The University of the West Indies
at Mona, Jamaica
About CGDS Mona Unit
Introduction
The Centre for Gender and Development Studies (CGDS) Mona Unit (Jamaica) is one of four (4) CGDS Units in the University of the West Indies (UWI) and is headed by Dr Leith Dunn. The other CGDS Units include: the Regional Coordinating Unit (RCU) headed by Professor Barbara Bailey (also at Mona); the CGDS Cave Hill Unit (Barbados) headed by Professor Eudine Barriteau and the CGDS St Augustine Unit (Trinidad and Tobago), headed by Professor Rhoda Reddock.
The Centre's Mission and Focus
The Centre for Gender and Development Studies is an interdisciplinary programme committed to teaching, research and outreach which focuses on issues relating to women, men/masculinities as well as gender and development. The CGDS programme:
- Questions historically accepted and contemporary theories and explanations about society and human behaviour
- seeks an understanding of the world which takes women, their lives and experiences, into account;
- Critically examines the origins of power differences between and among men and women, and the range of factors which perpetuate these differences.
- Promotes the use of gender and other related factors as tools of analysis in the generation and reconstruction of knowledge, which is then used to inform the programme and serves as a catalyst for change.
The CGDS Mona Unit focuses on:
- Promoting Caribbean feminist scholarship
- Bringing a global human rights perspective to the analysis of gender issues in Caribbean society
- Being responsive to emerging gender and development issues in the region
- Collaborating with institutions and organisations throughout the region, to build awareness among educators, policy makers and the general public of the relevance of gender studies to personal life, polices and national development.
Objectives
The specific objectives of the Centre are:
- Teaching: Development of an integrated, interdisciplinary teaching programme of gender studies within the UWI at both undergraduate and graduate levels and facilitating the incorporation of gender analysis in all disciplines.
- Research: Production and dissemination of knowledge, based on the generation and analysis of research data on women, men, and gender-related issues in the Caribbean.
- Outreach: Establishment and maintenance of linkages with national, regional and international institutions concerned with Gender and Development; providing technical and advisory services; influencing policy directions and assisting with capacity building in these institutions.
