Postgraduate Study in CIGS

Masters Programmes

MA Gender Studies

On this interdisciplinary course you’ll explore gender relations in the past, present and future, centring marginalised perspectives. We take a transnational view, engaging with decoloniality to tackle some of the most pressing social issues of our modern lives.

You’ll gain a thorough intellectual grounding in feminist scholarship, including both the foundational and canonical texts to which contemporary feminist scholarship owes its legacy, alongside current debates and developments. We are dedicated to privileging transnational, indigenous and marginalised feminist knowledge, disrupting the narrative of dominant Western perspectives that have frequently come to define feminist scholarship..

Supported by our Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Studies, and drawing on teaching expertise from around the University, you’ll be able to explore approaches from across a range of academic disciplines. You’ll learn the principles of conducting research on gender and examine issues that both shape and are shaped by gender relations, such as family roles, reproductive technologies, citizenship, sexuality and culture.

You’ll take core modules in gender theory and research to develop your foundation of knowledge, and you’ll build on this by choosing from a range of optional modules on topics such as gendered embodiment, gender and media, racism, decoloniality and migration, and religion and sexuality. This is an exciting time to study gender, and our course will give you a thorough insight into this vital and fascinating field.

 

Research Postgraduate Programmes

We offer two kinds of research degree for postgraduate students.

• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
• MA by research

The main distinction between these three lies in the length of time devoted to earning the degrees, and in the scope of the work undertaken and the extent of the training input.

Preliminary Readings

There are no required readings prior to starting your degree, and we do not expect all of our students to have a background in gender. But for those who would like to get started on some introductory reading before the course begins, below are some useful texts that are a good place to start. There’s a mix of feminist classics and landmark contemporary texts, and we have also included some readers, which are a great way to get a flavour of a range of perspectives. Enjoy, and we’re looking forward to seeing you in October.

Ahmed, S (2004) The Cultural Politics of Emotion Edinburgh; Edinburgh University Press

Atwood, M (1987) The Handmaid’s Tale London: Virago

Bartky, Sandra Lee (1991) Femininity and Domination, London: Routledge.

Butler, J, (1999) Gender Trouble New York, London: Routledge

Connell,R (1995) Masculinities Cambridge:Polity Press

Davis, K, Evans, M and Lorber, J (eds) (2006) Handbook of Gender and Women’s Studies London: Sage

de Beauvoir, S (1997) The Second Sex London: Vintage

Evans, M. and Williams, C.H. (eds) (2012) Gender: The Key Concepts London: Routledge

Friedan, B (1965) The Feminine Mystique, Harmondsworth: Penguin.

Gill, R. and Scharff, C. (eds) New femininities: postfeminism, neoliberalism and subjectivity. Basingstoke: Palgrave.

Grosz, E. (1994) Volatile Bodies: towards a corporeal feminism, Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Hemmings, C. (2011) Why Stories Matter: The Political Grammar of Feminist Theory, Durham: Duke University Press.

Hill Collins,P (1990) Black feminist thought : knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment London : Unwin Hyman

Hochschild, A (1983) The Managed Heart: the Commercialisation of Human Feeling Berkeley: University of California Press

hooks, b (1984) Feminist Theory from Margins to Centre Boston, MA; South End Press

Jackson, S. & Scott, S. (eds) (1996) Feminism and Sexuality: A Reader, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Laqueur,T (1990) Making Sex Mass:Harvard University Press

Lorde, A. (1984) Sister Outsider, Freedom CA: The Crossing Press

Martin, E (1989) The Woman in the Body: A Cultural Analysis of Reproduction Milton Keynes: Open University Press

McClintock, A. (1995). Imperial Leather: Race, Gender and Sexuality in the Colonial Contest, London : Routledge.

Mohanty, CT (2003) Feminism Without Borders Duke University Press

Nicolson,L (ed) (1990) Feminism/Postmodernism New York:Routledge

Okin,SM (1999) Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press

O’Neill, M (2001) Prostitution and Feminism Cambridge: Polity Press

Piercy, M. (1979) Woman on the Edge of Time, London: The Woman’s Press.

Skeggs, B. (1997) Formations of Class and Gender: Becoming Respectable London: Sage

Stryker, S. and Whittle, S. (2007) The Transgender Studies Reader, New York and Abingdon: Routledge

Tyler, I (2013) Revolting Subjects London: Zed Books

Young, I.M. (2005) On Female Body Experience: “Throwing like a girl” and other essays Oxford: Oxford University Press.