Violence is one of the most prevalent themes in popular culture and public discourse today. It shapes our lives in all sorts of ways, both real and imagined. Incorporating concepts and theoretical tools from gender and cultural studies, this unit will examine the construction and representation of violence in relation to sexuality, transgression, difference and power.

What do men want? From a traditional focus on femininity in gender studies, it is increasingly clear that masculinity has undergone tremendous changes in the last several decades. From a perspective of gender and cultural studies, this unit examines the economic, social and cultural contexts in which masculinity is lived. We will consider different case studies focused on the changing representation of men in contemporary culture. These will include aspects of style and consumption, roles within workplaces, and in domestic practices.

This unit examines the representation and practices of intimate relations focusing especially on the intersection between intimacy and constructions of gender. Divided into three sections, the unit will examine theories of love and friendship, contemporary cultural representations of love, desire and friendship, and the ethics and politics of erotics. This unit will also examine new technologies of intimacy, and discuss their implications for gender and sexuality.

In this unit of study we will examine the ways in which feminist and other cultural theories have used bodies and sexualities in order to theorise difference and identity. The body and sexuality have been shown to be a major site for the operation of power in our society. We will look at how bodies and sexualities have given rise to critical understandings of identity. The unit of study will be devoted to working through some of the major theories of sexuality and embodiment, and the analysis of cultural practices.

In this unit students will apply advanced methods from gender and cultural studies to examine experiences of belonging and formations of community. Students will analyse how power produces and regulates communities, identities and belonging. They will question the assumption that community is based on the unity and similarity of citizens and their location in specific cultures and places, and critically examine alternatives such as difference, diaspora, and other forms of sociality. Students will evaluate different theories of community in local, national and international contexts, and in relation to feminism, democracy, cosmopolitanism and hospitality.

The Honours program in Gender Studies consists of:
1. a thesis written under the supervision of one or more members of academic staff
2. three seminars, each seminar meeting for 2 hours per week for one semester
3. non-assessable participation in an Honours "mini-conference" usually held one month prior to thesis submission.
The thesis should be of 15,000 words in length. Each seminar requires 6,000 words of written work or its equivalent.
The thesis is worth 40% of the final Honours mark and each of the seminars is worth 20%.
The following seminars are on offer in 2014:
Arguing the Point (Dr Melissa Gregg) (Sem 1)
Philosophy in the Feminine (Sem 1)
Key Thinkers for Cultural Studies (Prof Meaghan Morris) (Sem 1)
Modernism, Modernity and Modern Culture (Sem 2)
Identity, Place and Culture (Prof Meaghan Morris) (Sem 2)
Natures and Cultures of Bodies (Dr Kane Race) (Sem 2)
For more information, contact Dr Ruth Barcan, Honours coordinator.

Refer to GCST4015

Refer to GCST4015

Refer to GCST4015