Course description
Gender, Sexualities, and Women's Studies 2101 builds upon the foundational concepts introduced at the 100-level, involving an in-depth and interdisciplinary exploration of contemporary experiences, theories, and issues related to gender. Students will take an in-depth look at the meaning of gender as it expands and changes across contexts and cultures and with particular emphasis on its intersection with sexuality, race, class, age, ability, and Indigeneity. Each iteration of this course will focus on one theme or a set of themes such as gender in popular culture, decolonizing gender, or gender, sex, and technology.
Course content
Course content will be specific to the theme chosen by the instructor with attention to gender theories early in the term. Sample content breakdown as follows:
Sample A: Gender in Hollywood Film
- History and Theory in Film and Gender
- Early Representation of Gender in Film
- 1950s Concepts of Gender and Its Ongoing Influence
- Representations of Feminism
- Capitalism and the Gendered Workforce
- Motherhood
- The Womb: Childbirth and "Ownership"
- Gendered Horror – Monstrous Women
- Teens and Biological Determinism
- Race and Ongoing Stereotypes
- Trans and Queer Representation
- Indigenous Women in Film
- Group Presentations and Class Debates
Sample B: Gender, Sex, and Technology
- Introduction to the Intersection of Gender, Sex, and Tech
- Menstrual Technologies and Menstrual Equity
- Online Sexual Violence and Intersectionality
- Dating Apps, Ageism, Sexual Racism, and Racial Fetishization
- Tracking Apps, PostFeminism, and Biopower
- Social Media and Algorithmic Bias
- Medical Technologies, Gatekeeping, and Cisnormativity
- Critical Disability Theory, Technology, and Transhumanism
- Indigenous Activism and Social Media
- SexTech and Stereotypes of Female Sexuality
- Technologies of the Future
- Group Presentations & Class Debates
Learning activities
The course will employ a number of instructional methods to accomplish its objectives, including some or all of the following:
- Lecture
- Seminar discussion
- Oral presentations
- Small group discussions
- Creative group engagement
- Guest lectures
- Film, podcasting, and/or other multimedia presentations
- Literary analysis
- Individual research projects with or without community involvement
Means of assessment
Evaluation will be carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. Instructors may use a student’s record of attendance and/or level of active participation in a course as part of the student’s graded performance. Where this occurs, expectations and grade calculations regarding class attendance and participation must be clearly defined in the Instructor Course Outline. Students may conduct research with human participants as part of their coursework in this class. Instructors for the course are responsible for ensuring that student research projects comply with College policies on ethical conduct for research involving humans.
Evaluation will be based on some or all of the following:
- Course Engagement and/or Attendance
- Group Projects and/or Presentations
- Exams/Quizzes
- Research Portfolio
- Reading Responses
- Term Papers or Creative Projects
- Journal reflection
- Research papers
- Oral presentations (individual and/or group)
- Community life research
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course, successful students will be able to:
- explore and debate the relationship between gender and sex;
- interrogate contemporary gender concepts such as gender identity, gender expression and gender fluidity in intersectional and multi-faceted contexts;
- analyse the ways in which social/ cultural definitions of gender are affected by intersectional identities and experiences;
- engage with feminist and queer theories to analyze contemporary gender issues and social justice struggles;
- apply the course concepts and theories to analyse and interpret particular topics as identified within the course framework.
Textbook materials
A list of recommended textbooks and materials is provided on the Instructor’s Course Outline, which is available to students at the beginning of each semester.
Sample Reading Lists:
Sample Theme A: Gender and Popular Culture
A selection of readings will be chosen from among the following:
- Creed, Barbara. The Monstrous Feminine: Film, Feminism, Psychoanalysis. New York: Routledge, 1993.
- Dyer, Richard & Paul McDonald. Stars. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing, 1998.
- Gaines, Jane. “White Privilege and Looking Relations: Race and Gender in Feminist Film Theory.” Cultural Critique 4 (Autumn 1986): 59-79.
- Haskell, Molly. From Reverence to Rape?: The Treatment of Women in the Movies. 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.
- hooks, bell. "The Oppositional Gaze: Black Female Spectators." In Black Looks: Race and Representation, 115-131. Boston: South End Press, 1992.
- Mulvey, Laura. “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” Screen, 16, 3 (Autumn 1975): 6–18.
- Mulvey, Laura and Anna Backman Rogers. “Uncommon Sensuality: New Queer Feminist Film/Theory” In Feminisms?: Diversity, Difference and Multiplicity in Contemporary Film Cultures. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2016.
- Wilk, Katarzyna. “Feminist Film Theory: The Impact of Female Representation in Modern Movies.” Studia Humana 13, 4 (August 2024): 13-22.
Sample Theme B: Gender, Sex, and Tech
A selection of readings will be chosen from among the following:
- Bejamin, Ruha. Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code. New York: Polity Press, 2019.
- Fellows, Jennifer Jill and Lisa Smith. Gender Sex and Tech: An Intersectional Feminist Guide. Toronto: Canadian Scholars Women’s Press, 2022.
- Fournier-Tombs, Eleonore. Gender Reboot: Reprogramming Gender Rights in the Age of AI. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2023.
- Noble, Safiya. Algorithms of Oppression. New York: NYU Press, 2018.