SOCI3054 Sexualities: Identities, Power and Resistance

How do ideas about sexuality, intimacy and the body, and their enactment in personal, social and political arenas, shape our personal identities and our place in the world? This topic draws from the interdisciplinary field of sexuality studies, sociological and historical approaches, perspectives developed by feminisms and GLBT movements and, more recently, queer theory. Twenty-first century case studies, drawn from Australian and global contexts, may include sex work, disability, moral panics about children and sexuality, abortion and reproductive rights, violence, and the impact of neoliberal ideology on the politics of sexuality. The topic looks for inspiration from non-mainstream representations of sexuality, including from independent Australian film.

This topic aims to:

• Equip students with an ethical vocabulary that embodies respect for sexual diversity and sexual rights and enables understanding and communicating about sexuality issues
• Offer students the opportunity to consider how ideas about, and practices of, sexuality have changed over time to shape their personal lives and the world around them
• Enable students to develop facility with key theorists of sexuality, intimacy and the body and critically reflect on contemporary debates and case studies
• Foster independent critical thinking about sexuality as well respectful collaborative endeavours to discuss problems and formulate solutions

1. Assess various social, political and cultural arenas where ideas about and practices of sexuality play a crucial role
2. Compare a range of current theories about sexuality
3. Evaluate some current public debates about sexuality and how related axes of difference and power are at stake
4. Determine some of the ways in which their own lives are shaped by ideas about sexuality through critical reflection
5. Discuss the politics of sexuality ethically and respectfully with peers and others