Women's and Gender Studies (WGST) 301
Gender, Sexuality and Society (Revision 1)
Revision 1 is closed for registrations, replaced by current version
WGST 301 replaces WGST 270
Delivery Mode: Individualized study online
Credits: 3
Area of Study: Social Science
Prerequisite: WGST 266 or equivalent is strongly recommended.
Precluded Course: WGST 270 and WMST 270. (WGST 301 cannot be taken for credit if credit has already been obtained for WGST 270 or WMST 270.)
Faculty: Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences
Women's & Gender Studies home page
WGST 301 has a Challenge for Credit option.
Overview
WGST 301 aims to provide students with a deeper understanding of the ways in which gender, identity and sexuality operate in contemporary North American society. The starting point of the course is that gender is socially constructed, not based in biology as commonly believed. Notions of "doing gender" and "gender performance" are central to the course. Students will engage with poststructuralist, postmodern, feminist and queer theory in order to critically examine not only gender norms but resistance and challenges to these norms. Femininity, masculinity, disability, as well as queer and transgender politics and identifications will be studied in a variety of contexts, including the family, education, recreation and leisure, the body and representation, media and popular culture and social justice activism.
Outline
- Unit 1: Understanding Gender: Beyond Nature versus Nurture
- Unit 2: Pink is for Girls, Blue is for Boys?
- Unit 3: Performing Femininities
- Unit 4: Performing Masculinities
- Unit 5: Gender and Disability
- Unit 6: Gender Trouble
Each unit consists of an introduction; a list of learning objectives, so that you will know exactly what you should achieve by the end of the unit; assigned readings; commentaries in the form of audiovisual presentations, which provide additional information on the subjects covered by the readings; a review quiz, and a list of supplementary readings and references.
Evaluation
To receive credit for WGST 301, you must achieve a course composite grade of at least “D” (50 percent). The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:
| Assign. 1 Oral Review | Assign. 2 Reflections on Gender Representation | Assign. 3 Research Essay Proposal | Assign. 4 Research Essay | Assign. 5 Final Take-home Essays | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15% | 15% | 10% | 30% | 30% | 100% |
Note: To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.
Course Materials
Textbooks
Lorber, J., & Moore, L. J. (2007). Gendered bodies: feminist perspectives. Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury Publishing.
Kimmel, M. S., Aronson, A., & Kaler, A. (2011). The gendered society reader (2nd Canadian ed.). Toronto: Oxford University Press.
DVD
Murderball. (2005). Directed by H. A. Rubin & D. A. Shapiro. USA: THINKFilm, Inc.
Other Materials
The course materials include a digital reading file and an online study guide.
Challenge for Credit Course Overview
The Challenge for Credit process allows students to demonstrate that they have acquired a command of the general subject matter, knowledge, intellectual and/or other skills that would normally be found in a university level course.
Full information for the Challenge for Credit can be found in the Undergraduate Calendar.
- Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Policy
- Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Procedures
Challenge Evaluation
To receive credit for the WGST 301 challenge registration, you must complete all four essays and achieve a composite grade of “D” (50 percent) or higher on the challenge assignment. Credit will be awarded as either a pass or a fail.
Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Course Registration Form
Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized-study counterparts.
Opened in Revision 1, June 27, 2013.