GV4H3 Half Unit
Feminist Political Theory
This information is for the 2025/26 session.
Course Convenor
Dr Sarah Goff
Availability
This course is available on the MPhil/PhD in Gender, MSc in Gender, MSc in Gender (Research), MSc in Gender (Rights and Human Rights), MSc in Gender, Development and Globalisation, MSc in Gender, Policy and Inequalities and MSc in Political Theory. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process.
How to apply: to apply for a place on this course, please write a short statement of 200 words (max) outlining the specific reasons for applying and how the course will benefit your academic/career goals. Priority will be given to MSc in Political Theory students, and then students on the other programmes listed in the 'availability' section of the course guide. You should check that you meet any pre-requisites in the course guide before applying (where applicable). Places on capped courses cannot be guaranteed.
Deadline for application: The deadline for applications is 12:00 noon on Friday 26 September 2025. You can expect to be informed of the outcome of your application by 12:00 noon on Monday 29 September 2025. Any places remaining after this date will be allocated based on priority and written statement - up until course selection closes.
For queries contact: gov.msc@lse.ac.uk
This course has a limited number of places (it is controlled access). In previous years we have been able to provide places for all students that apply but that may not continue to be the case. Priority is given to students in the MSc Political Theory programme.
Course content
This course covers some of the central debates in contemporary feminist political theory, with a particular emphasis on the legacy and usefulness of liberalism. The course focuses on debates and differences within feminist political theory, rather than justifications for, or defences of, feminist political theory. Among the problems raised are conceptions of the individual and individual autonomy; the relative invisibility of gender issues in mainstream literature on justice and equality; the tendency to conceive of equality in sex-blind terms; the tendency to presume a universally applicable set of norms. We consider the theoretical debates in relation to a number of contemporary political issues. Topics likely to be addressed include: feminism and contract, individualism and autonomy, equality and the politics of difference, marriage and feminist perspectives on trans issues.
Teaching
10 hours of lectures and 10 hours of seminars in the Winter Term.
This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Winter Term.
Formative assessment
Essay (1500 words)
Students will submit a short formative essay in WT (up to 1,500 words) and will be given feedback on this before submitting their assessed coursework.
Indicative reading
Simone de Beauvoir (1949) The Second Sex; Susan Moller Okin ‘Forty Acres and a Mule for Women’ Politics, Philosophy & Economics (2005); Carole Pateman (1988) The Sexual Contract; Iris M Young (1990) Justice and the Politics of Difference; Anne Phillips (1995) The Politics of Presence; Clare Chambers (2017) Against Marriage: An Egalitarian Defence of the Marriage-Free State; Serene Khader (2018) Decolonizing Universalism: Towards a Transnational Feminist Ethic; Talia Mae Bettcher ‘Evil deceivers and make-believers: Transphobic violence and the politics of illusion’ Hypatia (2007).
Assessment
Essay (100%, 4000 words) in Spring Term Week 3
Key facts
Department: Government
Course Study Period: Winter Term
Unit value: Half unit
FHEQ Level: Level 7
CEFR Level: Null
Keywords: Feminist Political Theory, Liberalism
Total students 2024/25: 29
Average class size 2024/25: 15
Controlled access 2024/25: YesCourse selection videos
Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.
Personal development skills
- Self-management
- Team working
- Problem solving
- Application of information skills
- Communication