WMN3120

Gender, race and empire: feminist readings

Not offered in 1999

Maryanne Dever

8 points - 3 hours per week - Second semester - Clayton

Objectives On successful completion of this subject, students should have developed a situated understanding of contemporary theoretical debates in the areas of colonialism and postcolonialism and how they relate to questions of gender and race; a familiarity with a series of key texts - literary, historical, filmic - from within the context of historical colonialism; and further skills in textual analysis and in the development of argument, both orally and in writing.

Synopsis How do questions of gender and race affect debates in the area of colonialism? Can specific discourses of race and sex foster the goals of white supremacy and patriarchy? How do we read the contradictory social positioning of white, middle class women as both colonised patriarchal objects and colonising race privileged subjects? Is it possible to locate a genuinely 'postcolonial' space for feminism? WMN3120 (Gender, race and empire) will introduce students to the complex and often problematic relationship between gender, race and colonialism. In addition to discussion of theoretical perspectives from such critics as Rey Chow, Gayatri Spivak, Trinh Minh ha, Homi Bhabha, and Ella Shohat, the subject will also consider the politics of gender and race within the lived experience of colonialism. The course is designed to be interdisciplinary, incorporating historical, political, literary and filmic perspectives.

Assessment Short exercise (2000 words): 30% Long essay (4000 words): 50%Seminar tasks and seminar participation: 20%

Prescribed texts

Bronte C Jane Eyre any edition
Bates D The passing of the Aborigines any edition
Haggard H R She any edition
Kipling R Stalky and Co. any edition
Rhys J Wide Sargasso Sea any edition
Ward G Wandering girl Magabala Books, 1987

Films

King Kong dir. D O Selznick, 1933
The Letter dir. W Wyler, 1940
The World of Suzie Wong dir. R Quine, 1960
A Nation is Built dir. Frank Hurley, 1938
Nice Coloured Girls dir. T Moffatt, 1987
Bush Tucker Man ABC TV, 1991
A reading pack of excerpts will also be compiled and made available through the Centre for Women's Studies.

Back to the 1999 Arts Handbook