Thesis: Gender & Postcolonial Studies (2025/2026: Period 2)

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Course aim

The BA academic thesis Gender and Postcolonial Studies focuses on the following academic skills for conducting gender studies research:
- determining and formulating a good problem definition with logical sub-questions;
- developing a thorough research design;
- setting up a well-structured paper;
- academic writing;
- critically analyzing and reflecting on texts;
- correcting and improving one's own work and that of others.

After completing the course, the student has:
- learned to position oneself in critical feminist and / or postcolonial and / or decolonial and / or queer studies debates about knowledge production;
- developed an ability to deploy and justify the chosen theoretical framework and methodological approach;
- developed an ability to reflect on choices made and limitations.

Course content

BA thesis Gender and Postcolonial Studies has all the characteristics of a regular course with mandatory weekly plenary meetings and / or individual appointments, interim assignments and hard deadlines - with one big difference: the student is required to be more independent. The course seeks to actively draw connections with previously acquired knowledge and research skills.
Students chooses their own theoretical framework, phenomenon and case for their thesis. In Ba thesis Gender and Postcolonial Studies, the different steps of the research cycle in interdisciplinary gender and postcolonial studies are explored and further developed.

Central is the role of theories and methods in humanities research and interdisciplinary gender studies research in particular. Students are expected to link a gender and / or postcolonial and / or decolonial and / or queer studies perspective to phenomena of their choice such as language, culture, history, philosophy, communication, information, media & culture.

Students sharpen the research proposal they have written in Research Seminar: Gender and Postcolonial Studies VR3V16001 and conduct individual research. Students report this research in the form of a BA thesis. For students the Research Seminar: Gender and Postcolonial Studies VR3V16001 course is the entry requirement for the BA Thesis. For pre-master students, this entry requirement only applies if the course is included in their pre-master trajectory. Students are advised not to register for courses that (partly) overlap with this course.

Additional information

SEM II
Please note: the time slot shown here is not yet final, and may still be modified until the third Wednesday in September

Instructional formats

Seminar
Explanation

During the seminars, the different steps in the thesis research process are explored week by week. The seminars are also intended as a research lab in which students set to work on their own gender studies research project.

Preparation

Students read the prescribed texts carefully (sometimes 'close reading') and look for suitable additional literature that is relevant to their own area of interest (language, culture, history, philosophy, literature, media, culture).

Examination

Bachelor's thesis

Required | Weight 100% | Minimum grade 5.5 | ECTS 7.5

The bachelor thesis will be assessed on the basis of the demarcation of the research question, sub-questions, theoretical framework, methodological framework, motivation and data collection, the analysis, conclusions and referencing.

The syllabus with deadlines for assignments and tasks will be shared via Blackboard prior to the start of the course. Students are expected to read the syllabus carefully.

Entry requirements and preknowledge

Entry Requirements

The following course module must be completed:

Preknowledge

TCS / LAS students: Verdiepingspakket Gender & Postcolonial Studies. Other students: must have advanced in the minor Gender / minor Postcolonial Studies. At least three of the four courses of the minor must have been successfully completed with a pass.

Prerequisite knowledge can be obtained through

Minor Gender Studies: Block 1 Historiography of Feminist Ideas Block 2 Politics of Representation Block 3 Gender, Ethnicity and Religion Block 4 Visuality and Technology Minor Postcolonial Studies: Block 1 Postcolonial Theory Block 2 Postcolonial Configurations: Gender, Race and Culture Block 3 Postcolonial Europe Block 4 Framing Violence

Languages

  • English

Course Iterations

Related studies

Exams

There is no timetable available of the exams

Required Materials

No information available on the required literature


Recommended Materials

  • BOEK
    Ramazanoglu, C. & Holland, J. (2003). Feminist methodology. London: Sage.
  • BOEK
    Buikema, R., & Plate, L. (eds) (2015). Handboek genderstudies. Bussum: Coutinho.
  • BOEK
    Buikema, R. & Plate, L & Thiele, K. (eds) (2018) ‘Doing Gender in Media, Art and Culture. A Comprehensive Guide to Gender Studies’, 2nd Edition. London: Routledge.
  • BOEK
    Leurs, K. & Olivieri, D. (eds) (2015). Everyday feminist research praxis. Newcastle: CSP.
  • BOEK
    Feminist Research Practice: A Primer, Sharlene Hesse-Biber, 2013 (2nd edition)

Coördinator

L.I. Candidatu l.i.candidatu@uu.nl

Lecturers

L.M.A. Autar l.m.a.autar@uu.nl
L.I. Candidatu l.i.candidatu@uu.nl
I.H. Hansen i.h.hansen@uu.nl
C. Sturgess c.sturgess@uu.nl

Enrolment

Attention: this course is not open to students from other faculties, so subsidiary students can't enroll for this course.

Enrollment
From Monday 2 June 2025 up to and including Friday 20 June 2025

Go to OSIRIS-enrolments
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