your own life experience and knowledge of current affairs into the discussion,: a core precept of the class being that all knowledge is situated and partial, coming from a particular social and geopolitical location, reflecting particular lines of sight and privileges, and gaining from dialogue with those in other locations.

In that spirit, I should say that have been studying feminist IR for many years, but this class is relatively new and part of my own, ongoing learning journey. I aim to provide a map of the field to help orientate you in your learning, a sense of context and some comparators to help you refine your critical judgements, markers and boundaries to help structure discussion, and activities and feedback to help you develop your critical thinking, reading and writing skills. I have my own knowledge base and views but will not be delivering lectures or imparting the correct political line. I will be reading some of the texts for the first time alongside you, reflecting on my own research and commitments, and hoping to learn from and be challenged by you as you develop your own critical perspectives on the field.

- Some aspects of my thinking on pedagogy, feminism and IR are further developed in ' Bridging the Academic/Activist Divide: Feminist Activism and th e Teaching of Global Politics', written with Bice Maiguashca and published in Millennium: Journal of International Studies , 2006, vol. 35, no. 1, 119-137, available through the library website.
- Assessment

A ssessment will consist of four elements: an attendance/participation grade at 10 per cent of the total grade, a response paper at 25 per cent, a presentation at 25 per cent, and an essay at 40 per cent.

- 1. Class attendance/participation

You will be awarded a grade for the frequency of your attendance at mandatory seminars and the quality of your involvement when present. The course will rely heavily on class discussion, so you are expected to come to class with all the required reading completed. You are also expected to participate constructively in seminar discussion and group work. The assessment criteria, published on the Myplace site for the class, will include: regularity of attendance, evidence of prior preparation, readiness to participate in seminar discussion, readiness to participate in group work, quality of oral contributions. Awarding some of the mark for participation when present (and not just attendance) will ensure fairness for students who miss seminars with good reason.

###### 2. Response paper

You are required to submit a response paper of no more than 1500 words. This will be a personal, considered reaction to three seminar readings, one each from weeks 3, 4 and 5 (on concepts and approaches). You should choose no more than one textbook chapter. For each reading, you should

- • full bibliographic details • full bibliographic details
- • the question/s being addressed • the question/s being addressed
- • the core argument or point • the core argument or point
- • any underlying assumptions and/or evidence provided • any underlying assumptions and/or evidence provided
- • strengths and weaknesses • strengths and weaknesses
- • possible counter-arguments and further questions arising • possible counter-arguments and further questions arising
- • with what you think, overall, about the reading concerned • with what you think, overall, about the reading concerned

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