MA Women's Studies

MA Women's Studies
The MA Women's Studies focuses on women's lives, in contemporary society, historically and globally. It attracts people from a range backgrounds and recent experiences - work, community, family - who can demonstrate the ability to study at postgraduate level.

Women's Studies challenges long held masculine traditions, leading towards a broader culture of diversity and inclusivity. This wider transformative effect of Women's Studies demonstrates achievement of one of its own central principles - praxis, whereby not only are the students' intellectual, creative and critical abilities developed and personal empowerment achieved, but that these abilities are also used to advance the material and political concerns of the students and women more generally.

Overall Course Aims

Year 1
Introduces students to key issues and key texts in the field of Women's Studies including theories of woman's oppression, feminist theories, critiques and debates
Provides the basis of and springboard for analysing and examining issues relevant to women and their lives through historical, political and social contexts.
Addresses the constructions of sex and gender and identity and what is meant by 'woman'
Explores the diversity among women's experiences which arise from differences of ethnicity, race, nationality, culture, social class, sexuality, age, disability
Develops students' ability to identify and analyse issues for women in contemporary society in both the private and public spheres
Develop strategies for development and change in women's condition

Year 2
Applies learning from the Year 1 MA Women's Studies course to a topic chosen by the student in order to better understand and make sense of it, and to develop a critical analysis of the existing body of knowledge in the field
Use of appropriate research tools and methods including analytical procedures and practice grounded in feminist methodology and methods.

Learning Methods and Strategies
The overall philosophy is rooted in a commitment to self development and empowerment of women through education and the development of autonomous and reflexive learning. This combines with an ethos whereby students take responsibility for their own learning, making sense of their own experience as they proceed.
The main support systems are through tutorial support and advice and student study/support groups. A range of teaching and learning strategies are deployed, including interactive and participatory methods, use of varied media, and ways that stimulate visual and auditory learning. Students attend lectures, give seminar papers and presentations, and participate in group work. They use the Oxford and Ruskin libraries, and have the opportunity for tutorials and 'clinics' with staff.
Student contributions take place in tutorials and seminars where the practice is of student prepared work being discussed and debated and ideas being tried out. In addition tutors encourage active engagement in tutor delivered sessions through the use of for example, questions, activities, the use of case studies, and, response exercises.
Differentiation among students in terms of learning pace and styles (Smith, and Kolb 1986) are accommodated within the workshop framework, and observations of these by tutors are carried into individual tutorials both face to face and electronically. This differentiation is also addressed in the range of assignments for students

Requirement
Our MA Women's Studies students come from all over the UK and further a field, including Africa, South Africa, Australia, Canada and South America. Students don't necessarily have conventional university educations and degrees, and may come from vocational backgrounds such as nursing, midwifery, social work, and teaching. Some women are active in their trade unions. Students will normally be graduates with an honours degree, or equivalent qualifications in a relevant area of study. Instead of a degree, you may be admitted if: * You have relevant paid or unpaid experience including training/education courses, in organisations such as trade unions, community, voluntary or political groups. * You have knowledge and academic skills commensurate with degree level work. * You can show evidence of your capacity for post-graduate study through providing a portfolio of recent written work; for example reports, policy papers, funding applications, essays, etc.