Centre staff: Dr Denise Cuthbert (director) - room S632; Dr Maryanne Dever - room S622; Dr Helen Johnson (graduate coordinator) - room S631/1025
The Centre for Women's Studies was established in 1987 and is based in the Faculty of Arts. Its purpose is to encourage and supervise graduate research, to offer subjects in both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, and to organise seminars, conferences and workshops in the area of women's studies. The centre provides a focus for those interested in gender issues and feminism across the university.
The centre offers the degrees of PhD, MA by research, MA by coursework and research plus a Masters Qualifying program. The aim of the graduate program is to provide the opportunity for a range of links between staff and students not only between a variety of disciplines within the Faculty of Arts, but also with several vocationally oriented and professional courses offered by other faculties. The centre organises a series of regular staff and graduate seminars on topics of general concern to those engaged in feminist and women's studies. Research students are normally expected to attend these seminars. The centre also organises occasional symposia and conferences.
The Centre for Women's Studies offers an interdisciplinary approach to issues of gender and constructions of female subjectivity and experience, using a variety of feminist models of analysis. Students taking both core subjects and cross-listed options will develop a range of skills relating to an increased understanding of feminist theory and a conversance with key concerns in the contemporary debate; and the ability to extend and apply different methodological approaches to the questions of gender. Students will also build upon their theoretical knowledges through an emphasis upon techniques of oral communication, formal presentation of their ideas, and a refinement of the process of written expression. The research component of each degree program or course will also extend these wide-ranging skills of analysis and communication in a topic area devised in consultation with a centre supervisor.
Robin Arianhrod Feminism, science and mathematics (Mathematics).
Chris Atmore Feminist poststructuralist theory, sexual violence and representation, lesbian and gay theories (Anthropology and Sociology).
Susan Blackburn Women in Asia, Indonesian women's movement (Politics).
Robyn Burns Women's health (Social and Preventive Medicine).
Denise Cuthbert Gender and cultural difference, postcoloniality, indigeneity, contemporary cultural studies (Women's Studies).
Gloria Davies Post-colonial theory and feminism (Asian Languages and Studies).
Maryanne Dever Postcolonialism, women's writing, feminist literary theory, feminist cultural history, cultural studies, Australian studies (Women's Studies).
Joanne Finkelstein Media images of women, fashion, cultural studies, sociology of health (Anthropology and Sociology).
Elizabeth Gaze Feminism and law (Law).
Katherine Gibson Anti-essentialist Marxism, feminist geography and industrial restructuring (Geography and Environmental Science).
Karen Green Feminist humanism, sexuality and moral psychology (Philosophy).
Elizabeth Grosz Psychoanalytic theory, French feminism, critical theory (Philosophy, Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies).
Barbara Hatley Indonesian women's literature and theatre (Asian Languages and Studies).
Liza Heslop Caring and nursing (Nursing).
Silke Hesse German women's writing (German).
Helen Johnson Racial and sexual relations of power, women and gender relations across cultures, anthropological theory and practise in France and New Caledonia (Women's Studies & Anthropology and Sociology)
Rae Langton Feminism, liberalism, pornography (Philosophy).
Rose Lucas Contemporary women's literature, feminist poetics and popular culture (Women's Studies, English).
Chris Lloyd Feminism and psychology, sexuality, mental health, research approaches (Anthropology and Sociology).
Anne Marsh Photography, performance art, psychoanalysis (Visual Arts).
Ross Mouer Japanese industry and society (Japanese).
Bronwyn Naylor Crime and gender (Law).
Leonie Naughton Feminist film theory, German cinema (Visual Arts).
Pauline Nestor Nineteenth and twentieth-century women's literature (English).
Marian Quartly Nineteenth-century women's history (Dean, Faculty of Arts).
Kate Rigby German feminist theory, ecology and feminism, feminist spirituality (German).
Gillian Robinson Feminism and political theory (Politics).
Alba Romano Women in Roman society (Greek Roman and Egyptian Studies).
Terri Seddon Women and education policy (Education).
Jenny Strauss Australian contemporary fiction and poetry (English).
Ulla Svensson Sociology of work, the family, the welfare state (Anthropology and Sociology).
Terry Threadgold Critical legal studies, performance studies, feminist pedagogy (English).
Helen Thomson Australian women's writing (English).
Georgina Tsolidis Identity, difference, ethnicity and race in Australia (Education).
Jan van Bommel Female subjectivity and madness, sexual division of labour (Anthropology and Sociology).
Annette van den Bosch Feminism, politics and contemporary art (Visual Arts).
Joanne Winter Language, gender and discourse analysis (Linguistics).
Course code: 0020
Course fee: Local students HECS; international students $A12,000 pa
Coordinators: Dr Helen Johnson and Dr Denise Cuthbert
The degree of PhD in women's studies is taken by the production of a thesis of between 60,000-90,000 words, on a topic of relevance to the area of women's studies which is approved by the graduate coordinator and the nominated supervisor.
The objectives of the PhD in women's studies are to provide candidates with the opportunity to develop the skills required to achieve professional standards as academic researchers; to enable students to research independently in a particular topic area related to women's studies; to achieve a thorough knowledge of critical and theoretical material pertaining to the topic; to enable students to develop professional communication skills in both written and oral forms; to determine and pursue a particular research topic which will lead to the production of an original piece of scholarship which contributes to its field and is of publishable standard. The thesis is submitted at the conclusion of a period of supervised study and research.
Candidates for the PhD in women's studies will normally be expected to have completed an honours degree or Masters Qualifying in women's studies (or equivalent) with at least an HIIA result, or a masters degree in women's studies which includes a significant research component. All PhD candidates in the Centre for Women's Studies are enrolled on a probationary basis, and their candidacy must be confirmed at the end of twelve months (eighteen months for part-time students) according to a formal process of review and the presentation of a thesis proposal. Upgrading from MA to PhD is possible in line with faculty regulations. The period of candidacy is between two and five years full-time, or up to eight years part-time.
Course code: 0017
Course fee: Local students HECS; international students $A12,000 pa
Coordinators: Dr Helen Johnson and Dr Denise Cuthbert
The MA in women's studies is completed by research alone on a topic of relevance to the area of women's studies which is approved by the graduate coordinator and centre director. The MA thesis should normally be 40,000-60,000 words in length.
The degree of Master of Arts in women's studies undertaken by research aims to offer candidates the ability to research independently in a particular area related to women's studies; the skills required to communicate effectively in both written and oral forms; the ability to think analytically, to use precision in scholarly argument and documentation, and to present work that is logically and coherently organised; the ability to determine and pursue a particular research topic, in close consultation with a supervisor, in order to produce a piece of substantial research that is of publishable standard.
Candidates with a BA honours degree or Masters Qualifying in women's studies (or equivalent) with HI or HIIA result are eligible for admission. This research degree may be completed in no more than two years full-time study or four years part-time study.
Course code: 0017
Course fee: Local students HECS; international students $A12,000 pa
Coordinators: Dr Helen Johnson and Dr Denise Cuthbert
The MA in women's studies may also be completed by coursework and research. Students are required to complete a research component in the area of women's studies or an approved topic. The word length of the thesis is 25,000-35,000 words. The topic will be of an interdisciplinary nature in the area of women's studies, chosen in close consultation with the supervisor and graduate coordinator. Students must also take two subjects totalling sixteen points, one of which must be WSM5180 (Sex, power, self: feminist interventions in contemporary discourse) and one selected from the list of fifth-year cross-listed options.
The objectives of the Master of Arts in women's studies when taken by coursework plus research, are to gain a detailed knowledge of contemporary feminist theory and of feminist research methodologies gained by private research and seminar interaction; to develop an interdisciplinary approach to some of the central issues and debates within recent feminisms; the ability to communicate effectively in both written and oral forms; the skills required to determine and pursue a particular research topic leading to the production of a piece of substantial and scholarly research.
Candidates with an honours degree or a Masters Qualifying with a HI or HIIA result in women's studies (or equivalent) are eligible for admission. This degree is normally completed in one year full-time or two years part-time study.
Students must complete two eight point subjects, one of which must be WSM5180 (Sex, power, self: feminist interventions in contemporary discourse), a thesis on an approved topic related to the area of women's studies, and a fifth-year elective selected from the list of cross-listed subjects.
Course code: 0017
Course fee: Local students HECS; international students $A12,000 pa
Coordinators: Dr Helen Johnson and Dr Denise Cuthbert
The Centre for Women's Studies is no longer offering a masters degree by coursework alone. Students currently enrolled in this program should refer to the 1997 handbook and to the Centre for Women's Studies office for course details. All subjects should be selected at twelve points, and include the core subjects of WSM4010 (Feminist theory) or WSM4180/WSM5180 (Sex, power, self: feminist interventions in contemporary discourse) and WSM4020 (Feminist research).
* Offered subject to approval.
Program code: 1988Program fee: Local students HECS; international students $A12,000 pa
The Masters Qualifying program in women's studies is a one-year full-time or two-year part-time program that provides a pathway into postgraduate research. Through a combination of coursework subjects and a research component, the program offers students the opportunity to broaden their knowledge base in the area of women's studies, and to develop skills of analysis, communication and research necessary for further postgraduate work.
Upon successful completion of the Masters Qualifying program in women's studies students will be expected to have developed the following: a detailed knowledge of key aspects of contemporary feminist theory; an understanding of feminist research methodologies; an interdisciplinary approach to some of the central debates and issues within recent feminisms; the ability to communicate effectively and to a high level in both written and oral forms; the skill to think critically, to use precision in argument and documentation, and to present work that is logically and coherently organised; the ability to pursue a particular research topic and to produce a cogent piece of research. Students with a result of HIIA and above can apply for entry into a masters or PhD program.
Successful completion of a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in women's studies (or equivalent), with a credit average (or above) in the third part of the major sequence.
Students are required to complete one core subject, one elective subject and a research component, totalling forty-eight credit points. Part-time students will be required to complete WSM4180 (Sex, power, self: feminist interventions in contemporary discourse) and an elective fourth-year level subject in the first year. WSM4005 (Research component) will be completed in the second year of the program over two semesters.
For full details of these subjects consult the relevant departmental or centre entry.