Learning Activities:

SESSION 4. Women’s movement in post-Soviet Ukraine: Independent organizations and civic activities.

The history and background of women’s movement and its development. Example of women's movement in Ukraine as illustration of what gender stereotypes are and how they are used in politics to support misogyny and the "practices of exlusion" in politics and social lives. The nature of Ukrainian women’s organizations in the post-Soviet period and variety of ways women participate in the construction of new institutions. Analyses of post-Soviet collective forms of political subjectivation using feminist methodology. Deconstruction of women’s identities, tracking of the basic features of contemporary women's movement in the context of new politics of identification in Ukraine. Corellations with Western feminist politics of identification. Ukrainian women’s movement as important actor at the grassroots level.

Writing assignment:

Students should read the material for this section, and will also need to conduct some on-line research in order to complete this assignment. It may be helpful to have students work in pairs and produce a joint-paper for this assignment.

Answer the following questions in a 3-4 page report:

1. How did the women’s liberation movement arise in Ukraine?
2. What are the special features of the women’s movement in Ukraine as compared to the West?
3. What Ukrainian women’s movement leaders do you know? How have they contributed to the movement’s development?
4. Are principles of gender equality observed by political organizations in your region?
5. What are the basic differences between activities of contempopary women’s Ukrainian organizations and the Soviet women’s organizations?
6. Are independent women’s organizations part of the structures of contemporary “civil society”?
7. What are the basic forms and types of non-governmental women’s organizations (NGOs) activity in Ukraine today? How many NGOs in Ukraine do you know? Which of them exist in your region?
8. What are the goals of independent women’s organizations in your region?
9. What are the possibilities for and obstacles to activities of NGOs?

Activities:

1st hour: Lecture/class discussion on readings and writing assignment.

2nd hour: Small group work, reflecting on what we’ve learned and what more we want to learn. In addition to the key questions revisited, groups should reflect on the following questions:

1. How has our knowledge of the meaning of the women’s movement in political life influenced our understandings of our everyday lives?
2. What can we do to employ this new knowledge in our everyday practices?
3. What can we do to employ this new knowledge in our professional practices?