Diploma Programme in Gender & Development Studies The Diploma Programme in Gender & Development Studies is a distance education programme offered by The Centre for Gender & Development Studies, Regional Coordinating Unit. Participants in this programme are expected to complete their course of study in a minimum of 18 months and not more than 24 months. The methodology used includes: use of print materials for self-study, audio-graphic teleconferencing between learners and instructors, use of e-mail, and periodic face-to-face interaction between instructor and learners. Entry Requirements To be admitted to the programmme applicants must at the very least, satisfy UWI Lower Level or Mature Student matriculation requirements which include: (a) Holders of five CXC Diplomas with acceptable passes or equivalent, not necessarily obtained at the same sitting as follows: (i) in English (A) (ii) in Mathematics, or in a foreign language, or an approved science (not Health Science), or Additional Mathematics or Geography (iii) in three other approved subjects not already counted above. (b) Holders of one or more of the eight Diplomas from the School of Continuing Studies including English Language at the CXC General Proficiency Level I, II or III or the GCE O-Level Examination (c) Persons over 25 years can enter on the basis of their overall academic and professional attainment and experience; Note: Persons who can present evidence of satisfactory achievement may be granted admission to the University after appropriate assessment of their qualifications. Requirements for the Award of the Diploma A Diploma in Gender and Development Studies will be awarded by the University of the West Indies to persons who successfully complete the programme. This can be used to help satisfy matriculation requirements for entry to a degree programme at the University of the West Indies. To qualify for the award of the Diploma, the student must complete 30 credits: eight 3-credit courses and a research project of 6 credits. What is the Diploma Programme in Gender & Development Studies? The Diploma Programme in Gender & Development Studies is designed to provide participants with an understanding of gender and its influence on all spheres of life - social, economic, political and personal - and therefore, its impact on national development. The programme is specifically designed for men and women working in non-governmental organisations, (NGOs), Women’s Bureaux, community and international development agencies, church-related organisations, social service agencies and national planning institutions. The intention is to expand the reach of the Centre for Gender and Developments’ (CGDS’) teaching programmes to groups geographically distanced from the three main teaching campuses of the University, and therefore to target also, individuals in the non-campus countries.
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What Are the Aims of the Programme? The aims of the programme are to develop in participants:
- An awareness of how gender shapes personal consciousness and interpersonal relationships and determines the social, political, and economic inequalities between men and women in Caribbean society.
- The ability to use gender as a tool of analysis in the development of projects, programmes and policies, and so make them more responsive to the specific needs of women and men.
Programme Delivery The programme is delivered on a part-time basis over an eighteen months period. The first cohort of 23 students from 10 countries in the Caribbean started this programme of study in January 2003. A second cohort entered the programme in September of the academic year 2003/2004 and for the academic year 2004/2005 a third cohort has started the programme despite the restraints of Hurricane Ivan. Methodology Classes are conducted one day each month [on a Wednesday, from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. EC Time]. The programme utilizes:
- Audio-graphic teleconferencing via the University of the West Indies Distance Education Centres (UWIDEC);
- The Internet[e-mail]; and
- Multimedia packages that include print materials.
There is intermittent interaction with tutors through teleconferencing sessions to facilitate raising questions and clarifying issues related to the print materials. Students are asked to do a small research project and to write a report. This project allows learners to focus on a topic related to some aspect of the programme that is of interest to them. Each student receives a personal Research Adviser to supervise their project. Assessment Course assessment involves a variety of methods, including small projects, group work, written assignments, journal writing, poetry, etc. Award A Diploma in Gender and Development Studies will be awarded by the University of the West Indies to persons who successfully complete the programme. This can be used to satisfy the matriculation requirements for entry to a degree programme at the University of the West Indies. Cost of the Programme The cost of this distance education undergraduate programme for the Academic Year 2004/2005 is US$180.00 per 3-credit course. Applicants are encouraged to seek their own funding through personal savings or their organization or government, or through international funding agencies operating in the region.
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Applying for the Programme Application forms are available from the Admissions section on the three campuses, as well as from the University Centres in the non-campus countries, and on line at: http://www.mona.uwi.edu/admissions/forms/
The Programme also accepts “Specially Admitted” students – i.e. Persons who do not wish to do the full programme but are desirous of taking selected courses, which may/may not be used as credit to count towards UWI certification. Interested persons may apply in time to start at the beginning of an academic year or may choose to apply during the year for Semester 2 or the Summer Term.
- Semester 1 begins: August/September
- Semester 2 begins: January
- Summer Term: May
Application form for "Specially Admitted" Students can be found at:
http://www.mona.uwi.edu/admissions/exchange.htm
Contact Information
For additional information contact: Dr. Yasmeen Yusuf-Khalil
The Regional Coordinating Unit
Centre for Gender and Development Studies
UWI Mona Campus, Kingston 7, Jamaica Telephone: (876) 927 – 1913 or 927 -1660-9 Ext. 2494 ax: ( 876) 927 - 0641r E-mail: yasmeen.yusufkhalil@uwimona.edu.jm Course of Study Semester 1: 9 Credits
- GEND 1001 [ formerly GS10A] Research Methods and Interactive Skills [Prerequisite for GS10D]
- GEND 1104 [ formerly GS11A] Issues of Gender and Power in Caribbean Society: Politics, Religion and the Law
- GEND 2103 [ formerly GS20C] Feminist Theorizing: The Connection between Theory and Practice [Level 2] [Prerequisite for GS10D]
Semester 2: 9 Credits
- GEND 1201 [ formerly GS12A] Cultural Representation and the Construction of Masculinity and Femininity.
- GEND 1003 [ formerly GS10C] Issues of Gender and Social Policy: Health, Education and Empowerment
- GEND 2103 [ formerly GS21C] Gender and Development: Social and Economic Considerations [Level 2]
Summer Semester: 6 Credits
- GEND 1002 [ formerly GS10B] Women Organising and the Development of the Women’s Movement in the Caribbean
- GEND 1105 [ formerly GS11B] Gender and the Caribbean Family: Organisation and Relationships
Assessment Assessment is conducted by way of two course work marked out of 40% and 60% Page Top Year 2: Semesters 1 & 2: 6 Credits
- GEND 1004 [ formerly GS10D] Research Project
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS Diploma Programme in Gender & Development Studies GEND 1001 [ formerly GS10A] - Research Methods and Interactive Skills 3 Credits This course is designed to expose learners to various research concepts, perspectives and important models in designing and conducting research projects. Learners are introduced to traditional scientific methodologies, as they relate to the creation of knowledge, as well as to a feminist critique of these traditional methodologies. They are exposed to quantitative and qualitative techniques, research paradigms and methodological approaches, and fundamental principles of the Research Process. The course also covers descriptive as well as analytical statistical methods, and ethical issues in conducting research. At the end of the course learners should be able to design and conduct a research project in the field of Gender Studies. GEND 1104 [formerly GS11A] - Issues of Gender and Power in Caribbean Society: Politics, Religion and the Law (3 Credits) This course examines the relations of gender and power in Caribbean society and how politics, religion and law maintain unequal relations of power that reinforce sexual inequalities resulting in women’s subordination. It introduces learners to the ways in which gender socialization prepares males and females for having different status and degrees and sources of power and authority in the society and ultimately differential access to resources. Learners will consider the implications of gender equality and gender equity for development with particular focus on areas of politics, religion and law and will examine strategies that may be used to address inequalities and promote greater gender equity GEND 2003 [formerly GS20C] - Feminist Theorizing: The Connection between Theory and Practice (3 Credits) This course is intended to introduce learners to the main ideas of feminism, feminist theory, and feminist ideas and practice and to provide them with the basic tools of feminist analysis. The influence of international feminist theories such as Liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Black, Radical and Post Modern, on Caribbean feminist theorizing and practice are explored as well as the indigenous components of Caribbean Feminist Theory and Practice. GEND 1201 [formerly GS12A] - Cultural Representation and the Construction of Masculinity and Femininity (3 Credits )
This course is to equip learners with the analytical tools to understand the processes by which cultural messages of gender are transmitted. The course focuses on the construction of masculinity and femininity and how gendered messages are transmitted. Learners are encouraged to examine the cultural meanings attributed to sexual difference and to use examples from their cultural contexts to examine the processes by which masculinity and femininity are either reinforced, or challenged, in ongoing cultural representations such as Caribbean popular music and the mass media.
Page Top GEND 1003 [formerly GS10C] - Issues of Gender and Social Policy: Health, Education and Empowerment (3 Credits) This course examines the impact of gender on human and social development with particular emphases on the roles of education and health. Impact of political, economic and cultural factors on education and on the status of women’s health in the Caribbean are examined and an analysis of the ways in which education both constructs and sustains gender ideology and inequities in the Caribbean is presented. The issue of women’s health as a reflection of their overall status in society and the impact of this on development is also explored. Policy statements on health and education are analyzed in relation to gender equity and specific needs of women and men. GEND 2103 [formerly GS21C] - Gender and Development: Social and Economic Considerations (3 Credits) This course examines the historical context in which Development emerged as a paradigm of social and economic policy as well as a discipline. It traces the development of how women’s issues and gender have been included in the creation of Development paradigms, the significance of this inclusion and the attendant gains made for women, generally and specifically in the Caribbean region. Using Feminist Lens (Liberal Feminism and Socialist Feminism, in particular) the course sensitizes the learner to three main feminist-driven development paradigms - Women in Development (WID), Women and Development (WAD), and Gender and Development (GAD) – used to evaluate and influence development policy and planning, and explores the different assumptions about relations of gender held by each paradigm. In so doing, it provides both a critique of the traditional Modernization Approaches to Development (MAD) and offers insight into how Development policy can be made equitable. GEND 1002 [ formerly GS10B] - Women Organising and the Development of the Women’s Movement in the Caribbean (3 Credits) This course explains how women’s organizations in the Caribbean evolved over several centuries to produce the women’s movement of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Leading figures responsible for stimulating activism among women are identified and the programmes and achievements of the various women's organisations analyzed. It looks at how gender roles and relationships were shaped by historical experiences such as slavery, politics of the state and institutions like the church and how these influenced women’s efforts to organize themselves in various historical periods. It also examines the influence of gender systems on the policies of the state and other institutions and how these factors continue to affect the current struggles of Caribbean women to provide new directions in leadership and new paradigms to foster equity, equality, sustainable development, and peace. Learners are required to assess changes overtime and to anticipate future goals and objectives of the movement. GEND 1105 [ formerly GS11B] - Gender and the Caribbean Family: Organisation and Relationships (3 Credits) This course exposes the learner to a feminist approach as well as sociological and anthropological approaches to the study of the family. It examines a range of family, kinship and domestic arrangements in the Caribbean context in order to look critically at the link between 'women' and 'family' and to trace the changes in family organization and the division of labour ascribed to males and females. Learners will analyze ways in which established theoretical assumptions about family and the sexual division of labour influence social, and economic policy, and legislative frameworks and explore new and future forms of family arrangements and division of labour within families and households in the Caribbean. Page Top GEND 1004 [GS10D] - Research Project (6 Credits) Prerequisite: GS10A & GS20C
The Research Project is designed to provide participants with practical experience in conducting Social Research for a period of six months. They are encouraged to explore a gender problem with which they are familiar, using research approaches – both quantitative and qualitative – and research skills and knowledge acquired during their pervious courses in the programme. Under the direction of a Research advisor, participants are guided through the entire Research Process, from preparing and presenting a Research Proposal, to the actual field research, inclusive of Pilot Testing. Participants are expected, at the end of the six-month research phase, to prepare a report of their findings. |
