This course combines theoretical and empirical work on the contemporary sociology of gender and sexuality to address the ever-changing understanding of the relationship between genders, the relationships between gender and sexuality, the most appropriate methods and theories to use in studying gender and sexuality, and particular cultural practices that produce our knowledge about - and material experiences of - gender and sexuality in day-to-day life.
Gender and sexuality organise social life, institutional practices and individual relationships. They are premised upon and structured by relations of inequality and difference vis-à-vis class, ethnicity, race, nation, religion and other significant identity markers, embodiments, and institutional positions. Our conversations will traverse these terrains of material life as we read contemporary social theorists and researchers trying to grapple with the doing and renegotiating of gender and sexual categories and practices.
Student Learning Objectives
On completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Explain the key sociological literatures and debates surrounding the status of gender and sexuality, as well as the relationships between gender and sexuality, as both identities and practices
- Analyse strengths and weaknesses in the main theories of gender and sexuality, singly and in relation to each other
- Apply these theories in a specific area of sociological inquiry that they have chosen to research
- Conduct postgraduate level, independent research on a topic of their own choosing
- Present their research orally and in writing