The PhD course will present gender theory that is relevant for analyzing current processes of change.

Lectures and discussions will focus on theoretical and methodological approaches to study ongoing social change on the global, local and individual levels of society. The course will serve as an interchange of experiences as well as theoretical approaches from China and the Nordic countries.
Throughout the course, the participants are expected to present and discuss current theories of gender and to explicate gender approaches, theoretically and methodologically, in their presentations.

The course will focus on the following three themes:

1) Gender theory
2) Gendering globalization
3) Globalization, state and gender equality

Registration for the course can be done online via www.nordiccentre.org. Deadline for registration is: August 30, 2009.

CONTENTS OF THE COURSE
Processes of globalization have brought China and the Nordic countries in closer contact. Inherent in the concept of globalization are economic, political, demographic, social and cultural processes that are taking place in our times, bringing the global into the local and vice versa.
Globalization is linked to processes of modernization and migration. A vital force in these processes is the modern market economy bringing Western enterprises into China and Chinese products to Nordic markets at an accelerating scale. Locally, these global transformations affect the social relations and discursive powers of women and men.
Globalization is a transformative process influencing women’s and men’s position on the labour market as well as their everyday life practices and identities. Processes of globalization are taking place at international, national and local levels and, moreover, concern individuals’ understanding of themselves and their place in the world. Do globalization processes imply increasing differences between women and men or between different groups of women? Alternatively, may globalization processes serve as an impetus to growth in women’s struggles for civil, social and political rights – globally or locally?

COURSE ORGANIZATION
The course is organized as a 3-days event with lectures, paper presentations and discussions. It is important to note that participation at the course requires careful preparation by reading course literature in advance. Throughout the course, the participants are expected to present and discuss current theories of gender and to explicate gender approaches, theoretically and methodologically, in their presentations.
The course will focus on the following three themes:
1) Gender theory
a. Current theoretical issues
b. Methods in gender research
2) Gendering globalization
a. Gender perspectives on the concept of globalization
b. Intersections of gender, race/ethnicity, class, religion and nationality
3) Globalization, state and gender equality
a. Gender mainstreaming and women’s movements in China and the Nordic countries
b. Citizenship and citizen rights
c. Different models for gender equality and welfare
TEACHERS
• Professor Wang Jufen, Fudan University, China
• Professor Min Dongchao, Shanghai University, China
• Professor Zhao Jie, Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, China
• Senior researcher Cecilia Milwertz, NIAS-Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, Denmark
• Professor Birte Siim, Aalborg University, Denmark
• Senior lecturer Pauline Stoltz, Malmö University, Sweden
• Professor Merete Lie, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
ECTS CREDITS
Two options are available:
a) 10 ECTS Credits is given for active participation + essay (evaluated as passed/failed).
b) 5 ECTS Credits is given for active participation.
The Asian Century Research School Network will issue a certificate indicating the ECTS credits earned by the student. A brief description of the course and the kind of participation required will also be included in the certificate. It is the students' own responsibility to ask their institution about its accreditation rules and get the certificate and the credit points registered at the home university.

PARTICIPANTS
The objective is to gather up to 30 students – half from China and half from the Nordic countries.
We welcome students who approach gender as a perspective of analysis in their theses. Participants should be prepared to engage actively in and outside class. All participants must send in a short paper, 3-5 pages, based on their work with the thesis, emphasizing theoretical and/or methodological questions. Before the course, students must read all the student papers and the literature on the reading list (ca. 1000 pages). The students must be prepared to present a paper in group sessions, to comment on other students’ papers, and to participate actively in discussions.
Participants will need to organize and pay for travel to and from Shanghai. Chinese students can apply for travel grants. The Nordic Centre can arrange for participant paid accommodation. A nominal fee will also be charged to cover some of our costs, including those for free meals and local transportation for participants during the Course. Participants will need to take own responsibility for Visa applications.

FURTHER INFORMATION
• Professor Merete Lie, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway, merete.lie@hf.ntnu.no
• Professor Wang Jufen, School of Social Development and Public Policy, Fudan University, China, jfwcn@hotmail.com