Course overview
Beginning from the insight that 'gender', sexuality and 'race' are defined differently in different contexts, this course studies how these identities are constructed in transnational and cross-cultural contexts, including colonial encounters, postcolonial politics, and contemporary development discourse. Some central questions will be: How has colonial history influenced concepts of race, gender, sexuality and nation Are Western concepts of race, gender and sexuality applicable to the experiences and ideas of 'other' cultures The emphasis throughout the course will be on the ways in which cultural, gender and sexual identities are never encountered in isolation but are always constructed 'intersectionally' in terms of one another.
Course learning outcomes
- Demonstrate knowledge of transnational and cultural variability of understandings of race, gender and sexuality, and their interrelationships
- Demonstrate knowledge of competing perspectives on contemporary debates about race, gender and sexuality
- Discuss the impact of the historical constructions of race, gender and sexuality on specific contemporary global and local issues
- Demonstrate research literacy, through library searches, research techniques and skills, development of argument, and academic referencing
- Write logical and coherent arguments based on evidence, and engage in critical debate