Postgraduate Study in CIGS
Masters Programmes
MA Gender Studies
Gender Studies is an exciting area of research, exploring gender relations in the past, present and future. This programme draws on a variety of perspectives to analyse social and cultural phenomena through the lens of gender.
Supported by the Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Studies, 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.
Core modules in gender theory and research will lay these foundations, and you’ll build on them by choosing from a range of options on topics such as gender and development, care, gender equality in the workplace, race and sexuality. There has never been a more exciting time to study gender, and this programme will give you an insight into this vital and fascinating field.
You can read about student experiences of studying on the MA Gender Studies at Leeds on our blog, here: https://gender-studies.leeds.ac.uk/2017/05/09/my-degree-explained-gender-studies-ma/.
Research Postgraduate Programmes
We offer two kinds of research degree for postgraduate students.
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.