Studying online (if an online offering is shown below)
There are now 2 possible online modes for units:
Units with modes Online timetabled and Online flexible are available for any student to self-enrol and study online.
Click on an offering mode for more details.
Unit Overview
- Description
This unit examines the emergence of queer theory by situating key texts against their historical contexts. Although the term ‘queer theory' was first used in the 1990s, gay liberation, feminism and the AIDS crisis prepared the historical and cultural ground for reclaiming the previously pejorative term ‘queer'. Like feminism, queer theory is interdisciplinary and border-crossing, and since the 1990s, it has intersected with and informed key debates about gender (and ‘gender ideology'), sexualities and sex education, and LGBTIQ issues and identities. While these themes tend to foreground Western individualistic concerns, queer theory now dovetails with more relational and ecological lines of thinking that resist such tendencies, such as affect theory, feminist new materialism and posthumanism.
Students will read key texts by scholars such as Adrienne Rich, Audre Lorde, Michel Foucault, Gloria Anzaldúa, Sandy Stone, Jeffrey Weeks, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Judith Butler, Susan Stryker, Jack Halberstam, Sara Ahmed, Ann Cvetkovich, Lauren Berlant and Karen Barad. Overall, the unit offers a historically contextualised survey that prompts students to think about the relationship between ‘normative' and ‘queer', and the value and purpose of ‘queering'.
- Credit
- 6 points
- Offering
(see Timetable) Availability Location Mode Semester 2 UWA (Perth) Face to face - Details for undergraduate courses
- Level 3 core unit in the Gender Studies major sequence
- Level 3 elective
- Outcomes
Students are able to (1) demonstrate knowledge of the history of queer theory including its key contexts and shifts, major theorists and significant faultlines; (2) critically evaluate queer theory and its associated readings of gender and sexual difference; (3) demonstrate a historicised understanding of contemporary theorisations of sexuality; (4) critically reflect on the objectives and effects of 'queering' knowledge production; and (5) critically reflect on the objectives and effects of 'queering' communication.
- Assessment
Indicative assessments in this unit are as follows: (1) 'queering' exercise; (2) participation and engagement; and (3) research essay. Further information is available in the unit outline.
Student may be offered supplementary assessment in this unit if they meet the eligibility criteria.
- Unit Coordinator(s)
- Dr Jessica Murray
- Unit rules
- Prerequisites
- Successful completion of
- Contact hours
- 2 hours per week
- The availability of units in Semester 1, 2, etc. was correct at the time of publication but may be subject to change.
- All students are responsible for identifying when they need assistance to improve their academic learning, research, English language and numeracy skills; seeking out the services and resources available to help them; and applying what they learn. Students are encouraged to register for free online support through GETSmart; to help themselves to the extensive range of resources on UWA's STUDYSmarter website; and to participate in WRITESmart and (ma+hs)Smart drop-ins and workshops.
- Visit the Essential Textbooks website to see if any textbooks are required for this Unit. The website is updated regularly so content may change. Students are recommended to purchase Essential Textbooks, but a limited number of copies of all Essential Textbooks are held in the Library in print, and as an ebook where possible. Recommended readings for the unit can be accessed in Unit Readings directly through the Learning Management System (LMS).
- Contact hours provide an indication of the type and extent of in-class activities this unit may contain. The total amount of student work (including contact hours, assessment time, and self-study) will approximate 150 hours per 6 credit points.
Face to face
Predominantly face-to-face. On campus attendance required to complete this unit. May have accompanying resources online.
Online flexible
100% Online Unit. NO campus face-to-face attendance is required to complete this unit. All study requirements are online only. Unit is asynchronous delivery, with NO requirement for students to participate online at specific times.
Online timetabled
100% Online Unit. NO campus face-to-face attendance is required to complete this unit. All study requirements are online only. Unit includes some synchronous components, with a requirement for students to participate online at specific times.
Online Restricted
Not available for self-enrolment. Students access this mode by contacting their student office through AskUWA. 100% Online Unit.
NO campus face-to-face attendance. All study and assessment requirements are online only. Unit includes some timetabled activities, with a requirement for students to participate online at specific times. In exceptional cases (noted in the Handbook) students may be required to participate in face-to-face laboratory classes when a return to UWA’s Crawley campus becomes possible in order to be awarded a final grade.
External
No attendance or regular contact is required, and all study requirements are completed either via correspondence and/or online submission.
Off-campus
Regular attendance is not required, but student attends the institution face to face on an agreed schedule for purposes of supervision and/or instruction.
Multi-mode
Multiple modes of delivery. Unit includes a mix of online and on-campus study requirements. On campus attendance for some activities is required to complete this unit.