How have understandings of gender have shaped societal roles and political representation, both in historical perspective and across the world? We examine how gender, sex and identity have shaped politics and policy in the United States, analyzing the tension between early feminist leaders and Black women, the evolution of Title IX from sports to sexual harassment, and the gender gap in political representation. In the second half of the course, we internationalize the focus on gender and politics, studying the ways in which global issues such as security, development, migration, sex trafficking and governance are gendered and analyze the impact of politics and policy in both advanced industrial nations and countries in the Global South.