ASOA15031U Gender and Body Dynamics. Cross-disciplinary perspectives (NB! - CLOSED FOR FURTHER REGISTRATION)

Volume 2016/2017
Education

BA/MA Elective course
Specialiseringslinje: Kultursociologi
Course package: (MSc Curriculum 2015): Knowledge, organisation and politics.

Content

The aim of this course :Gender and Body Dynamics in the 21st century is to provide a venue of exchange between international and Danish students across health, science and social sciences to learn about recent developments in the field. The focus will be on interdisciplinary approaches related to sexuality, health and  nutrition and , reproductive body technologies. In addition the course will introduce to  new  theoretical and methodological  developments in gender and body studies.  

Recent decades have witnessed an explosive development in the interface of gender and body dynamics. The variety of turns in late modern technologies and feminist knowledge production have blurred traditional boundaries between public and private and between human and non human: Who owns the body and who disposes over the different parts? And who are responsible for choices and regulations in the field of lifestyles, nutrition and reproductive technologies? What are the implications of the current ideas of gender, that have become more fluent and multiple? And how do the new understandings relocate old and new power structures and hierarchies at local, regional and global levels?

Gendered bodies are today subject of opposing strategies of deregulation and “free choice” on one hand and of radicalized body governance and interventions from the state and commercial interests on the other hand. Body discipline and purity, has become a central ideal of the current social investment strategy of the developed welfare states as expressed in fitness and anti fat and smoking campaigns. Today the body takes center stage and has become an issue for both personal and collective identities and strategies, which in many ways coincides with a search for new gender identities in late modernity.

The course will be structured around lectures/presentations of  interdisciplinary theories of gender and body and look at, how gender and body dynamics are have been and are produced in different institutional and  thematic sites  The couse consists of  7   double lecture sessions a 4 hours, focused on the following themes: Theoretical turns and key concepts among them are:  ( Beauvoir , Butler, Barad), Methodological turns and intersectionality (Harding/Haraway/Lykke),  gender and body in qualitative and quantitative methodologies across the disciplines,  thematic focus on  gender and body dynamics in medical  science and cultures, In food, pharma and fitness and, gender and body management in bio medical perspectives.

In addition to the lectures a couple of institutional  visits will be arranged: such as a visit to the Museum of Medical history, a pharma company.

 The course is part of the Gender Certificate initiative at University of Copenhagen.

See:

http://koensforskning.soc.ku.dk/gendercertificate/

 and lectures will be presented by a cross-disciplinary of faculty members from University of Copenhagen.   

Learning Outcome

KNOWLEDGE

By the end of the course students are

- familiar with central theories and methodological approaches relevant to the field of gender studies

- identify thematical issues related to gender, body technologies, strategies and identities

 

SKILLS

By the end of the course students are able to

-  apply and evaluate the use of various theoretical and  methodological approaches

- approach conceptual debates on gender and body in relevant areas

 

COMPETENCES

By the end of the course studens are able to

- analyze significant cases in Danish and global contexts

 

Printed syllabus - availiablein the CSS bookstore  

lectures, group-discussions, student presentations
This course is part of the interdisciplinary gender certificate at University of Copenhagen, see
www. koensforskning.soc.ku.dk/​gendercertificate/​

WORKLOAD
The number of lecture hours are the same for both 7,5 and 10 ECTS courses.

10 ECTS:
Lectures: 28
Course preparation: 169
Exam Preparation: 78
Total: 275
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Course Preparation
  • 100
  • Exam Preparation
  • 78
  • Lectures
  • 28
  • Total
  • 206
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment
Individual/group. Free written take-home essays are assignments for which students define and formulate a problem within the parameters of the course and based on an individual exam syllabus. The free written take-home essay must be no longer than 10 pages. For group assignments, an extra 5 pages is added per additional student. Further details for this exam form can be found in the Curriculum and in the General Guide to Examinations at KUnet.
Exam registration requirements

Sociology students must be enrolled under MSc Curriculum 2015 to take this exam.

Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
Internal examiners
Exam period

Submission dates and time will be available at KUnet, www.kunet.dk. Exchange students and danish full degree guest students please see the homepage of Sociology; http://www.soc.ku.dk/english/education/exams/ and http://www.soc.ku.dk/uddannelser/meritstuderende/eksamen/

Criteria for exam assesment

Please see the learning outcome.

Credit
10 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment
Individual/group. Free written take-home essays are assignments for which students define and formulate a problem within the parameters of the course and based on an individual exam syllabus. The free written take-home essay must be no longer than 10 pages. For group assignments, an extra 5 pages is added per additional student. Further details for this exam form can be found in the Curriculum and in the General Guide to Examinations at KUnet.
Exam registration requirements

Sociology students must be enrolled under MSc Curriculum 2005 or BSc Curriculum to take this exam.

Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
Internal examiners
Exam period

Submission dates and time will be available at KUnet, www.kunet.dk. Exchange students and danish full degree guest students please see the homepage of Sociology; http://www.soc.ku.dk/english/education/exams/ and http://www.soc.ku.dk/uddannelser/meritstuderende/eksamen/

Criteria for exam assesment

Please see the learning outcome.