WMN2240

Introduction to contemporary feminist theory

Maryanne Dever and others

8 points - 2 hours per week - Second semester - Clayton - Prerequisites: A first-year sequence

Objectives Students successfully completing this subject should have gained a basic knowledge of issues in contemporary feminist theory; developed skills in reading and analysing theoretical texts; and acquired enhanced ability to develop and sustain theoretical arguments.

Synopsis This subject is intended to introduce students to a range of contemporary feminist theories. Designed to be broadly interdisciplinary in its concerns, it will examine such issues as the formation of epistemologies; literary and cultural manifestations of phallocentrism; the construction of bodies and subjectivities; and questions of sexual and cultural difference. Discussion will draw upon a diverse range of theorists. Contemporary theoretical interventions will be examined with respect to the history of feminist movements and feminist thought generally.

Assessment Short exercise (1000 words): 20% - Long essay (2500-3000 words): 50% - Class test (2 hours): 20% - Class participation: 10%

Prescribed texts

The Polity reader in gender studies Polity Press, 1994
Lancaster L N and di Leonardo M The gender/sexuality reader: Culture, history, political economy Routledge, 1997

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