Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Spring 2021 - GSWS 322 D100

Feminist Approaches to Research (4)

Class Number: 8203

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 11 – Apr 16, 2021: Tue, Thu, 10:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    30 units, including three units in GSWS or WS or GDST.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Explores a variety of feminist research methods including the definition of feminist research, the quantitative/qualitative controversy, action research, participant observation, survey, ethnography, case study, oral history, transnational study, interviews and research ethics. Students who have taken WS 208 may not take this course for further credit.

COURSE DETAILS:

“If we think of data collection as an intentional act – which it is – then we must also understand researchers who set the terms of research (which questions are asked, how those questions are asked, who is centred in the process) as having an incredible amount of power.”--Tiffany Muller Myrdahl, https://www.sfu.ca/ceri/blog/2020/research-in-the-service-of-community.html

            To what ends, and for whose benefit, do we undertake research? What forms of knowledge are perceived to be valid and valuable? Whose voices “count”? These are some of the questions that serve as the basis for this course, in which we grapple with the what, the why, and the how of doing research.

            Our discussion will move between theory and method and will include opportunities for applied research practice with methods used in critical social sciences and historical fields of study. We will evaluate survey tools, undertake an interview, virtually visit an archive, and develop a “knowledge mobilization strategy”.

            Along the way, we will return regularly to questions of knowledge production: how do we understand experience as expertise? How can practices of relational accountability reshape our approach to the (human and non-human) communities with whom we work? We will wrestle with these and other questions, while also attending to the context in which we are situated: global pandemic plus the many consequences for how we negotiate the push-and-pull between feminist enactments of solidarity and efforts toward decolonization on the one hand, and exercises of (academic) hegemonic power and on the other hand.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

For more detailed information please see the GSWS website: http://www.sfu.ca/gsws/undergraduate/courses/Educational_Goals.html

Grading

  • Participation in synchronous & asynchronous activities 20%
  • Research biography 5%
  • Interview portfolio 30%
  • Article review 25%
  • Research manifesto 20%

NOTES:

This course will meet synchronously on Tuesdays (10:30-12:20) and will include asynchronous components (e.g., Canvas discussion board, as well as hypothes.is and other open source online platforms). There may be an additional bi-weekly seminar for graduate students during scheduled class time on Thursdays.

We will use primarily Canvas (Blackboard Collaborate) and Zoom as a back-up. Access to internet and a computer with camera and microphone will be required.

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Various content (journal articles, videos, podcasts, etc.) available on Canvas and/or via SFU library databases


Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

TEACHING AT SFU IN SPRING 2021

Teaching at SFU in spring 2021 will be conducted primarily through remote methods. There will be in-person course components in a few exceptional cases where this is fundamental to the educational goals of the course. Such course components will be clearly identified at registration, as will course components that will be “live” (synchronous) vs. at your own pace (asynchronous). Enrollment acknowledges that remote study may entail different modes of learning, interaction with your instructor, and ways of getting feedback on your work than may be the case for in-person classes. To ensure you can access all course materials, we recommend you have access to a computer with a microphone and camera, and the internet. In some cases your instructor may use Zoom or other means requiring a camera and microphone to invigilate exams. If proctoring software will be used, this will be confirmed in the first week of class.

Students with hidden or visible disabilities who believe they may need class or exam accommodations, including in the current context of remote learning, are encouraged to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (caladmin@sfu.ca or 778-782-3112).