Gender and Contemporary Culture

What is the relationship between gender and culture in everyday life? Why are some forms of gender more culturally privileged than others? How do gender norms take shape and gain dominance in contemporary culture? This subject explores key sites through which gender identities emerge, become dominant, and/or transform. Through these cultural sites this subject examines hegemonic ideologies around gender, the uneven value placed on certain gendered subject positions, and possibilities for resistance in relation to femininities, masculinities, and other gender formations. Sites include areas of concern to feminist cultural studies including digital culture, popular media, youth cultures, celebrity and fandom, sport, fitness and self-discipline regimes, beauty culture and more. Core to this exploration are issues of location, race, whiteness, and nation, which inform hegemonic ideals and lived experiences of gendered life. Beyond simply understanding how identities are transforming in a highly mediated and globalised context, this subject seeks to critically engage with questions of injustice and inequality in relation to gendered cultures.

• 1Analyse key sites through which gender identities emerge
• 2Build methodological capacity and theoretical competency in Cultural Studies and develop the ability to communicate the ways in which understanding gender can contribute to theorising culture
• 3Make use of flexible reading strategies and writing practices in analysing the relationship between gender and culture, while also recognising the value of interdisciplinary approaches to knowledge and its significance in Cultural Studies
• 4Formulate a high-level critical analysis of the relationships between gender and culture in Cultural Studies
• 5Engage with the question of how location, race, whiteness, and nation inform hegemonic ideals and lived experiences of gendered life
• 6Develop a mastery of relevant research skills including use of the library, e-research skills, and appropriate referencing and presentation of written work with attention to intellectual honesty and a respect for ethical values.