GEND2034 Going Public: Sex, Sexuality and Feminism
Later Year Course
| Offered By | School of Cultural Inquiry |
|---|---|
| Academic Career | Undergraduate |
| Course Subject | Gender Studies |
| Offered in | First Semester, 2011 |
| Unit Value | 6 units |
| Course Description | This course focuses on how and why sex, sexuality and feminism have gone public in the last few decades in the west: in the proliferation of sex talk on 1-800 telephone lines, on talk shows, internet pornography, the rise of raunch culture in the late 1990s, prostitution, children and sexuality, HIV, and its dominant presence in popular culture, media and the public sphere. What are the effects of the discourses of sex, sexuality and feminism going public? Is sex empowering or disempowering? What do feminists think about this current condition? Our readings will begin from second wave feminism and other counter-cultural events in the late 1960s onwards. We will trace their influences on postfeminists and third wave feminists and follow the continuing debates. Some of the topics the course might cover include pornography, representation, reproduction (abortion), the linkages between race/sex/gender/class, queer sexuality, sexual practices, sexual harassment, child sexuality, sex work, the global sex trade and issues of intimacy. |
| Learning Outcomes | By the end of the course, students should also have a firm grasp and understanding of the feminist debates and discourses that inform current representations of public sex, and discursive sex/ual practices. They would also have learnt some theoretical tools for analysis, developed critical thinking and improve information literacy and written and oral expression. |
| Indicative Assessment |
Two written assignments - one mid term and one final paper, totalling 3,000 - 4,000 words (70%) A ten minute presentation including a handout to be submitted before the presentation begins (20%) Tutorial attendance and participation (10%) |
| Workload |
In-class time includes ten 1.5 hour lectures, three 2-hr lecture/film screenings and twelve 1-hr tutorials for a thirteen week course. Preparatory time for the weekly readings would take another 3 hours per week. |
| Requisite Statement |
Either GEND1001 or GEND1002, or with the Convenor's permission. |
| Preliminary Reading |
McNair, Brian (2002) Striptease Culture: Sex, Media and the Democratization of Desire, London: Routledge; Echols, Alice (2002) Shaky ground: the '60s and its aftershocks, New York: Columbia University Press; Seidman, Steven (1992) Embattled Eros: Sexual Politics & Ethics in Contemporary America, New York: Routledge; Siegel, Deborah (2007) Sisterhood, Interrupted: From Radical Women to Grrrls Gone Wild, New York: Palgrave Macmillan; Levy, Ariel (2005) Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture, Melbourne: Schwartz. |
| Majors/Specialisations | Gender, Sexuality and Culture and Gender, Sexuality and Culture |
| Academic Contact | Dr Gaik Cheng-Khoo |
The information published on the Study at ANU 2011 website applies to the 2011 academic year only. All information provided on this website replaces the information contained in the Study at ANU 2010 website.
