Sex, Gender and the Case Study

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

85 hours

Admission into 101AA Ph.D.- Arts or DR-PHILART Doctor of Philosophy in Arts.

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

The case study has proved of enduring interest to all Western societies, particularly in relation to questions of subjectivity and the sexed self. This elective interrogates how case studies have been used by psychiatrists, sexologists, psychoanalysts, lawyers, and writers to communicate their findings both within the specialist circles of their academic disciplines, and beyond, to wider publics. At the same time, it questions how case studies have been taken up by a range of audiences to refute and dispute academic knowledge, especially by the LGBT community (and its historical predecessors) and contemplates what it means for sexed subjects not to be represented in the case study regime in a given time and place. As such, this elective engages with case studies as sites of interdisciplinary negotiation, transnational exchange and influence, exploring the effects of forces such as war, migration, and internationalisation.

On successful completion of this subject, students should have:

• enhanced knowledge of the contribution of the case study genre in relation to questions of subjectivity and the sexed self;
• understanding of the ways in which the circulation of case studies contributes to the formation of specialist knowledge and its role in the dissemination of knowledge beyond academia;
• an ability to reflect upon their own research work in relation to the content of the module, including the scoping of a conference abstract and a relevant case study relevant to their research; and
• enhanced engagement with leading-edge research in particular areas of the Humanities and Social Sciences today.

1. Presentation equivalent to 250 words (10%), due during the teaching period.

2. Presentation write up as conference abstract, 250 words (10%), due 1 week after the presentation.

3. Case study essay of 2,000 words (80%), due two weeks after the teaching period.

Hurdle Requirement: Students are required to attend a minimum of 80% of classes in order to pass this subject.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

The subjects will contribute, through teaching and discussion with academic staff and peers, to developing skills and capacities including those identified in the University-defined Graduate Attributes for the PhD, in particular:

• the capacity to contextualise research within an international corpus of specialist knowledge
• an advanced ability to engage in critical reflection, synthesis and evaluation of research-based and scholarly literature, and
• an advanced understanding of key disciplinary and multi-disciplinary norms and perspectives relevant to the field.