Module Catalogue 2024/25

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

From #BlackLivesMatter and decolonisation to LGBTQ+ and reproductive rights, many of today's most globally prominent social movements and political debates concern race and sex. Often, scholarly analysis of these topics is constrained either by treating race and sex separately or by focusing on a narrow geopolitical context.

This module therefore aims to understand the social and political intersections of race and sex within a global frame. How do particular configurations of race and sex travel beyond local contexts? How are they reconfigured in the process? Conversely, how are 'globalized' formations of race and sex refracted and reframed in different local contexts? And how is the socio-political space we understand as 'the global' produced by racialised and sexualised processes, both historical and contemporary? These are some of the guiding questions for the module.

The module has three objectives:
(1) To analyse the racialised and sexualised dynamics of the global division of productive and reproductive labour, the uneven distribution of life and death, and the enduring effects of colonial histories;
(2) To explore different theoretical frameworks for conceptualising the intersections between race and sex in the global present;
(3) To evaluate the extent to which contemporary socio-political movements (e.g., #BlackLivesMatter, decolonisation, LGBTQ+ rights, 'national conservatism') reproduce and/or resist globally hegemonic formations of race and sex.

Outline Of Syllabus

The module will begin by providing a transdisciplinary introduction to the central terms of the module ('Race,' 'Sex,' 'Global').

The remainder of the module will take a 'keywords' approach, with each session devoted to a key conceptual term through which diverse scholars have analysed sex, race, and their intersections in a global frame. Keywords that might be covered include a selection of the following: Slavery, Coloniality, Settler Colonisation, Empire, (Inter-, Trans-) Nationalism, Capital, Biopower, Security, Population, Human (-ism, -itarianism), War, Tourism, Gender.

Please note that keywords, contexts, and texts covered in the module will depend on teaching team and will be responsive to current debates and events.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

(1) Explain a diverse range of key critical approaches to 'sex,' 'race,' and 'the global' from across sociology, politics, and geography.

(2) Demonstrate how racialised and sexualised concepts, identities, social formations, political movements, and structures of power are mutually (re)configured in local and global contexts.

(3) Analyse the relevance of race, sex, and their intersections to the making of the modern, globalised world.

(4) Evaluate the degree to which contemporary socio-political debates and struggles resist and/or reproduce globally hegemonic dynamics of race and sex

(5) Imagine alternatives to the globally hegemonic dynamics of race and sex in theory and praxis.

Intended Skill Outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

(1) Undertake critical reading of scholarly texts.

(2) Identify relevant objects of sociological analysis, select appropriate critical frameworks, and apply them.

(3) Express complex ideas clearly and accurately, in both written and oral communication.

(4) Carry out topic-oriented research using both library and IT resources.

(5) Demonstrate independence in research and learning.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Teaching methods are designed to give students theoretical, historical, and contextual input as well as to support their independent learning.

Each 2-hour small group session will include a lecture on that week's keyword followed by student-facilitated discussion orientated around key text(s).

Additionally, two 1-hour workshops will support students in preparing their assessments.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

For assessment, students will be required to identify a relevant case study and analyse it using the conceptual resources of the module. They will present their case study research in a 4000-word essay that applies their chosen critical approach(es) to their selected case. The assessment develops skills in identifying relevant objects of sociological analysis, evaluating and selecting theoretical frameworks, applying module concepts to "real world" cases, developing research independence, and structuring arguments. It will also assess skills in scholarly written communication, including strucutre, clarity, editing, and referencing.

As a formative assessment, students will submit a 500-word proposal that gives a brief overview of their chosen case, indicates which theoretical framework(s) they intend to use, and offers initial thoughts on how the framework will be applied. The module leader will provide feedback on the proposal.

General Notes

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