| Unit name | Repressed or Risque?: Victorian Sex and Sexuality (Level H Special Subject) |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HIST30024 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Victoria Bates |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Since the work of theorist Michel Foucault, historians have extensively debated the apparent ‘double standard’ and sexual repression (or lack thereof) of Victorian men and women. This special subject will pay attention to such debates, with particular attention to questions around whether we can treat ‘the Victorians’ as a homogeneous category. We will examine how (expected) Victorian sexual behaviour differed according to class, race, age and gender. The unit will also consider how best to approach sexuality as a historical concept, in the light of recent scholarly emphasis that sexuality is a socially-constructed notion rather than a ‘natural’ one. In order to address these key themes the unit will address a number of important topics relating to sex and sexuality in Victorian Britain, including homosexuality/heterosexuality, sexual consent, the medicalisation of sex, sex education and prostitution.
On successful completion of this unit students will have developed: 1. an in-depth and detailed knowledge and understanding of the nature and development of Victorian sexuality and its impact both during and after this period. 2. the ability to work at an advanced level with primary sources; 3. the ability to integrate both primary and secondary source material into a wider historical analysis; 4. the ability to learn independently within a small-group context; 5. a deeper awareness of how to approach a long term historical analysis; 6. the ability to select pertinent evidence/data in order to illustrate/demonstrate more general historical points; 7. the ability to derive benefit from and contribute effectively to group discussion; 8. the ability to identify a particular academic interpretation, evaluate it critically and form an individual viewpoint; 9. the acquisition of advanced writing, research, and presentation skills.
Seminars - 3 hours per week
3,500 word essay (50%) 2-hour unseen written exam (50%)
Both the essay and exam will assess ILOs 1-9 by assessing the students’ understanding of the unit’s key themes, the related historiography as developed during their reading and participation in / learning from small group seminars, and relevant primary sources.
Baccalossi, C., and Crozier, I. (eds), A Cultural History of Sexuality in the Age of Empire (Berg, 2011).
Bartley, Paula, Prostitution and Reform in England, 1860-1914 (London: Routledge, 2000).
Foucault, Michel, The History of Sexuality, Vol. 1. An Introduction, trans. Richard Hurley (New York: Pantheon, 1978).
Houlbrook, M. and Cocks, H. G., Palgrave Advances in the Modern History of Sexuality (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005).
Mason, M., The Making of Victorian Sexuality (OUP, 1995).
Toulalan, S. and Fisher, K. (eds), The Routledge History of Sex and the Body, 1500 to the Present (Palgrave MacMillan, 2011).
