Students

GEN 210 – Reading Gender in Everyday Life

2014 – S2 External

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Credit points Credit points
3
Prerequisites Prerequisites
12cp or admission to GDipArts
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
This unit examines how gender functions in our day-to-day lives. We look closely at common activities like shopping, eating, grooming, talking, reading, going to the movies, using cosmetic surgery, getting married and more, to examine some of the discourses – biological, cultural, social, anthropological – that reproduce ideas of masculinity and femininity, of being a man or woman. We look at intersections of gender with class, ethnicity, and race. We also introduce students to some of the influential ideas on how gender works, theories by European philosophers like Freud and Foucault, as well as essays by feminist activists and post-modern writers on gender and sexuality.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • Understand the ways in which gender is conceived and found significant in everyday life
  • Understand what gender studies is about, why it has developed and why it matters today
  • Develop a sense of the complexity and significance of a number of key cultural issues and debates (local and global) in contemporary gender studies
  • Understand how the writing of scholars like Freud, Foucault and others has been taken up and critically extended in gender studies.
  • Develop a practical sense of how to research a variety of texts in public circulation, how to evaluate their content and engage with it effectively.
  • Develop an understanding of the relationship between forms of knowledge and forms of everyday living. The topics covered will help the student to approach real-life situations, analyse them, and remedy problems when necessary.
  • Share information and debate ideas with peers. The material in this unit raises questions about everyday life, and by coming to grips with it, we expect that the student will have a stronger sense both of who they are and where they come from, and how others from very different backgrounds and situations view the world.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Due
Quizzes 40% Fridays, weeks 2-12
Essay + Essay Plan 50% Week 7 & Week 13
Participation 10% throughout

Quizzes

Due: Fridays, weeks 2-12
Weighting: 40%

Weekly multiple choice quiz on the required readings and on the lectures of weeks 2-12


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Understand the ways in which gender is conceived and found significant in everyday life
  • Understand what gender studies is about, why it has developed and why it matters today
  • Develop a sense of the complexity and significance of a number of key cultural issues and debates (local and global) in contemporary gender studies
  • Understand how the writing of scholars like Freud, Foucault and others has been taken up and critically extended in gender studies.

Essay + Essay Plan

Due: Week 7 & Week 13
Weighting: 50%

This assignment comes in two parts.

Part One: Choose a question from those listed on iLearn. Submit an essay plan in Week 7 with key readings identified and annotated, and ideas sketched. Part One is worth 20%. 

Part Two: Write an analytical essay on the question selected. Part Two is worth 30%.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Understand the ways in which gender is conceived and found significant in everyday life
  • Develop a sense of the complexity and significance of a number of key cultural issues and debates (local and global) in contemporary gender studies
  • Understand how the writing of scholars like Freud, Foucault and others has been taken up and critically extended in gender studies.
  • Develop a practical sense of how to research a variety of texts in public circulation, how to evaluate their content and engage with it effectively.
  • Develop an understanding of the relationship between forms of knowledge and forms of everyday living. The topics covered will help the student to approach real-life situations, analyse them, and remedy problems when necessary.

Participation

Due: throughout
Weighting: 10%

Peer discussion of unit material on the GEN210 iLearn site.

For external students, the benchmark for a clear pass is 2 discussion items of approximately 150 words each, posted on the GEN210 iLearn site per week (24 minimum total). These may be averaged over the semester but significant uncleared absences will be penalised and significant shortfalls in participation will result in failure.

For an above-pass participation mark, it is the quality as well as quantity (above benchmarked minimum) of discussion posts that will count. 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Understand the ways in which gender is conceived and found significant in everyday life
  • Understand what gender studies is about, why it has developed and why it matters today
  • Develop a sense of the complexity and significance of a number of key cultural issues and debates (local and global) in contemporary gender studies
  • Understand how the writing of scholars like Freud, Foucault and others has been taken up and critically extended in gender studies.
  • Develop a practical sense of how to research a variety of texts in public circulation, how to evaluate their content and engage with it effectively.
  • Develop an understanding of the relationship between forms of knowledge and forms of everyday living. The topics covered will help the student to approach real-life situations, analyse them, and remedy problems when necessary.
  • Share information and debate ideas with peers. The material in this unit raises questions about everyday life, and by coming to grips with it, we expect that the student will have a stronger sense both of who they are and where they come from, and how others from very different backgrounds and situations view the world.

Delivery and Resources

Delivery:

Day and Online. 

For external students, GEN210 comprises of one 2 hour Lecture (recorded) available via iLearn.

Technologies used and required

This unit has an online presence in iLearn (http://ilearn.mq.edu.au).  Students are required to have regular access to a computer and the internet. Mobile devices alone are not sufficient.

This unit will use Echo lecture recording (accessed via iLearn).

- For technical support go to: http://mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/informatics/help - For student quick guides on the use of iLearn go to: http://mq.edu.au/iLearn/student_info/guides.htm

Times and Locations for Lectures and Tutorials

For current updates, lecture times and classrooms please consult the MQ Timetables website: http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au

Required and recommended resources

Required readings can be accessed through e-reserve via iLearn. These can be read online, printed out by the student and/or downloaded.

FEEDBACK

Feedback and unit evaluation

The Faculty of Arts values student feedback and seeks to continually improve its teaching. At present, the Faculty collects student feedback in two ways:

1. Anonymous evaluation surveys which are disseminated at the completion of each unit. 2. Student feedback meetings which are held twice a year in the Faculty of Arts. These meetings are advertised on campus and all students are encouraged to attend.

What has changed based on student feedback

Based on feedback obtained from past students, this unit has been adapted in the following way(s):

New topics on media (advertising) and inter-sex and trans-sexual issues have been introduced due to popular demand.

Unit Schedule

2013 LECTURE PROGRAM AND LECTURE/TUTORIAL READINGS

The tutorials run one week after the lectures. The readings listed will be discussed in both lectures and tutorials. Required reading is directly addressed in tutorial discussion. The required readings will be accessible via iLearn.  Quiz questions will be set on both the required readings and the weekly lectures.

Attendance

Attendance at tutorials by internal students is required for a satisfactory participation mark. Attendance at lectures by internal students is also required (especially for AV material). Students may seek permission to listen to ECHO recordings in lieu of attending lectures only with permission of the convenor. 

Week

Reading Gender in Everyday Life - Lecture topics

Week  1

Having gender (biology): the brain and  hormones 

Week  2

Having gender (sociobiology): rape; mothering

Week  3

Representing gender (socialisation & coding): advertising  

Week  4

Buying into gender (socialisation & consuming): shopping

Week  5

Playing out gender (socialisation & coupling): weddings

Week  6

Playing with gender (socialisation & queering): Barbie dolls 

Week  7

Constructing gender (socialisation & psychoanalysis): stalking and  jealousy

Week  8

Doing gender (cutting up the body; conforming/transforming): cosmetic surgery

Week  9

Doing gender (cutting up the body; conforming/transforming): inter-sex and trans-sexual surgery 

Week  10

Doing gender (fighting back through the body): female body building

Week  11

Performing gender (fighting back through the body): madness and hysteria 

Week  12

Performing gender (through the masquerade): make-up, masking and drag

Week  13

No lecture – film

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html

Assessment Policy  http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html

Grading Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html

Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html

Grievance Management Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grievance_management/policy.html

Disruption to Studies Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html The Disruption to Studies Policy is effective from March 3 2014 and replaces the Special Consideration Policy.

In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://informatics.mq.edu.au/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Graduate Capabilities

Capable of Professional and Personal Judgement and Initiative

We want our graduates to have emotional intelligence and sound interpersonal skills and to demonstrate discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgement. They will exercise initiative as needed. They will be capable of risk assessment, and be able to handle ambiguity and complexity, enabling them to be adaptable in diverse and changing environments.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Develop a practical sense of how to research a variety of texts in public circulation, how to evaluate their content and engage with it effectively.
  • Develop an understanding of the relationship between forms of knowledge and forms of everyday living. The topics covered will help the student to approach real-life situations, analyse them, and remedy problems when necessary.
  • Share information and debate ideas with peers. The material in this unit raises questions about everyday life, and by coming to grips with it, we expect that the student will have a stronger sense both of who they are and where they come from, and how others from very different backgrounds and situations view the world.

Assessment tasks

  • Essay + Essay Plan
  • Participation

Commitment to Continuous Learning

Our graduates will have enquiring minds and a literate curiosity which will lead them to pursue knowledge for its own sake. They will continue to pursue learning in their careers and as they participate in the world. They will be capable of reflecting on their experiences and relationships with others and the environment, learning from them, and growing - personally, professionally and socially.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Understand what gender studies is about, why it has developed and why it matters today
  • Develop a sense of the complexity and significance of a number of key cultural issues and debates (local and global) in contemporary gender studies
  • Understand how the writing of scholars like Freud, Foucault and others has been taken up and critically extended in gender studies.
  • Share information and debate ideas with peers. The material in this unit raises questions about everyday life, and by coming to grips with it, we expect that the student will have a stronger sense both of who they are and where they come from, and how others from very different backgrounds and situations view the world.

Assessment tasks

  • Quizzes
  • Essay + Essay Plan
  • Participation

Discipline Specific Knowledge and Skills

Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Understand the ways in which gender is conceived and found significant in everyday life
  • Understand what gender studies is about, why it has developed and why it matters today
  • Develop a sense of the complexity and significance of a number of key cultural issues and debates (local and global) in contemporary gender studies
  • Understand how the writing of scholars like Freud, Foucault and others has been taken up and critically extended in gender studies.
  • Develop an understanding of the relationship between forms of knowledge and forms of everyday living. The topics covered will help the student to approach real-life situations, analyse them, and remedy problems when necessary.
  • Share information and debate ideas with peers. The material in this unit raises questions about everyday life, and by coming to grips with it, we expect that the student will have a stronger sense both of who they are and where they come from, and how others from very different backgrounds and situations view the world.

Assessment tasks

  • Quizzes
  • Essay + Essay Plan
  • Participation

Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking

We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Understand the ways in which gender is conceived and found significant in everyday life
  • Understand what gender studies is about, why it has developed and why it matters today
  • Develop a sense of the complexity and significance of a number of key cultural issues and debates (local and global) in contemporary gender studies
  • Understand how the writing of scholars like Freud, Foucault and others has been taken up and critically extended in gender studies.
  • Develop a practical sense of how to research a variety of texts in public circulation, how to evaluate their content and engage with it effectively.
  • Develop an understanding of the relationship between forms of knowledge and forms of everyday living. The topics covered will help the student to approach real-life situations, analyse them, and remedy problems when necessary.
  • Share information and debate ideas with peers. The material in this unit raises questions about everyday life, and by coming to grips with it, we expect that the student will have a stronger sense both of who they are and where they come from, and how others from very different backgrounds and situations view the world.

Assessment tasks

  • Quizzes
  • Essay + Essay Plan
  • Participation

Problem Solving and Research Capability

Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Understand the ways in which gender is conceived and found significant in everyday life
  • Understand how the writing of scholars like Freud, Foucault and others has been taken up and critically extended in gender studies.
  • Develop a practical sense of how to research a variety of texts in public circulation, how to evaluate their content and engage with it effectively.
  • Develop an understanding of the relationship between forms of knowledge and forms of everyday living. The topics covered will help the student to approach real-life situations, analyse them, and remedy problems when necessary.
  • Share information and debate ideas with peers. The material in this unit raises questions about everyday life, and by coming to grips with it, we expect that the student will have a stronger sense both of who they are and where they come from, and how others from very different backgrounds and situations view the world.

Assessment tasks

  • Quizzes
  • Essay + Essay Plan
  • Participation

Creative and Innovative

Our graduates will also be capable of creative thinking and of creating knowledge. They will be imaginative and open to experience and capable of innovation at work and in the community. We want them to be engaged in applying their critical, creative thinking.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Develop a practical sense of how to research a variety of texts in public circulation, how to evaluate their content and engage with it effectively.
  • Develop an understanding of the relationship between forms of knowledge and forms of everyday living. The topics covered will help the student to approach real-life situations, analyse them, and remedy problems when necessary.
  • Share information and debate ideas with peers. The material in this unit raises questions about everyday life, and by coming to grips with it, we expect that the student will have a stronger sense both of who they are and where they come from, and how others from very different backgrounds and situations view the world.

Assessment tasks

  • Essay + Essay Plan
  • Participation

Effective Communication

We want to develop in our students the ability to communicate and convey their views in forms effective with different audiences. We want our graduates to take with them the capability to read, listen, question, gather and evaluate information resources in a variety of formats, assess, write clearly, speak effectively, and to use visual communication and communication technologies as appropriate.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Develop a practical sense of how to research a variety of texts in public circulation, how to evaluate their content and engage with it effectively.
  • Develop an understanding of the relationship between forms of knowledge and forms of everyday living. The topics covered will help the student to approach real-life situations, analyse them, and remedy problems when necessary.
  • Share information and debate ideas with peers. The material in this unit raises questions about everyday life, and by coming to grips with it, we expect that the student will have a stronger sense both of who they are and where they come from, and how others from very different backgrounds and situations view the world.

Assessment tasks

  • Essay + Essay Plan
  • Participation

Engaged and Ethical Local and Global citizens

As local citizens our graduates will be aware of indigenous perspectives and of the nation's historical context. They will be engaged with the challenges of contemporary society and with knowledge and ideas. We want our graduates to have respect for diversity, to be open-minded, sensitive to others and inclusive, and to be open to other cultures and perspectives: they should have a level of cultural literacy. Our graduates should be aware of disadvantage and social justice, and be willing to participate to help create a wiser and better society.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Understand the ways in which gender is conceived and found significant in everyday life
  • Understand what gender studies is about, why it has developed and why it matters today
  • Develop a sense of the complexity and significance of a number of key cultural issues and debates (local and global) in contemporary gender studies
  • Develop an understanding of the relationship between forms of knowledge and forms of everyday living. The topics covered will help the student to approach real-life situations, analyse them, and remedy problems when necessary.
  • Share information and debate ideas with peers. The material in this unit raises questions about everyday life, and by coming to grips with it, we expect that the student will have a stronger sense both of who they are and where they come from, and how others from very different backgrounds and situations view the world.

Assessment tasks

  • Essay + Essay Plan
  • Participation

Socially and Environmentally Active and Responsible

We want our graduates to be aware of and have respect for self and others; to be able to work with others as a leader and a team player; to have a sense of connectedness with others and country; and to have a sense of mutual obligation. Our graduates should be informed and active participants in moving society towards sustainability.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Understand what gender studies is about, why it has developed and why it matters today
  • Develop a sense of the complexity and significance of a number of key cultural issues and debates (local and global) in contemporary gender studies
  • Develop a practical sense of how to research a variety of texts in public circulation, how to evaluate their content and engage with it effectively.
  • Develop an understanding of the relationship between forms of knowledge and forms of everyday living. The topics covered will help the student to approach real-life situations, analyse them, and remedy problems when necessary.
  • Share information and debate ideas with peers. The material in this unit raises questions about everyday life, and by coming to grips with it, we expect that the student will have a stronger sense both of who they are and where they come from, and how others from very different backgrounds and situations view the world.

Assessment task

  • Participation