Gender and Sexuality Studies

Semester 2 · 51112 · Bachelor in Social Work · 4CP · EN

The course explores how gender and sexuality are defined, perceived, and negotiated and how categories of gender and sexuality inform and shape our understanding of the world.
We will also explore the origins and forms of women's oppression, and the meanings and social implications of patriarchy and gender-based violence. We will also look at how gender and sexuality intersect with other categories such as race, class and ethnicity through a decolonial lens, and examine how discourses of gender and sexuality are linked to power and inequality applying an intersectional perspective. Finally, we will explore studies and approaches to gender and sexuality in the field of social work.

Lecturers: Marina Della Rocca

Teaching Hours: 30
Lab Hours: 0
Mandatory Attendance: In accordance with the regulation

Course Topics
The course is divided into three parts. The first part focuses on the most prominent theories in the fields of gender and sexuality, as well as on understanding the social construction of women’s oppression and gender-based violence. The second part considers these issues from an intersectional perspective, exploring how different forms of oppression interact with each other in relation to gender and sexuality. The third part examines social work's approach to issues related to gender and sexuality, including the discrimination and violence that arise from them. The course concludes exploring some narratives of women and LGBTQ+ individuals that address various forms of oppression. Throughout the course, writing and reflection activities related to the topics discussed are provided, along with supplementary materials for further exploration.

Propaedeutic courses
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Teaching format
The optional course takes place online in a synchronous mode.

Educational objectives
This is an introductory course that aims to provide a general overview and insight into scientific content on gender and sexuality. Specifically, it focuses on how issues related to gender, and sexuality shape social behaviors, influencing our perceptions of the self and others, and impacting lived experiences. By the end of the course, students will have acquired the tools to navigate the spectrum of gender and sexuality and have an overview of their application in the studies of social work. Following the Dublin Descriptors, the learning outcomes are the following: Knowledge and Understanding: Demonstrate a broad understanding of the various tools and approaches for analysing gender, sex, and sexuality; develop a critical understanding of the intersections between gender and sexuality with race, class, and ethnicity; gain a deep comprehension of both feminist and queer perspectives on the social and cultural construction of gender, sex, and sexuality; develop a critical understanding of intersectionality and adopt a decolonial perspective on issues related to gender, sexuality and gender-based violence; acquire a fundamental understanding of the social work approach to addressing the oppression of women and discrimination against LGBTQI+ individuals. Applying knowledge and understanding: To examine the implications of gender and sexuality in relation to the oppression of women, gender-based violence, and heteronormativity, as well as their intersections with race, class, and ethnicity. The course will explore societal and institutional systems of power, privilege, oppression, and marginalization. Students will be required to demonstrate their ability to apply the knowledge gained from the theoretical perspectives presented during the course to issues related to the oppression of women and LGBTIQ+ people, and to understand the implications for social work. Making judgments: To develop consciousness about the gendered construction of the self and the others through a deepened understanding of how social, cultural, and biological categories shape our lives and our understandings of the world; students need to demonstrate a critical view of what they have learned and show the ability to think differently on the topics of gender and sexuality. Communication skills: To cultivate a language framework for thoughtfully articulating the critical vocabulary in the field of gender, sexuality, and feminist studies; students need to articulate in a clear, understandable, and linear way all the knowledge they have acquired, using the specific vocabulary of the discipline appropriately. Learning skills: To understand and be able to use the feminist and intersectional perspectives as tools for self-reflection, as well as frameworks for discussing and comprehending narratives related to the experiences of oppressed women, survivors of gender-based discrimination and violence, and the discriminations faced by LGBTQI+ people. Students are expected to make critical and relevant use of the concepts learned, applying appropriate categories for analyzing specific social phenomena related to gender and sexuality

Assessment
Written and Oral Written Exam: For attending students: a written essay (3.000 words) The date of delivery will be set during the course.For non-attending students: a written essay (5.000 words). The date of delivery will be set during the course. Oral exam: For attending and non-attending students: the final oral exam consists of a discussion about the written essay, the course contents and the selected bibliography. Non-attending students are advised to contact the teacher. Attending students who participate actively in discussions will receive extra credit in the final evaluation. It will be assessed the capacity to express and argue an opinion utilizing appropriate course instruments, and the accuracy of their contributions.

Evaluation criteria
Written exam 70%. Relevant to the essay is the ability to argue and describe the phenomena analyzed, logical structure, accuracy, and ability to reflect and to think critically. Oral Exam 30%. Relevant for the oral exam is the ability to argue and to summarize in one’s own words, reflection, and critical analysis skills.

Required readings

Attending students:

1. Select one of the following articles:

· Butler, J. (2015). Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. Pp. 8-22 (Chapter 1, Sections II, III, IV)

· Ortner, S. B. (2022). Patriarchy. Feminist Anthropology, 3(2), 307–314.

2. Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241-1299 (from p. 1241 to p. 1265)

3. Select one of the following articles:

· Collins C.C. (2011). Child welfare and domestic violence worker’s cultural models of domestic Violence: an ethnographic examination. In J. Wies, H.J. Haldane (eds.), Anthropology at the front lines of gender-based violence (pp. 107-128). Vanderbilt University Press.

· Monaco, S. (2022). Different in Diversity: An Intersectional Reading of LGBT Parenting. Culture e Studi del Sociale, vol. 7(2), 234-252.

· Youdell, D. (2005). Sex–gender–sexuality: How sex, gender and sexuality constellations are constituted in secondary schools. Gender and Education, 17(3), 249–270.

4. Select one of the following readings:

· Fazlalizadeh, T. (2019). Introduction. In T. Fazlalizadeh, Stop Telling Women to Smile. Stories of Street Harassment and How We’re taking Back Our Power (pp. VII-XXIII), New York: Seal Press.

· Lamia H. (2023). Allah, In Hijab butch blues: A memoir (pp. 52-65). Random House Publishing Group.

Non attending students:

1. Butler, J. (2015). Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. Pp. 8-22.

2.Ortner, S. B. (2022). Patriarchy. Feminist Anthropology, 3(2), 307–314.

3.Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241-1299. https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039 (from p. 1241 to p. 1265)

4. Nothdurfter, U., & Nagy, A. (2017). Yet another minority issue or good news for all? Approaching LGBT issues in European social work education. European Journal of Social Work, 20(3), 374–386.

5. Select one of the following articles:

· Collins C.C. (2011). Child welfare and domestic violence worker’s cultural models of domestic violence: an ethnographic examination. In J. Wies, H.J. Haldane (eds.), Anthropology at the front lines of gender-based violence (pp. 107-128). Vanderbilt University Press.

· Monaco, S. (2022). Different in Diversity: An Intersectional Reading of LGBT Parenting. Culture e Studi del Sociale, vol. 7(2), 234-252.

- Youdell, D. (2005). Sex–gender–sexuality: How sex, gender and sexuality constellations are constituted in secondary schools. Gender and Education, 17(3), 249–270.

6. Select one of the following readings:

Fazlalizadeh, T. (2019). Introduction. In T. Fazlalizadeh, Stop Telling Women to Smile. Stories of Street Harassment and How We’re taking Back Our Power (pp. VII-XXIII), New York: Seal Press.

· Lamia H. (2023). Allah, In Hijab butch blues: A memoir (pp. 52-65). Random House Publishing Group.

Supplementary readings

Abu-Lughod, L. (2002). Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others. American Anthropologist, 104(3), 783–790. ·
Lamia H. (2023). Musa, In Hijab butch blues: A memoir (pp. 68-87). Random House Publishing Group
Lorde, A. (1997). The Uses of Anger. Women’s Studies Quarterly, 25(1/2), 278–285.
Butler, J. (2015). Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group (pp. 175-193)
The Combahee River Collective, A black feminist Statement (pp.116-122), + Feinberg L., Transgender liberation: a movement whose time has come (pp. 148-158). In C. McCann & K. Seung-Kyung, Feminist theory reader. Local and global perspectives. Routledge
Della Rocca, M., & Zinn, D. L. (2019). Othering Honor-Based Violence: The Perspective of Antiviolence Operators in Northern Italy. Human Organization, 78(4), 325–334.
Hicks, S., & Jeyasingham, D. (2016). Social Work, Queer Theory and After: A Genealogy of Sexuality Theory in Neo-Liberal Times. British Journal of Social Work, 46(8), 2357–2373.
Moore H. (1994). The problem of explaining violence in the social sciences. In P. Harvey, & P. Gow (eds.), Sex and violence: Issues in representation and experience (pp.138-155). Routledge.
Nothdurfter, U., & Nagy, A. (2017). Yet another minority issue or good news for all? Approaching LGBT issues in European social work education. European Journal of Social Work, 20(3), 374–386.
Rubin, G. (1975). The Traffic in Women. Notes on the «Political Economy» of Sex. In R. Reiter (ed.) Toward an Anthropology of Women (157-210). Monthly Review Press.

Additional texts or changes will be communicated during the course.

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This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the following Sustainable Development Goals.