SOC6102 - Gender and Society

Objectives:

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
Critically evaluate and contrast key aspects of contemporary social life through the examination of a range of constructions of gender.
Interrogate the strengths and weaknesses of social and cultural discourses on gender, including where these intersect with oppressive institutions.
Devise clear critical arguments, linking discursive and visual representation, to demonstrate the salience of gender in everyday life.
Communicate and argue effectively in both oral and written forms.

Content:

This module is designed to develop sociological literacy skills and enable students to analyse key political and cultural texts in a range of historical, critical and contextual approaches to gender. The aim of this module is to examine the way gender is performed, consumed, and contested. It offers a critical review of key aspects of classical and contemporary theory and research in gender studies. It examines a range of interconnected issues concerning power, gender, and identity. The course examines debates surrounding the social construction of gender, including how gender could be considered an oppressing force that could define and determine the an individual's lifecourse, regardless of biological sex.

Learning and Teaching Information:

The module will be structured around lectures on the relationship between gender and society, and seminars where students will engage in debates on the way gender roles are performed and reinforced by different individuals/institutions.

The module's Moodle page will serve as an information portal containing reading, links to reading and primary and secondary research and also an archive of lecture materials.

Seminar/workshops
Hours: 30
Intended Group Size: 30

Guided independent study
Hours: 170

Further details relating to assessment
Individual presentation – Students will be required to demonstrate an understanding of one gender representation within contemporary society. This demonstration should include a historical component that traces the development of this gender representation and highlights the ways in which this representation has potentially transformed over time.

Written media review – Students will be required to select a piece of media from a curated list including movies, documentaries, and TV series. Students will be required to examine the representation of one gender identity/performance within their chosen piece of media. Students will use appropriate and relevant sociological theory to examine and explain this gender identity/ performance. In doing this, they will also critically examine the appropriate academic debates surrounding their choice of theory.

Assessment:

001 Presentation; 10 min (2000 word equiv); mid semester 1 50%
002 Written Media Review; 2500 words; end of semester 1 50%

Fact File

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

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