Master of Arts Integrated Studies (MAIS) 628

Introduction

MAIS 628: Gender and Sexuality is a graduate course in which you will explore issues in gender and sexuality from three angles:

Part I: The Social History of Gender and Sexuality Inspired by the thinking of Michel Foucault, this part of the course will explore the development in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Europe and North America of a dominant discourse on sexuality. You will concentrate on the emergence in modern times of the middle class as a dominant class and the formation within that class of a distinct orientation toward questions of sexuality. You will examine the use of a number of oppositions such as masculine/feminine, heterosexuality/homosexuality, home/street, purity/corruption, and the attempt by leaders of the middle class to regulate sexuality through the use of these oppositions. Along with attempts to regulate and discipline sexuality come forms of resistance, and you will explore some key sites of resistance to regulations, both in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Part II: Identity Construction and Psychoanalysis Taking the work of Sigmund Freud as a basis, this part of the course will explore the way in which psychoanalysis mediates between, on the one hand, a theory of natural instincts devoted to a conception of instinctual determinism, and, on the other hand, a theory of social construction devoted to a conception of social determinism. Sociologists often speak of the internalisation of norms, or socialization. You will investigate the issue of gender and sexual socialization in psychoanalytic terms, through the concept of the unconscious sexual drive. You will come to understand how, in psychoanalysis, the sexual drive is not the instinct as a fixed instinctual force, nor the determinate social norm, but is bound up with an unconscious language. Through the work of Freud, Melanie Klein, Donald Winnicott, Jacques Lacan, Julia Kristeva, Luce Irigaray, and others, you will be able to explore various conceptualisations of this notion of unconscious sexuality, in the hope of grounding some of the developments presented in Part I of the course in terms of the psyche.

Part III: Queer Theory Through the work of Judith Butler, this part of the course will follow the formation, in the 1990s, of a queer theory that challenges the grounding of gender and sexuality in identity categories. You will examine the argument that identity categories such as "feminist" or "gay" can become regulatory fictions that can reproduce dominant relations of sexuality. You will explore Butler's contention that gender is a performative effect of reiterative practices-that is, that gender is performatively constituted by the very expressions said to be its results. As well, you will examine Butler's idea of mimicry, the celebration of a subversive repetition of the norm where deliberate confusion or even failures to properly repeat the norm call the norm into question. Finally, you will look at the reception of Butler's ideas by the gay and lesbian movement and especially by scholars within gay and lesbian studies who have found the notion of identity useful. This part of the course will, in a sense, try to queer the social-historical themes of Part I and the psychoanalytic themes of Part II, viewing gender and sexuality from the perspective of the alternative.

Course Objectives

Objectives of this course are:

1. To guide students in a close reading of the some of the key theorists on gender and sexuality
2. To enter into vigorous discussions on the significance of these theorists' ideas for our understanding of gender and sexuality
3. To have students write critically rigorous essays on some of the four theorists’ main ideas

Student Evaluation

Please be prepared to devote the time necessary to completing the various activities in this course: reading actively and critically; writing succinct, critical answers to study questions and student postings; researching and writing academic papers that are both critical and integrative. To help you develop these skills, your course professor will provide feedback on each activity.

You will be assessed on your participation in the online discussions and on three essays. Additional details about the online activities and about completing the written assignments can be found in the "Assignment File" section of the Course Guide.

To receive credit for this course, students must participate in the online activities, successfully complete the assignments, and achieve a final mark of at least 60 per cent. The Master of Arts-Integrated Studies grading system is available online at the MAIS home page. Please note that it is students' responsibility to maintain their program status. Any student who receives a grade of "F" in one course, or a grade of "C" in more than one course, may be required to withdraw from the program.

The following table summarizes the activities on which you will be evaluated and their credit weights.