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PIR-20124 - Module Specification
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Faculty of Business, Law, Humanities & Social Sciences

For academic year: 2026/27 Last Updated: 16 September 2026

PIR-20124 - Gender, Identity and Activism
Coordinator: Helen Parr Room: CBB2.005 Tel: TBC
Lecture Time:
Level: Level 5
Credits: 30
Study Hours: 300
School Office:

Programme/Approved Electives for 2026/27

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

No

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2026/27

How can we create change in global politics? In this module, you will explore how artistic, feminist, LBGTQ+, and anti-racist campaigns challenged the masculine and heteronormative social and global order, and how this changed how we study world politics and artistic movements. You will learn how gender and sexuality can be used to police societies, how activists worldwide contest tyrannies, and how identity can inspire change and hope but also create division. You will devise an action strategy for change inspired by real-world scenarios.

Aims
The module aims to:
a) introduce students to ideas about how change has been and can be made to happen in global politics, by exploring a range of historical and contemporary examples of music, protest and activism/artivism.
b) enable students to explore how gender and identity have shaped activism, and how concepts of gender, identity and activism relate and overlap
c) encourage students to focus on cases where gender, identity, arts and activism have combined to shape particular protest movements or moments of change
d) develop students' understandings of the relationships between power, gender, identity and activism in global politics with an intersectional outlook.
e) introduce students to ways of devising strategies for change and to different interpretations of how those strategies might take effect
f) develop students' critical understandings of why and how change in global politics might happen.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Explain key features of particular case studies of protest, artistic or activist movements: 1
Illustrate understanding of the inter-relationships between power, gender, identity, arts, and activism in global politics: 1
Apply concepts from the study of gender, identity and activism to design a strategy for change: 1
Propose a strategy for change and demonstrate understanding of the potential challenges and shortcomings it presents: 1
Analyse how gender, identity, arts, and activism have inter-related to create change or to resist particular global orders: 2
Appraise the relationships between power in global politics, and gender, identity and/or activism: 2

Study hours

20 hours interactive lectures, 18 hours guest seminars/sessions/workshops , 6 hours workshops/seminars to prepare for assessment.
136 hours engaging with materials for lectures and tutorials; 60 hours preparation of project; 60 hours preparation of essay.

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Project weighted 50%
Case study and strategy for change
Students select a particular case study they wish to assess in order to highlight how this artist/activist achieved change and social impact (e-poster). Students should also write a reflection on how they themselves can achieve social change (through their own identity - intersectional identity, racial/ethnic identity, gender identity, among other self-identifiers) (800 words). They should focus on strategy, include relevant literature, and discuss the pros and cons and potential risks, and likely outcomes of their plan.

2: Essay weighted 50%
Essay
Students write an essay of 2000 words on a topic analysing themes of the module. They will choose a topic from a list.

The University undertakes a continuous review of its teaching and research provision to ensure programmes are of a high quality and changes may be made to modules where it is necessary and reasonable to do so. Please be aware that minor changes to modules, such as a change to an individual assessment, can occur up until enrolment, although we endeavour to give you as much notice as possible of any changes. Details about the circumstance in which changes are made to programmes can be found in the Student Agreement, available at: https://www.keele.ac.uk/legalgovernancecompliance/governance/actcharterstatutesordinancesandregulations/studenttermsconditions/

Last Updated: 16 September 2026