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Examines several contemporary debates in the study of gender and sexuality. In relation to each debate, we ask what it means to explore the links between larger intellectual or political ideas and more intimate, personal domains.
Examines several contemporary debates in the study of gender and sexuality. In relation to each debate, we ask what it means to explore the links between larger intellectual or political ideas and more intimate, personal domains.
Each year in this paper we examine two or three debates in the study of gender and sexuality. Our approach is interdisciplinary, drawing from gender studies, anthropology, sociology, political theory, history, textual analysis, philosophy and beyond.
Section One explores the construction, regulation and instantiation of sexuality in everyday life. Commencing with a discussion of the social and historical aspects to the study of human sexuality, we explore a number of sites in which the sexual has been created and experienced: social interaction, space/place, political debate, popular culture and postmodernity. In this way, we explore the multifarious character of human sexuality in some depth and breadth.
Section Two explores ideas about the relationships between nation, gender and 'race' in New Zealand's settler society. These connections have been the subject of extensive theoretical and scholarly discussion, some of which we will consider. They have also been addressed, however, through the fiction feature film, which has come to be an important vehicle for articulating narratives and counter-narratives of nationhood and their relation to identity categories. This section of the paper will, therefore, also consider a group of feature films and analyse their successive articulations of the nexus of gender, race and nation.
| Paper title | Debates in Gender and Sexuality |
|---|---|
| Paper code | GEND401 |
| Subject | Gender Studies |
| EFTS | 0.1667 |
| Points | 20 points |
| Teaching period | First Semester (On campus) |
| Domestic Tuition Fees (NZD) | $1,154.90 |
| International Tuition Fees (NZD) | $4,801.79 |
- Prerequisite
- 72 300-level GEND points
- Notes
- (i) Students who have not passed the normal prerequisite may be admitted with approval from the Programme Co-ordinator. (ii) May not be credited together with ANTH 411 passed in 2005 or 2006.
- Eligibility
- Open to students who have gained entry to GEND Honours or students from Honours in related fields who wish to substitute the paper for one in their major. The paper often includes an interdisciplinary group, which creates very lively discussion.
- Contact
- sgsw@otago.ac.nz
- More information link
View more information on the School of Sociology, Gender Studies, and Criminology's website.
- Teaching staff
Co-ordinator: Professor Chris Brickell
- Teaching Arrangements
- There is a 3-hour seminar each week.
- Textbooks
There is no textbook. Students are expected to read the set readings and range beyond them in their wider reading.
- Graduate Attributes Emphasised
- Scholarship, Critical thinking, Research, Self-motivation.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes. - Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete this paper will
- Gain critical understanding of the debates in contemporary theorising around gender, sexuality and nation
- Develop confidence and experience in carrying out independent research in oral and written forms
- Be prepared for further study and research in gender and sexuality
