The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is launching a new MA degree programme in Women’s and Gender Studies through the School of Gender and Development Studies (SOGDS) from July 2013 session.
The program addresses the need to examine gender issues from an academic perspective through the dissemination of the growing body of knowledge in the areas of women’s and gender studies. It is open to all students with an undergraduate degree in any discipline who may be interested in acquiring conceptual, theoretical and analytical knowledge in the areas of women’s and gender studies. Women’s and Gender studies being inter–disciplinary areas, the program focuses on developing analytical and critical perspectives by examining given knowledge discourses across various disciplines from a gender perspective.
The two year, 64 credit MA programme comprises of a total of eight courses and project work. The four core courses of the first year provide an introduction to women’s movements, feminist theories and concepts, and gender perspectives in relation to social power hierarchies, arts & media and representations of gendered bodies. The modular programme allows learners to exit at the end of the first year with a PG Diploma in Women’s and Gender Studies, or continue for the full MA degree. In the second year, learners can opt for a specialization either in Gender, literature & Culture or in Women’s Studies. Besides a compulsory course in Research Methods, specialized courses in the two streams are aimed at providing enhanced knowledge in the area of specialization. The courses are intended to equip students with foundational as well as advanced knowledge in a chosen area to prepare them for relevant employment opportunities later on.