Performance, Gender and Sexuality

Assessment: essay (4000 words) [80%], coursework portfolio [20%]
This module will provide an opportunity for students to consider in detail contemporary theories of sexuality and gender. Theoretical frameworks may include post-structuralist feminism, queer studies, transgender studies and men?s studies. The work of Judith Butler is likely to inform an understanding of how gender roles can be understood to be ?performative? and ?performed? although the chosen case studies will primarily determine appropriate reading strategies. Students will undertake detailed reading of contemporary critical theory and consider the relevance of its application in relation to the designated case studies, an approach which necessitates close supervision of independent research. Case studies may include artists such as Deborah Levy, Tim Miller, Karen Finley, Helen Paris, Richard Maxwell, Robert Lepage, Kwame Kwei-Armah, Kate Bornstein and Luke Sutherland.