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AGS102 - Histories of Sex and Gender

Year:

2021 unit information

Important Update:

Unit delivery will continue to be provided in line with the most current COVIDSafe health guidelines. This may include a mix of on-campus and online activities. To find out how you are impacted, please check your unit sites for announcements and updates. Unit sites open one week prior to the start of each Trimester/Semester.

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Last updated: 4 June 2021

Enrolment modes:Trimester 2: Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online
Credit point(s):1
EFTSL value:0.125
Unit Chair:Trimester 2: Gilbert Caluya
Prerequisite:

Nil

Corequisite:

Nil

Incompatible with:

Nil

Typical study commitment:

Students will on average spend 150-hours over the teaching period undertaking the teaching, learning and assessment activities for this unit.

Scheduled learning activities - campus:

1 x 1-hour class per week, 1 x 2-hour seminar per week

Scheduled learning activities - cloud:

Online independent and collaborative learning activities including:
1 x 1-hour class per week (recordings provided), 1 x 2-hour seminar equivalent

Content

How have ideas about masculinity and femininity changed over time? What shifts have we seen historically in how we think about sexual relationships, gender roles and what makes a family? In what ways have European arrival and subsequent flows of people and information from a globalised world impacted on experiences and expressions of sex, gender and sexuality in Australia? How have campaigns for sexual and gender justice, such as the #metoo movement and LGBTIQ rights activism, changed people’s lives, and what are the histories of struggle behind today’s activism?

This unit reflects on these questions and provides a key introduction to histories of sex, sexuality and gender in Australia while also situating these histories in their broader international and cultural contexts. Through a critical engagement with histories of feminism, masculinities, heterosexuality and LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer) life, this unit provides students with an understanding of the historical emergence of different ways of understanding sexual identity, sexual practices, sexuality and gender. Topics include histories of feminist activism, the influence of gay liberation, the emergence of the transgender rights movement, the development of new versions of masculinity and the family, and the importance of decolonising approaches to Australian history. We will explore these debates through a range of creative, critical, theoretical and historical resources, including legal and policy documents, literature, films, television, art, and archival materials. Having a historical understanding of these issues allows students to better grasp contemporary life in Australia.

For students studying the Gender and Sexuality Studies major, this is one of four compulsory core units (the others are AGS101, AGS200, and AGS300). This unit is also available as an elective for students who are not studying the GSS major.

ULO These are the Learning Outcomes (ULO) for this unit. At the completion of this unit, successful students can: Deakin Graduate Learning Outcomes
ULO1

Identify (and explain the contexts of) different historical expressions and experiences of gender and sexuality (e.g. femininity, masculinity, homosexuality and heterosexuality)

GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities

GLO3 Digital literacy

ULO2

Critically reflect on histories of sexuality and gender, identifying changes and connections across different historical periods and different cultural/geographical locations

GLO4: Critical thinking

GLO8: Global citizenship

ULO3

Analyse some key characteristics of, and events in, prominent histories of feminist and homosexual/LGBTIQ politics and culture

GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities

GLO3 Digital literacy

ULO4

Critically reflect on histories of sexuality and gender, paying particular attention to questions of class, race, ability and citizenship status

GLO4: Critical thinking

GLO8: Global citizenship

These Unit Learning Outcomes are applicable for all teaching periods throughout the year

Assessment

Assessment Description Student output Grading and weighting
(% total mark for unit)
Indicative due week
Assessment 1 - Report 1000 words
or equivalent
25% Information not yet available
Assessment 2 - Exercise 1000 words
or equivalent
25% Information not yet available
Assessment 3 - Essay 2000 words
or equivalent
50% Information not yet available

The assessment due weeks provided may change. The Unit Chair will clarify the exact assessment requirements, including the due date, at the start of the teaching period.

Learning Resource

The texts and reading list for the unit can be found on the University Library via the link below: AGS102 Note: Select the relevant trimester reading list. Please note that a future teaching period's reading list may not be available until a month prior to the start of that teaching period so you may wish to use the relevant trimester's prior year reading list as a guide only.

Unit Fee Information

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