This is a shelf course. A shelf course comprises a number of modules related to this broad area of study. Each module is a separate semester of study in this area and is offered in rotation. You can study TWO modules but you cannot study the same module twice.

Subject Areas: Women's and Gender Studies
This course can also be studied in the following specialisations: History

Module: "History of Sexuality" (Semester 2, 2011)
This course explores the history of sexualities in Western societies from the 18th century through to the present. We will consider the different meanings that have been assigned to sexed bodies since the Enlightenment and contemporary debates about the relationship between sexuality and gender. In addition to cataloguing the limits and possibilities of sexual identities in the modern period, we will also examine how the sexual body has been consistently subject to social control. Specific topics include reproduction, birth control, masturbation, homosexuality and prostitution. Taking sexuality as an index of broader social transformations across a range of comparative societies, this course demonstrates the benefits of an historical approach. This module is designed for students in History and in Women’s and Gender Studies.

Module: "Politics of Sexuality"
Debates over the regulation of sexuality reflect fundamental assumptions about everyday life that shape the social, cultural and political life of Western societies. This course investigates sexuality through the window of power, to explore the social relations of sex and the sexes in modern societies. We will examine the relationship between sex, gender and sexuality, the impact of gender on the expression of sexuality, queer theory, the construction of sexual identities and issues in the politics of sexuality, including pornography, marriage and representations of sexuality in popular culture. This module is designed for students in Politics and in Women's and Gender Studies.