2024/25 Taught Postgraduate Module Catalogue

SLSP5321M Theorising Gender

30 creditsClass Size: 40

Module manager: Prof. Ruth Holliday
Email: r.holliday@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable

Year running 2024/25

Module replaces

SLSP5312M Theorising Gender 1 SLSP5313M Theorising Gender 2

This module is not approved as an Elective

Module summary

Drawing on gender expertise from across the University, this module explores the key concepts and approaches that constitute contemporary gender theory as a means of understanding the ways in which gender relations are both enacted and resisted. It begins from a commitment to both interdisciplinarity (in both the teaching and module content) and transnationality, disrupting the primacy of the dominant Western feminist canon to draw on marginalised and indigenous knowledges. Using discussion-based workshops that combine student presentations, group work and class-wide discussions, the module addresses core feminist questions to give students a foundation from which to consider questions of social diversity, division, inequality, change and resistance.

Objectives

This module aims to give students a thorough grounding in the core approaches the theories that constitute contemporary gender studies. The module provides an intellectual foundation for the debates that characterise the field, including both long-standing feminist debates - for example, around the theorisation of sex / gender - alongside areas of particular contemporary significance (e.g. (post-)coloniality, sexuality). The module is governed by a commitment to the transnational and intersectional theorising of gender, centralising marginalised and indigenous knowledges while reflecting critically back on the dominant Western theoretical canon. Reflecting the nature of Gender Studies itself, the module also foregrounds interdisciplinarity, drawing on teaching expertise from across the University and on texts from across disciplines, with the aim not only of bringing different approaches into dialogue with each other, but also treating interdisciplinarity itself as an object of critical inquiry.

Learning outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:

1. Show an ability to engage with complex theoretical debates around the meaning and significance of gender, including transnational and intersectional perspectives.

2. Think critically about the possibilities and challenges of interdisciplinarity in the context of gender studies

3. Effectively to support each others' learning, and to explore issues, present findings collectively and reflect on group learning activities.

4. Evaluate the significance of gender to questions of identity, social diversity and social division

5. Write an essay that demonstrates an ability to understand, evaluate and apply different theoretical approaches to past, present and anticipated future gender relations.

Skills learning outcomes

The module will enable students to:
1. Develop critical thinking and analytical skills

2. Reflect upon their own progress in order to plan effectively for self-development

3. Communicate effectively to a diverse audience through employing a range of both oral and written techniques

Syllabus

Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Workshop	11	3.00	33.00
Private study hours			267.00
Total Contact hours			33.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			300.00

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Students will receive formative feedback on their assignment (in writing) and via 1:1 meetings with tutors to discuss their progress.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Assignment	Coursework	100.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 01/07/2024

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