Gender at Work
| Module title | Gender at Work |
|---|---|
| Module code | SOCM030 |
| Academic year | 2020/1 |
| Credits | 30 |
| Module staff | Barbara Jane Elliott (Lecturer) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 15 |
|---|
Module description
This module will explore the ways in which gender identities are established and maintained in British Society. There will be a specific focus on the interplay between gender, employment and organizations and on social change over the past five decades. The module is suitable even if you are a non-specialist students, and you are following an interdisciplinary pathway. It will draw on readings from social psychology, sociology, feminist and queer theory, history, and cultural studies. There are no formal pre-requisites although you will be expected to have graduate level experience of reading and summarizing key arguments from a range of academic sources. The module will provide you with an opportunity to work collaboratively with other students and to gain experience of writing and editing a blog as well as more formal academic writing.
Module aims - intentions of the module
The aim of this module is to provide you with a thorough introduction to how theorizing about gender has developed over the past five decades. The focus is on how gender is constructed and performed in everyday life, in domestic and employment settings. The module will include detailed appraisal of a wide range of empirical research in order to demonstrate its utility in the development or testing of theoretical approaches. The module aims to encourage you to reflect on your own practices and experiences within a society structured and inscribed by gender.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. demonstrate in writing and orally a thorough understanding of the key conceptual debates on gender and sexuality and their applicability to the structure of, and practices within, the domestic sphere, work and organizations
- 2. demonstrate in writing an appreciation of the contribution of different disciplinary perspectives to the understanding of the gendered nature of work
- 3. interpret your lived experience of the social world informed by an appreciation of gender as a socially constructed category and by engagement with the testimony of others with a range of subject positions
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 4. demonstrate in writing and orally a well-developed capacity to understand and evaluate theories and arguments in the social sciences
- 5. demonstrate in writing and orally an understanding of the role and importance of different forms of empirical work to explore the value of theories in the social sciences
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 6. write clearly, succinctly and persuasively for a general audience
- 7. work collaboratively, providing constructive feedback for a peer
- 8. present complex information to a small group of peers with confidence and clarity
- 9. develop an appreciation of potential use and misuse of social media to generate debate on gender inequalities
Syllabus plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:
Sex and gender: moving beyond binary oppositions; growing up gendered; doing and constructing gender; fertility and employment; deindustrialization and the decline of the male breadwinner; the gender division of labour (‘boys’ jobs’ and ‘girls’ jobs’); gender, organizations and bureaucracy; writing and performing gender; consumption and gender
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 278 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled learning and teaching time | 22 | 11 x 2 hour seminars |
| Guided independent study | 8 | Individual preparation for presentation at seminar |
| Guided independent study | 110 | Independent reading for seminars |
| Guided independent study | 130 | Essay preparation |
| Guided independent study in collaboration with peers | 30 | Blog writing and editing |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Draft of blog post | 750 words | 6,7 | Written comments from peer |
| Providing comments on a blog post | Detailed comments on 750 word blog | 7,9 | Oral feedback from peer |
| Presentation to peers | 20 minute individual presentation | 1,4,5,8 | Written feedback from module leader |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blog writing and editing | 20 | 750 word blog post | 3,6,7,9 | Written |
| Essay | 80 | 6,000 word essay | 1,2,4,5 | Written |
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blog Writing | Blog writing (750) | 3,6,9 | August/September reassessment period |
| Essay | Essay (6,000 words) | 1,2,4,5 | August/September reassessment period |
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Basic reading:
Butler, J. (1990) Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. Routledge.
Connell, R.W (1995) Masculinities. Polity: Cambridge.
Crompton R. (1999) Restructuring gender Relations and Employment: The decline of the male breadwinner. Oxford: OUP.
Crow G. and Ellis J. (2017) Revisiting Divisions of Labour: The Impacts and Legacies of a Modern Sociological Classic. Manchester; Manchester University Press.
Glucksman M. (2016) Completing and Complementing: The Work of Consumers in the Division of Labour. Sociology, Vol 50(5) 878-895.
Halford, S. Savage, M. Witz, A. (1997) Gender, Careers and Organizations: Current developments in Banking Nursing, and Local Government. Macmillan: Houndmills.
McCarthy, H. (2016) ‘Social science and married women’s employment in post-war Britain’, Past & Present 233: 269-305
Miller, D. (1998) A Theory of Shopping. Polity press: Cambridge.
Oakley, A. (1974) Housewife. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Offer, A. (2008), ‘British Manual Workers: From Producers to Consumers, c.1950-2000’, Contemporary British History, 22, 4: 537-71
- Padios, J. (2017) Mining the mind: emotional extraction, productivity, and predictability in the twenty-first century. Cultural Studies 31 p 205-231.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09502386.2017.1303426
Scott, J. Dex, S. and Pagnol A (eds) (2012) Gendered Lives: Gender Inequalities in Production and reproduction. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Serano, J. (2016) Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity. Seal Press.
Siltanen J. (1994) Locating Gender: Occupational Segregation, Wages and Domestic Responsibilities. UCL Press: London.
West, C. and Zimmerman D.H. (1987) Doing Gender. Gender and Society, Vol. 1, No. 2. pp. 125-151
http://www.socresonline.org.uk/14/2/10.html: Crow et al short article revisiting Pahl’s work (2009) situated in the recession.
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
Exemplar blogs:
Prof Athene Donald’s blog
http://occamstypewriter.org/athenedonald/
LSE Impact blog
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/
University of Exeter
Humanities Blog
http://blogs.exeter.ac.uk/humanities/
| Credit value | 30 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 15 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 7 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 19/06/2017 |
