Gender Studies major
Note: this major is only available to re-enrolling students. From 2020 newly commencing students in this major should refer to MJD-GNWST Gender Studies
The Gender Studies major traces the history and ideas about gender and its intersections with race, class and sexuality. It is based in the everyday practices and cultural texts of students' lives and serves as a reminder of the forms of dominant thinking and dissent on sexuality and identity in the past. Gender Studies also teaches generic life skills like collaboration, teamwork, leadership, group dynamics, and literacy, in screen, print and digital cultures. It is grounded in the ethics of equity, diversity and social justice.
Outcomes
Students are able to (1) demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge of feminist thought, its key shifts, major theorists and philosophical movements including queer theory and masculinity studies as emergent branches; (2) articulate the complexities of gender as a socially constructed practice that is situated in time and place, and is mediated by other subject positions like race, class, religion, and sexuality; (3) contextualise the history of women's liberation as a social movement, its links to feminist activism as a form of social justice, and the continuing relevance of linking theory to practice; (4) draw on feminist methods of research, writing, and thinking about gender including reflexively creating, situating, and queering knowledge; and (5) utilise a discursive vocabulary that enables complex arguments to be clearly articulated around gender, sexuality, ideology, subjectivity, corporeality, and agency.
Broadening guidelines
All students studying towards a Bachelor's Degree at UWA are required to Broaden their studies by completing a minimum of four units (24 points) of study outside their degree specific major. Broadening is your opportunity to explore other areas of interest, investigate new disciplines and knowledge paradigms and to shape your degree to suit your own aspirations and interests. Many of you will be able to undertake more than this minimum amount of broadening study and we encourage you to do so if this suits your aspirations. Over the next few months you will find here some broadening suggestions related to your degree-specific major. While we know that many students value guidance of this sort, these are only suggestions and students should not lose sight of the opportunity to explore that is afforded by your Broadening Choices. Advice can also be sought from your Allocated Student Advising Office.
Gender Studies can be taken as a degree-specific major in the following degree courses:
BP001 Bachelor of Arts
BH005 Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours)
Overview of unit sequence
Gender Studies is a degree-specific single major comprising:
- two Level 1 units
- three Level 2 units
- three Level 3 units
| Key to availability of units: |
|---|
| S1 = Semester 1; S2 = Semester 2; N/A = not available in 2021; NS = non-standard teaching period |
Note: Units that are indicated as N/A may be available in 2022 or 2023.
Level 1
Take all units (12 points):
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | ENGL1902 | Reading Bodies |
|
| S1 | GEND1901 | Beyond 'Gender Wars' |
Level 2
Take all units (12 points):
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| GEND2901 | |||
| N/A | GEND2902 | Masculinity, Nostalgia and Change |
|
Take unit(s) to the value of 6 points:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S2 | ANTH2405 | Sex, Gender and Social Life |
|
| S1 | HIST2013 | Medieval and Early Modern Women |
Level 3
Take the following unit:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S2 | GEND3901 | Feminist Thought |
|
Take all units (12 points).
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | ASIA3004 | Gender and Power in Asia |
|
| S2, NS | ASIA3006 | Contemporary Korean Society |
|
Choosing your degree-specific major
Specialised degrees – Bachelor of Advanced Computer Science (Honours), Bachelor of Automation and Robotics, Bachelor of Environmental Design, Bachelor of Music
You must satisfy the requirements of the degree-specific major in your degree before you complete your course.
Bachelor of Philosophy, Politics and Economics
This comprehensive degree does not require you to choose a degree-specific major.
General degrees
You must satisfy the requirements of a degree-specific major before you complete your course. The flexible structure of an undergraduate course allows you to try out a number of different subjects to see what interests you before nominating your degree-specific major. You have the choice to either nominate your degree-specific major when you first enrol in the course or delay nominating it until your second year.
To plan the first year of your study without nominating a degree-specific major, you are advised to choose units that will pave the way to two or more degree-specific majors that are of interest to you. For examples of the choice of units available in first year, search the first-year study plans .
To fully understand the structure of an undergraduate course, read the course structure information and the Undergraduate Degree Course Rules.
There are more choices open to you. For more examples, search the study plans .
Choosing a second major
You also have the option to choose a second major from those available in the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Biomedical Science, Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Design Only available to re-enrolling students. and Bachelor of Science courses, giving you the opportunity to pursue your interests no matter how different they are.
For more examples of combinations of majors, search the study plans .