How does our gender shape who we are (and are expected to be) and our experience of the world around us?
This course encourages you to think critically and intersectionally about gender. We will examine how culture and society constructs 'gender'. We will explore how gender interacts with other axes of difference (e.g., class, age, ethnicity/race, sexuality, dis/ability, religion) to shape our identities, experiences and lives more generally. We will explore the differences between sex, gender and sexuality; the meanings and significance of particular gendered ideologies; the influence of colonial binary understandings of gender; and the impact of gender hierarchies on our everyday lived experiences. We will explore contemporary social movements and gender-based activism that resist against gendered inequalities in society (such as gender-based violence, gendered wage gaps, reproductive rights).
In this course, we will have a range of guest lectures by experts on various topics, including academics and those working in gender-related fields in our communities.
This interdisciplinary course is suitable for all students with an interest in exploring the meaning and significance of gender. It will equip you for more advanced courses in Gender Studies, but also for further study in the Social Sciences and Humanities.