HUM6002 - Sexuality and Ethics

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
Display knowledge of contemporary and historical issues around sexuality and ethics.
Critically analyse discourses around sexuality and associated critical practice.
Evaluate critically the interdisciplinary nature of the subject, as well as its implications in wider society.
Critically and theoretically compare complex texts, contexts and concepts. Work with critical nuance in an interdisciplinary mode.
Identify and evaluate web-based and other sources in electronic form for humanities research and teaching.

Content:

This course introduces students to the field of ethics and critical sexuality studies. Using an interdisciplinary approach, the course conducts a critical inquiry into the historical precedents and theoretical frameworks necessary to understand the role of sexuality in shaping personal, social, economic and political life. The course focuses on patterns of subordination and exclusion based on individuals' sexual practices and identities, explains the origins and persistence of those patterns, and considers ways of challenging them. We will explore sexuality through text, film, media discourse, the medical humanities and theology. Throughout the course, special attention will be given to the intersections of sexuality with gender, race, ethnicity, media, religion, class and disability. We will also focus on social issues around sexuality within the Yorkshire and Leeds area.

Learning and Teaching Information:

The course is organised into three units: Histories, Identities and Politics.

Histories: The first section explores different ways historians have sought to explain the emergence of LGBT identities. Have "we" always been here? If not, where did "we" come from? We will read George Chauncey's seminal history, Gay New York, in its entirety, along with supplemental readings about lesbian and transgender histories.

Identities: The second section examines different ways theorists, artists and performers have explained the significance of identity to community formation, politics and practices of freedom. We will explore the roles of culture, place and family in producing, shaping and enabling forms of sexual identification and identity.

Politics: The third section of the course explores the role of the state and other political formations in producing and policing sexuality by way of the racial politics of marriage, immigration policies at different national borders and in the varied workings of the criminal justice (or "injustice," as some authors argue) system.

Workshops/seminars
Contact Hours: 20
Intended Group Size: Cohort

Guided independent study
Hours: 180

Assessment:

001 Online timeline; 1,500 words; during semester 1 40%
002 Blog article/Presentation; 2,500 words; end of semester 1 60%

Fact File

Module Coordinator - Kate Lister
Level - 6
Credit Value - 20
Pre-Requisites - NONE
Semester(s) Offered - 6S1

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