Handbook

This course is an interdisciplinary introduction to the study of women, gender and sexualities through the frameworks of world history, cross-cultural analysis and social theory. You will begin with questions that are fundamental to gender studies – such as ‘what is gender?’ – and trace them across time and place to demonstrate how gender intersects with race, class, sexuality and other markers in different historical and cultural contexts. You will consider how religion, colonialism, nationalism and cross-cultural contacts have shaped and influenced gender roles and relations. The course will also introduce you to key debates and developments in gender studies, including the question of when and how patriarchies emerged, influential theories of intersectionality and gender performativity, and the emergence of trans studies.