Subjects listed under this heading are offered by the Centre for Women's Studies and Gender Research The centre is located in room S623 of the Menzies building (telephone: 9905 2996; fax: 9905 1454).
Dr Denise Cuthbert, director (room S632)
Dr Maryanne Dever (room S622)
Dr Helen Johnson (room S631)
The Centre for Women's Studies and Gender Research offers an interdisciplinary approach to issues of gender and constructions of female subjectivity and experience, using a variety of feminist models of analysis. Students are thus required to develop a range of methodological skills through engaging with different materials and discourses including historical documents, philosophy, sociological perspectives, considerations of geographical space and location, semiotic analyses of texts, and cross-cultural representations of gender. In the context of this disciplinary diversity, the centre aims to introduce students to questions about the formulation of sexual difference, the reproduction of roles of gender and different accounts of the construction of patriarchy or phallocentrism. A consideration of contemporary debates necessarily involves an engagement with the wide-ranging field of writings within theoretical feminisms, thereby challenging students to develop a proficiency with skills of theoretical analysis and critique.
A Women's Studies Prize will be awarded annually to the most outstanding undergraduate student.
Students wishing to focus on the study of women and gender in their selection of courses for the BA degree may do so in three ways:
A major sequence comprises subjects totalling forty points over second and third-year levels. The prerequisite for the major sequence is usually a first-year sequence. The major sequence consists of the following: the three core women's studies subjects WMN2240/WMN3240 (Introduction to contemporary feminist theory); WMN2110 (Representations of women and gender in Australian society), WMN3020 (Issues in feminist research) plus two additional eight-point subjects selected from the cross-listed options within the faculty. WMN3120 (Gender, race and empire: feminist readings) and WMN2260/WMN3260 (Sexing the text) are recommended subjects within this sequence.
A minor sequence comprises subjects totalling a minimum of twenty-eight points at second and third-year level. The prerequisite for the minor sequence is usually a first-year sequence. The minor sequence consists of the following: the three core women's studies subjects WMN2240/WMN3240 (Introduction to contemporary feminist theory); WMN2110 (Representations of women and gender in Australian society) and WMN3020 (Issues in feminist research) plus one additional eight-point subject selected from the cross-listed options within the faculty. WMN3120 (Gender, race and empire: feminist readings) and WMN2260/WMN3260 (Sexing the text) are recommended subjects within this sequence.
Students may take individual subjects dealing with issues of women and gender that are offered either within women's studies or within other discipline sequences. Students wishing to vary the components of their minor or major sequences should consult with the director of the centre.
From 1998 the centre will offer a fourth-year honours program to provide a full undergraduate degree in the area to prospective students. The honours program in women's studies will provide candidates with an intellectually rigorous and detailed approach to contemporary feminist theories about the body, sexuality, sexual difference, female subjectivity, and power. It will also offer an opportunity to engage in supervised research within specific subject and research interests. The honours course will greatly enhance the current teaching program, provide an avenue for new research, and will allow successful women's studies candidates access to postgraduate study and research.
Departments may grant an extension of time for submission of the honours thesis or for final coursework up to the final day of the examination period of the semester in which the work is due. Applications for extensions beyond this date must be made to the Committee for Undergraduate Studies.
Upon successful completion of the honours course 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 substantial research.
Any relevant first-year sequence in the BA degree.
Students taking either a minor or major sequence in women's studies should select subjects from the following list to the value of at least twelve points at second-year level.
The centre requires that the following core subjects be taken at second-year level:
For full details of these subjects consult the relevant departmental or centre entry.
The centre requires that WMN3020 (Issues in feminist research) be taken at third year together with WMN3240 (Introduction to contemporary feminist theory) (8 points) if not selected at second year.
The remaining subjects necessary to complete the forty points required within a major sequence should be selected from the following optional listings:
For full details of these subjects consult the relevant departmental or centre entry.
Honours students in women's studies must complete the following:
One year full-time. To undertake the course part-time, students will be required to complete the two coursework components of the program in year one and the dissertation in year two. There will be no mid-year intake into the honours course.
For each coursework subject the work requirement is twenty-four hours per week.
The dissertation will require a half-hour supervision session per week and no more than forty-eight hours per week allowed for reading, research and writing.
Successful completion of the Bachelor of Arts with a major in women's studies. An average grade of credit or equivalent in the core undergraduate women's studies subjects:
Combined honours may be taken in women's studies and another discipline provided that all honours requirements have been met in both disciplines and subject to the approval of heads of both centres/departments.
Students from other institutions with equivalent qualifications will be accepted into the honours program subject to consultation with the centre director.
HECS.
For full details of these subjects consult the relevant departmental or centre entry.
Anthropology and Sociology: Chris Atmore, Helen Johnson and Penny Graham
Asian Languages and Studies: Barbara Hatley and Gloria Davies
Classics and Archaeology: Alba Romano
Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies: Elizabeth Grosz and Denise Cuthbert
English: Jenny Strauss and Helen Thomson
Education: Georgina Tsolidis
Geography and Environmental Science: Katherine Gibson
German Studies: Silke Hesse and Kate Rigby
History: Barbara Caine and Esther Faye
Law: Bronwyn Naylor and Beth Gaze
Linguistics: Joanne Winter
Philosophy: Karen Green
Politics: Sue Blackburn
Visual Arts: Leonie Naughton and Anne Marsh