Course schedule (course will be held on the following 4 occasions: February 25, March 24, April 21, May 19)

Week 1 (February 25)
Introduction
Harding, Sandra. 1993. The Science Question in Feminism. New York: Cornell University Press, pp. 30–58.

Week 2 (March 24)
Feminist epistemology
group discussion: What characteristics/principles does good feminist research have?
Sears, A., & Cairns, J. 2015. A good book, in theory: making sense through theoretical inquiry (3rd ed.). Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Chapter 2: Theory matters, pp. 25 – 52.

Week 3 (April 21)
Looking for a good theme
group discussion: How could I find a good theme for feminist research?
Naples, N. A., Gurr., B. 2014. Feminist Empiricism and Standpoint Theory: Approaches to Understanding the Social World. In: Hesse-Biber, S. N. (ed.): Feminist Research Practice. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.

Week 4 (May 19)
From the theme to the research project
Creswell, John. 1998. Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design: Choosing among Five Approaches. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.

Syllabus can be subject to change during the semester.

Academic integrity: Correct referencing and crediting others for their work is inseparable part of academic integrity. Plagiarism of any kind – be it intentional or not – is not acceptable and will be referred to the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities as well as to the Disciplinary Committee for consideration. Students are expected to follow the rules of correct referencing that they will familiarize themselves with in the Academic Writing and Literary Theory course.
Electronic policy: Use of laptops is not forbidden. However, reading and annotating of printed texts as well as notetaking in handwriting is strongly encouraged.

Students are required to attend all classes. In case of absence from the class, the student must notify the instructor in advance with regard to the absence and the reason for the absence.
Students are expected to actively participate in the class discussion (25 %). Therefore it is important to carefully read the assigned readings before the class.

The preparation for the discussion involves:
A short summary of the text (or texts), which clearly identifies the topic, main thesis, argumentation and concepts stated and used in the text. Students are not expected to write long retellings of texts; shorter notes in handwriting, which serve as preparation for class, are sufficient. Each student will use it for the group discussion at the class and send it via e-mail to the lecturer at the latest one day before the next class (25 %).

Final research paper (50 %)
The final paper is to be a detail proposal of the research project (there is a draft uploaded in SIS). The deadlines (i.e. exam dates in SIS) will be announced in the last class on May 14th.