Unit Guide

General Information

Unit convenor and teaching staff	Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor Rebecca Sheehan rebecca.sheehan@mq.edu.au Contact via 98507947 Office C313, Level 3 West Wing, 25C Wally's Walk By appointment
Credit points	Credit points 10
Prerequisites	Prerequisites
Corequisites	Corequisites
Co-badged status	Co-badged status
Unit description	Unit description This unit is an introduction to Gender Studies, an interdisciplinary field that analyses gender and how it intersects with sexuality, race, class, different abilities, and other identities. We establish foundational knowledge of and key concepts in how gender has been theorised and debated through exploring grassroots gender liberation activism including feminism, gay liberation, and the trans and intersex movements.

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:

ULO1: Analyse key concepts about gender, its intersections with other identities, and how these shape and are shaped by social, cultural, economic, and political institutions.
ULO2: Demonstrate an understanding of Gender Studies as an interdisciplinary field and its contribution to understanding the contemporary world.
ULO3: Demonstrate an understanding of historical development of different forms of feminism, what they have contributed the field of Gender Studies, and why they matter today.
ULO4: Research and synthesise media and scholarly texts.

General Assessment Information

Please note that despite the information under "Assessment Tasks" above, there is no "Research Skills Quiz" worth 5% of the overall mark. Please see below for the correct assessment information.

Tutorial participation (via online discussion forum)

Due: Weekly Weighting: 20%

Active engagement in discussion is an important part of university learning. You are required to participate in tutorials each week. Your mark will reflect the quality and quantity of your participation. It takes into consideration:

your knowledge of the material (you show evidence that you have listened to the lectures and done the required reading)
your active participation in discussions and tasks. This includes, at minimum, responding to questions posed by the tutor and responding to what others in your tutorial have said.
your overall contribution.

Note that you are expected to contribute to 80% of the tutorials. Active participation in less than 80% of tutorials will incur a ‘fail’ unless exceptional circumstances prevail and Special Consideration is granted.

Quizzes

Due: Weekly. Weighting: 20%

Students will be required to complete a multiple choice quiz each week: 10 quizzes in total, equalling 20 questions. The quizzes will ask you about content from the lectures and from your weekly readings. Each quiz contains 2 questions (2 questions per topic, 1 topics per week=2 questions each week x 10 weeks = 20 questions total).

Students are advised to start attempting the quizzes well ahead of the deadline. There are no extensions, including for last-minute technical problems or forgetting to submit on time. You will need to provide documentation explaining your absence for the entire duration of a quiz (one week) in order to apply for special consideration. Please be advised that the convenor will not respond to any requests to re-open quizzes, to extend their deadlines, or to open them early.

It is very important to click on the save button for each answer as you go, and when you are happy with your answers, click on the submit button. Without saving each answer and submitting them at the end, they will not be counted. You will be able to change your mind on a saved answer, and save it again, as many times as you want before submitting it. Your saved answers can be retrieved even if you forget to submit them; if they are not saved, however, they cannot be retrieved and will not count.

Short Essay

Due: Sunday Week 6 Weighting: 20%

Write a maximum 1,250 word analytical response to the assignment task. See iLearn for more information about this task.

Final essay

Due: Sunday Week 13 Weighting: 40%

Write a 1,500 word analytical essay on ONE of the questions. See iLearn for more information about this task.

Please be aware of the following policies in regard to assignments:

Academic Integrity Policy: https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/academic-integrity. The university takes plagiarism very seriously and there are penalties for using other people's work as your own. This includes directly quoting other people's work without quotation marks and/or acknowledgement. Please check this unit's iLearn site for resources on how to cite your sources properly and avoid plagiarism.

Special Consideration Policy: https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/special-consideration

Assessment Policy: https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/assessment. For specifics on Grading Policy, click on the "Schedule 1" tab.

Requests for Extensions

To request an extension for a period up to and including 5 working days, please email your tutor.

To apply for an extension of more than 5 working days please complete a Special Consideration request and submit it online. For more information see the Special Consideration Policy above and find further details here: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/my-study-program/special-consideration.

Late Assessment Penalty

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply—two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date—and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments—e.g. quizzes, online tests.

Assessment Tasks

Name	Weighting	Hurdle	Due
Research Skills Quiz	5%	No	Ongoing
Online tutorial participation	10%	No	Weekly
Quizzes	20%	No	Weekly
Short essay	25%	No	Week 6
Final research essay	40%	No	Week 13

Research Skills Quiz

Assessment Type ¹: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task ²: 10 hours
Due: Ongoing
Weighting: 5%

To help you prepare for doing well in assessment tasks, you will be required to undertake three University Research Skills modules including University Study Skills and Resources, Research and Referencing, and Academic Integrity. Each module has a quiz testing skills developed in that module. These modules orient you to and develop critical academic skills that you will build on throughout your degree. The average results of the quizzes will comprise 5 per cent of your overall mark.