women on the sidelines: Women’s Representation on Committees in Latin American Legislatures,” American Journal of Political Science, 49:2, 420-436. [E]
Lisa Baldez (2007) “Primaries versus Quotas: Gender and Candidate Nominations in Mexico, 2003,” Latin American Politics and Society 49:3, 69-96. [E]
Shannon Drysdal Walsh (2008) “Engendering Justice,” Studies in Social Justice 2:148-66. [E]
Mala Htun (2010) “When do Governments Promote Women’s Rights? A Framework for the Comparative Analysis of Sex Equality Policy,” Perspectives on Politics 8: 207-216 [E]
Week 15. May 4 – Final projects
Final projects presented by students in class; peer-reviewing process.
May 6 finals due.
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