WMN2260

Sexing the text: constructions of female sexuality

(ART)

Denise Cuthbert and others

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

Synopsis: This subject will ask how ideas about femaleness, about the female body and sexuality are represented within a range of texts - e.g. poetry, criticism, prose and film. It will pose questions such as: to what extent do these texts inscribe or critique femaleness as biologically determined, and/or as constructed or performed? What are some of the alternatives to a rigid masculine/feminine model to account for sexual difference and for the mechanisms of desire?

Assessment: Seminar paper and Major essay (3000 words): 50% + Essay (1500 words): 25% + In-class essay (1500 words): 25%