Print this page Patriarchy – The Nemesis of Democracy

Have you ever considered the relationship between democracy and patriarchy? After decades of psychological research, Carol Gilligan, one of America’s most influential thinkers, concluded that patriarchy is the opposite of democracy. This session explores Gilligan’s evidence and logic. It unpacks the drivers of increasing violence in political interactions and the silencing of democratic institutions. Finally, we consider how we might free democracy from patriarchy, and who might benefit. The answer may surprise you.

DELIVERY MODE

• Face to face / Online

SUGGESTED READING

• Carol Gilligan | Democracy - The Opposite of Patriarchy (video)
• Joining the Resistance by Carol Gilligan
• How Authoritarians Weaponize Gender
• Autocracy and patriarchy are surging worldwide—but women are pushing back | Harvard Kennedy School
• Care as a Goal of Democratic Education
• Why Gender Is Central to the Antidemocratic Playbook: Unpacking the Linkages in the United States and Beyond 
• The key role of interpersonal trust in supporting democratic resilience and social cohesion

COURSE OUTLINE

• Insights from Gilligan’s ground breaking adolescent psychology research
• Joining the resistance
• Seeing the conflict between patriarchy and democracy
• Stepping stones in the struggle to free democracy from patriarchy
• Ethic of care, voice and relationship as resistance
• Surprising beneficiaries

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of end of this course, students should be able to:

1. Appreciate Carol Gilligan’s groundbreaking contribution to adolescent psychology research and theory
2. Understand the powerful concept of an ‘ethic of care’
3. See adolescent resistance as a reluctance to be gender-stereotyped
4. Map out the conflict between patriarchy and democracy
5. Consider how we might free democracy from patriarchy
6. Identify the key groups and institutions that would benefit from more democracy and less patriarchy