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for a past academic year. Please see the current academic year for up to date information.
| Unit name |
Law Gender and Sexuality |
| Unit code |
LAWDM0033 |
| Credit points |
30 |
| Level of study |
M/7
|
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
|
| Unit director |
Dr. Katie Cruz |
| Open unit status |
Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None
|
| Co-requisites |
None
|
| School/department |
University of Bristol Law School |
| Faculty |
Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Description including Unit Aims
This unit will consider the following: feminist and masculinities theories as well as theories of sexuality as they relate to law. Other topics vary from year to year but can, for example, include: female suffrage campaigns; regulating the body; family law; reproduction; human rights; pornography; employment; legal reasoning; male violence).).
Intended Learning Outcomes
By the end of this unit a successful student will be able to:
- Explain the basic theories of gender and sexuality
- Explain the application of these theories to specific topic areas studied
- Explain the relevance of these theories to legal studies
- Critically assess feminist and queer theories through comparison and develop your own opinion on the relative strengths/weaknesses of each theory
- Critically assess the relevance of feminist and queer theories to the law, including how they help us understand the constitution and effects of the law, whether they highlight potential solutions to problems with current law and social policy, and what they tell us about the usefulness or otherwise of law reform
Teaching Information
Teaching will be delivered through a variety of asynchronous and synchronous activities
Assessment Information
2 x summative assessments: 2x coursework with a specified word count (50% each)
The assessment will assess all of the intended learning outcomes for this unit.
Reading and References
- Catharine A. MacKinnon, Towards a Feminist Theory of the State (Harvard University Press 1989)
- Nancy Holmstrom (ed), The Socialist Feminist Project: A Contemporary Reader in Theory and Politics (Monthly Review Press 2002)
- Sandra Harding (ed), The Feminist Standpoint Theory Reader: Intellectual and Political Controversies (Routledge 2004)
- Carol Smart Feminism and the Power of Law (Routledge, 1989)
- Rosemary Hunter, Claire McGlynn and Erika Rackley (eds) Feminist Judgements: From Theory to Practice (Hart, 2010)
- Kimberlé Crenshaw, ‘Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics’. University of Chicago Legal Forum (1989): 139.
- Judith Butler Gender Trouble (Routledge, 1990)
- Joanne Conaghan Law and Gender (OUP, 2013)
- Joanne Conaghan and Yvette Russell ‘Rape myths, law, and feminist research: "myths about myths"?’ Feminist Legal Studies (2014) 22(1): 25-48.
