WMN4770

Gender, race and empire: feminist readings

Maryanne Dever

12 Points
* 2 hours per week
* First 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. Honours students will be expected to develop advanced skills in research and research methodology.

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? WMN4770 (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 (3000 words): 30%
* Long essay (6000 words): 50%
* Seminar participation and seminar tasks: 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 and Gender Research.