Course overview
This course will provide students with an advanced understanding of the many ways in which feminist and queer theories frame the intersection between bodies, gender and sexuality. Students will increase their understanding of how theories, coupled with relevant research skills, can be applied to the analysis of cultural debates and practices concerned with topics such as embodiment, decolonial feminism, queer identities, trans* bodies, family, violence and death, alongside cultural questions about love, hope and rage. This course aligns with the programs focus on learning about a diverse range of cultural practices that underpin how identities are represented in contemporary society.
Course learning outcomes
- Appraise theories that have been used, challenged and critically extended by feminist and queer theorists
- Understand how concepts such as gender and sexuality intersect with ‘race’, ethnicity, class and age
- Use collaborative inquiry in classroom environments to analyse issues and debates regarding genders and sexualities in a critically informed manner
- Evaluate and express conceptually difficult ideas and independent critical thinking in oral and written forms
- Recognise the significant contribution of post-colonial thinkers and voices, including those of First Nations, to modern understandings of gender and sexuality