| Unit name | Queer Lives |
|---|---|
| Unit code | MODLM0070 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Connor Doak |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None. |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None. |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None. |
| School/department | School of Modern Languages |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important?
Human sexuality is everywhere, yet remains strangely elusive. In this unit, we explore sexuality not simply as biology, desire, or act, but as a story that is fundamental to our lives, our identities, and our sense of self. We focus particularly on ‘queer lives’, which we understand in broad terms as those whose sexuality and/or gender identity runs counter to the norms of their society and their times.
We explore how queer lives are constructed through life-writing, while also considering film and visual art. We will look at a variety of queer texts from various cultures and periods, tracing the differences as well as the continuities across cultures and history. You will become acquainted with the development of ‘queer studies’ as an interdisciplinary academic field, its methodologies, and the critical debates at its heart.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
For students in the Comparative Literatures & Cultures programme, this optional unit allows you to explore queer sexualities in comparative, transnational, and transmedial context. We will consider how sexuality travels across national and cultural boundaries and how constructions of sexuality vary across place and time. The unit will develop, and make use of, your skill set in critical analysis, as well as providing methodological training specifically in relation to sexuality. The unit will also provide training in academic writing through a scaffolded approach.
For students in other Faculty of Arts programmes, this unit provides a rare opportunity to explore queer sexualities outside of the Anglophone context. You will encounter a selection of writers, texts and films who are likely to be new to you. All texts will be available in English translation. You will also ask to what extent conceptions of sexuality and methodological approaches from Western Europe and North America can be applied, challenged and renegotiated across cultures in a global context.
An overview of content:
In this unit, we will meet authors, filmmakers, and artists from across the LBGTQ+ spectrum. We will ask whether we can identify particularly ‘queer’ modes of life-writing, filmmaking, or visual art, and what makes a work of art queer. We will begin by looking critically at the emergence of (pseudo-)scientific and medical discourse around sexuality in the nineteenth century, as well as examples of the ‘classic’ coming-out narrative that emerged at the beginning of the twentieth century in various European settings. However, we will also explore alternative framings of queer sexualities, including those outside Europe, and consider how queer lives have been imagined, reimagined, adapted, and transformed across the world. We will map how queer stories and concepts ‘travel’ across space and time, from one cultural context to another, exploring both the variation and the continuities in queer self-expression. We will chart the disciplinary history of the field from its emergence as ‘gay and lesbian studies’ in the 1970s to the rise of ‘queer theory’ in the 1990s and the challenges to that paradigm in recent decades.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit:
Sexuality is a fundamental aspect of what it means to be human. Many of us struggle with questions of sexual identity throughout our lives. At times, our sexuality is empowering; at other times, it can feel like an incarceration! Opting to take this unit will provide you with an opportunity to learn about how others have navigated their own sexual identity, and it is likely that you will learn something about yourself and those around you, too, along the way.
The unit includes a focus on developing your writing skills. Throughout the unit, you will keep a journal of short responses to everything that you read. This journal will be open to the rest of the class and the instructors, and we will provide regular feedback on both the content of your work and your writing. At the end of the unit, there will be a chance to write a more in-depth essay on the themes of the unit.
Learning Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of the unit, students will be able to:
Each week, you will have a two-hour class. Typically, the first half will take the form of a lecture, and the second half will be a more interactive discussion. Some sessions will also be devoted to workshops.
Lectures: Lectures equip you with foundational subject knowledge. Far from being a passive mode of learning, lectures help you build critical analysis and evidence-gathering skills by modelling critical interpretation, outlining methodologies and their underlying assumptions, and posing key questions related to the discipline.
Discussion: Discussions or seminars are a student-centred mode of learning. In pairs or small groups, you will discuss key questions about set texts and critical concepts. You will develop, share and defend your own arguments.
Workshop: Workshops are dedicated to a specific skill, such as academic writing or textual analysis. Workshops are held occasionally in place of the discussion or seminar class, usually in advance of assessment.
Beyond the classroom, you will devote much time to primary and secondary reading, essential in the arts and humanities. You should anticipate reading in a number of different media: scholarly books, book sections, journal articles, as well as a wide variety of primary sources (autobiography, biography, fiction, film, visual art, etc.). Reading is sometimes misunderstood as a ‘passive’ activity, but engaged reading is an active process, as you will not only be expanding your subject knowledge, but also developing your sense of empathy and judgement.
In total, you will have 22 hours of class teaching and 178 hours of independent learning.
Tasks that count towards your unit mark (summative):
1 x 2500-word journal (40%) (ILOs 1,2)
1 x 2500-word essay (60%) (ILOs 3,4)
When assessment does not go to plan
When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the form or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are normally confirmed by the School shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the academic year.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. MODLM0070).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
