SO208GC      Half Unit
Gender and Society (Spring Semester)

This information is for the 2020/21 session.

Teacher responsible

Dr Suki Ali STC.S307 and Dr Billy Holzberg STC.S103

Availability

This course is available with permission to General Course ‘Spring Semester’ students.

Course content

The course will explore the meaning of gender in contemporary society. It considers gendered relations of power and the articulation of gender with other kinds of social difference such as 'race', class and sexuality. A variety of theoretical perspectives will be applied to a number of substantive issues of contemporary concern.

Indicative topics are: gender and sexuality; the body; families; employment; violence; nation and citizenship; multiculturalism; reproductive technologies; globalisation; sex work; representation; body modification.

Teaching

This course is delivered through a combination of lectures/seminars, online materials and classes totalling a minimum of 20 hours in LT, with 2 hours in the ST.

Reading Weeks: Students on this course will have a reading week in LT Week 6, in line with departmental policy.

Formative coursework

Students will be expected to prepare one essay and at least one class paper which will be written up and handed to the class teacher in LT.

Indicative reading

S Ahmed, Living a Feminist Life, Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2017

R Baksh and W Harcourt (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Transnational Feminist Movements, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2015

L Gilmore, Tainted Witness: Why We Doubt What Women Say About Their Lives (Paperback edition), New York: Columbia University Press, 2018

J Halberstam, Trans: A Quick and Quirky Account of Gender Variability, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2018

A Kafer, Feminist, Queer, Crip, Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2013

M Kimmel, J Hearn, R Connell, Handbook of Studies on Men and Masculinities, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2005

R Ray, J Carlson, A Andrews (Eds.), The Social Life of Gender, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2017 

C Thompson, Making Parents, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2005

A more detailed reading list will be provided at the beginning of the course.

Assessment

Take-home assessment (100%) in the ST.

Attendance at all classes and submission of all set coursework is required

Important information in response to COVID-19

Please note that during 2020/21 academic year some variation to teaching and learning activities may be required to respond to changes in public health advice and/or to account for the situation of students in attendance on campus and those studying online during the early part of the academic year. For assessment, this may involve changes to mode of delivery and/or the format or weighting of assessments. Changes will only be made if required and students will be notified about any changes to teaching or assessment plans at the earliest opportunity.

Key facts

Department: Sociology

Total students 2019/20: Unavailable

Average class size 2019/20: Unavailable

Capped 2019/20: No

Value: Half Unit

Guidelines for interpreting course guide information

Personal development skills

  • Self-management
  • Team working
  • Communication