SO208
Gender and Society
This information is for the 2020/21 session.
Teacher responsible
Dr Suki Ali STC.S307 and Dr Billy Holzberg STC.S103
Availability
This course is available on the BSc in Language, Culture and Society, BSc in Social Policy and Sociology and BSc in Sociology. This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit and to General Course students.
Course content
The course will explore the meaning of gender in contemporary society. It considers gendered relations of power and the articulation of gender with other kinds of social difference such as race, class and sexuality. A variety of theoretical perspectives will be applied to a number of substantive issues of contemporary concern.
Indicative topics are: gender and sexuality; the body; families; employment; violence; nation and citizenship; multiculturalism; reproductive technologies; globalisation; sex work; representation; body modification.
Teaching
This course is delivered through a combination of lectures/seminars, online materials and classes totalling a minimum of 40 hours across MT and LT, with 2 hours in the ST.
Reading Weeks: Students on this course will have a reading week in MT Week 6 and LT Week 6, in line with departmental policy.
Formative coursework
Students will be expected to prepare one essay per term and at least one class paper per term which will be written up and handed to the class teacher.
Indicative reading
S Ahmed, Living a Feminist Life, Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2017
C Mohanty, Feminism Without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity, Durham Duke University Press, 2003
A Clarke and D Haraway (Eds.), Making Kin not Population, Chicago: Prickly Paradigm Press, 2018
A Davis, Are Prisons Obsolete? New York: Seven Stories Press, 2003
J Halberstam, Trans: A Quick and Quirky Account of Gender Variability, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2018
A Kafer, Feminist, Queer, Crip, Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2013
C Thompson, Making Parents, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2005
R Ray, J Carlson, A Andrews (Eds.), The Social Life of Gender, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2017
A more detailed reading list will be provided at the beginning of the course.
Assessment
Take-home assessment (100%) in the ST.
Attendance at all classes and submission of all set coursework is required
Student performance results
(2017/18 - 2019/20 combined)
| Classification | % of students |
|---|---|
| First | 21.6 |
| 2:1 | 64.7 |
| 2:2 | 12.1 |
| Third | 0 |
| Fail | 1.7 |
Important information in response to COVID-19
Please note that during 2020/21 academic year some variation to teaching and learning activities may be required to respond to changes in public health advice and/or to account for the situation of students in attendance on campus and those studying online during the early part of the academic year. For assessment, this may involve changes to mode of delivery and/or the format or weighting of assessments. Changes will only be made if required and students will be notified about any changes to teaching or assessment plans at the earliest opportunity.
Key facts
Department: Sociology
Total students 2019/20: 49
Average class size 2019/20: 16
Capped 2019/20: No
Value: One Unit
Personal development skills
- Self-management
- Team working
- Communication
