Sex, Gender and Power

Subject 673-383 (2009)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2009. Search for this in the current handbook

Credit Points: 12.50
Level: 3 (Undergraduate)
Dates & Locations:

This subject is not offered in 2009.
Time Commitment: Contact Hours: A 1.5 hour lecture and a 1-hour tutorial per week.
Total Time Commitment: 2.5 contact hours/week, 6 additional hours/week. Total of 8.5 hours per week.
Prerequisites: 25 points of first year from any area of study within the Faculty of Arts.
Corequisites: None
Recommended Background Knowledge: None
Non Allowed Subjects: None
Core Participation Requirements:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

Contact

Dr Maree Pardy

mpardy@unimelb.edu.au

Subject Overview: This subject introduces students to contemporary analyses of gender, exploring the recent histories of feminisms and feminist thinking about gender, difference and the origins of sexual inequality. Key themes include: feminist theorising about the structures and institutions of sexual inequality including the family, marriage, mothering, sexual divisions of labour, masculinities and femininities, bodies and sexualities; and their relationships to the workings of power, especially the intersections of gender relations with 'race', ethnicity, class and nation. The final section of the course looks at arguments about 'third world' feminisms, and postfeminism in a transnational and global context.
Objectives:
  • complete the subject with the ability to demonstrate a sound understanding of the main developments in feminist theorising about sex, gender and identity and of the issues involved in debates about feminist knowledges.
  • a sound understanding of the main frameworks for the analysis of gender relations within social structures and institutions and debates about feminist knowledges, with a particular focus on cross-cultural comparisons of such frameworks
  • an awareness of the main developments in feminist thinking about the origins and historical development of gender inequality
  • a good understanding of the main developments in feminist thinking about the relationships between culture, gender and identity and the intersections of gender, race, ethnicity and class.
Assessment: A tutorial journal of 750 words 15% (due end semester), a research essay 2000 words 55% (due mid-semester) and a reflective essay 1250 words 30% (due in examination period).
Prescribed Texts: A reader will be available in the university bookshop.
Breadth Options:

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

Fees Information: Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date
Generic Skills:
  • demonstrate research skills through competent use of the library and other information sources;
  • show critical thinking and analysis and ability to communicate knowledge intelligibly and economically through recommended reading, essay writing and tutorial discussion, and by determining the strength of an argument;
  • demonstrate understanding of social, ethical and cultural context through the contextualisation of judgements, developing a critical self-awareness, being open to new ideas and possibilities and by constructing an argument.
Notes: This is a core subject for the minor in the interdisciplinary program in gender studies. This subject may also be completed as part of the interdisciplinary program in Asian studies, and as part of the social theory minor and sequence. Students who have completed 131-116 prior to 2008 may not enrol in this subject.
Related Majors/Minors/Specialisations: Gender Studies
Social Theory

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