Sex, Gender and Language (LIN 7019): Module Outline and Readings Module Organiser Dr Erez Levon Room: Email: Phone: Arts 1.20 e.levon@qmul.ac.uk (020) 7882 8435 Assessment (i) Critical Essay: 1600 words; due 4p on 04 Mar (week 8); 40% of final mark (ii) Research Project: 2400 words; due 4p on 27 Apr; 60% of final mark All students must ensure that they obtain a copy of the School Handbook for MA students and follow the School's guidelines and regulations in all matters regarding this module. Students must note that failure to do so may result in de‐registration from the module, which may have a significant impact on their overall degree classification. Module Attendance & Readings Students are expected to complete all reading for the co‐requisite module (LIN602) as well as the additional readings listed below. All readings are available on QMPlus. Attendance at lectures of the co‐requisite module are a compulsory portion of this module. Lecture Programme Week 1 (15 Jan) Introduction: Language and sexual politics Week 2 (22 Jan) From deficit to dominance: The feminist turn Week 3 (29 Jan) Gender differences: Single‐sex interactions Week 4 (05 Feb) Gender differences: Mixed‐sex interactions Week 5 (12 Feb) Post‐feminism and the Difference model Week 6 (19 Feb) Does gender matter? Communities of Practice Week 7 READING WEEK Week 8 (05 Mar) Material worlds: Gender and economies of power Week 9 (12 Mar) Gender performativity and linguistic indexicality Week 10 (19 Mar) The unexamined self: Language and masculinity Week 11 (26 Mar) Discursive selves: Perceiving gender and sexuality Week 12 (02 Apr) Intersections: Gender, sexuality and ethnicity Weekly reading listed below. Please read before class meetings. Office Hours: Wed 1‐2, Thurs 2‐3 and by appointment Module Details Department: Linguistics Corequisites: LIN602 Level: 7 Semester: I Credits: 15 Meeting Times: In this module, we explore the development of feminist and queer theoretic conceptualizations of identity and how these conceptualizations relate to language. Drawing on foundational texts in philosophy, literary theory, sociology and cultural studies in addition to linguistics, we interrogate the position of women and men in society through the prism of linguistic practice, and work to develop a holistic account of the ways in which individual speakers negotiate social and ideological pressures in their construction and presentations of gendered and sexual selves. Students will gain hands‐on experience in conducting original research on a sex‐ and/or gender‐related topic, and special emphasis will be placed on linking academic research in this area to finding solutions for the real‐world problems that women and men may face. This module will: ‐ enable students to develop an advanced critical understanding of feminist and queer theoretic theories of identity ‐ provide students with an advanced understanding of the descriptive and analytical claims that have been made regarding women's and men's linguistic practice and to enable them to critique these claims from an informed theoretical and empirical perspective ‐ enable students to conduct high‐level original research on a topic related to language and sex/gender/sexuality 1
Week 1: Introduction Mills, S & L Mullany (2011) Theorising gender and Feminist linguistic approaches. In Language, gender and feminism. London: Routledge, 40‐91. Rubin, G (1993[1984]) Thinking sex: Notes for a radical theory of the politics of sexuality. In Abelove, H, M Barale & D Halperin, eds. The lesbian and gay studies reader. London: Routledge, 3‐44. Week 2: From deficit to dominance Bucholtz, M, ed. (2004) Language and women’s place: Text and commentaries (p. 129‐149):  McElhinny – “Radical feminist” as label, libel and laudatory chant: The politics of theoretical taxonomies in feminist linguistics  McConnell‐Ginet – Positioning ideas and gendered subjects: “Women’s language” revisited  Livia – Language and women’s place: Picking up the gauntlet Whehelan, I (1995) Introduction. In Modern feminist thought. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1‐22. Butler, J (1990) Subjects of sex/gender/desire. In Gender trouble: Feminism and the subversion of identity. London: Routledge, 3‐44. Week 3: Gender differences I Rich, A (1993[1980]) Compulsory heterosexuality and lesbian existence. In Abelove, H, M Barale & D Halperin, eds. The lesbian and gay studies reader. London: Routledge, 227‐254. Butler, Judith (1993[1989]) Imitation and gender insubordination. In Abelove, H, M Barale & D Halperin, eds. The lesbian and gay studies reader. London: Routledge, 307‐320. Week 4: Gender differences II Kulick, D (2003) No. Language and Communication 23: 139‐51. de Lauretis, Teresa (1997) The violence of rhetoric: On representation and gender. In Lancaster, R & M di Leonardo, eds. The gender/sexuality reader. London: Routledge, 265‐278. Week 5: Post‐feminism and the Difference model Fraser, N (2009) Feminism, capitalism and the cunning of history. New Left Review 56: 97‐17. Whehelan, I (1995) Identity crisis: ‘Post‐feminism’, the media and ‘feminist superstars’. In Modern feminist thought, 216‐37. Week 6: Does gender matter? Hebdige, D (1979) Subculture: The meaning of style (pp. 73‐140) Week 8: Material worlds Abu‐Lughod, L (1990) The romance of resistance: Tracing transformations of power through Bedouin women. American Ethnologist 17: 41‐55. Bourdieu, P (1991) Price formation and the anticipation of profits. In Language and symbolic power. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 66‐89. Week 9: Gender performativity and linguistic indexicality Derrida, J (1988) Signature event context. In Limited, Inc. Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1‐23. Week 10: The unexamined self Kiesling, S (2004) What does a focus on “men’s language” tell us about Language and women’s place? In Bucholtz, M, ed. Language and women’s place: Text and commentaries. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 229‐236. Christensen, Ann‐Dorte & Jensen, Sune Qvotrup (2014). Combining hegemonic masculinity and intersectionality. NORMA: International Journal for Masculinity Studies, 9(1), p.60–75. Week 11: Discursive selves Levon, Erez (2012) The voice of others: Identity, alterity and gender normativity among gay men in Israel. Language in Society 41: 187‐211. Valentine, D (2003) “I went to bed with my own kind once”: The erasure of desire in the name of identity. Language and Communication 23: 123‐38. 2
Week 12: Intersections Crenshaw, Kimberlé (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A Black Feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum 1989: 139‐167. Yuval‐David, N (2011) Introduction: Framing the questions. In The politics of belonging: Intersectional contestations. London: Sage, 1‐45. 3