Anthropology is uniquely situated to look into concepts and theories of gender, sex and sexuality through its concern with the culturally-specific character of human categories and practices. This course explores gender, sex and sexuality across a range of cultural settings seeking, in the process, to question most of what we—including most theorists of sex/gender—take for granted about the gendered and sexed character of human identity and difference. Topics explored include: the saliency of the categories man and woman; the relationships between race and gender; the role of colonialism and neocolonialism in the representation of gender, sex and sexuality; the usefulness of the notion of oppression; the relationship between cultural conceptions of personhood and cultural conceptions of gender; and the ethnocentricity of the concepts of gender, sex and sexuality themselves. To assist these explorations we will make use of cross-cultural case studies in a number of areas including rape, prostitution, work and domesticity, the third sex and homosexuality.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

Upon Successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Recognise and describe a wide range of (often unfamiliar) knowledges and practices pertaining to sex/gender found throughout the world;
2. Interrogate and denaturalise assumptions about sex/gender found in contemporary western societies (including Australia);
3. Identify the ethnocentric character of many concepts used by theorists of sex/gender; and
4. Analyse the place and meaning, in their own cultural contexts, of a range of gendered beliefs and practices.

Research-Led Teaching

On the face of things, my research might not appear to focus on gender and sexuality - I study financial systems! Insurance funds! Weather derivatives! What does any of this have to do with women? At the core of my research agenda is *making* capitalism an issue of gender and sexuality, and interrogating the forms of privilege that allow us presume that economic relations are not also gendered (and gendering) relations. This is a conceptual thread that runs through the course material, from the forms of social reproduction and care allocated to women, to the cross-cultural differences in how 'the home' is organised, to selling sex and labour, to the gendered policing of how we speak and act at work.

Recommended Resources

We will read an ethnography, Noel Stout's After Love: Queer Intimacy and Erotic Economies in Post-Soviet Cuba (2014) as a major text for the course. It is available as an eBook from the library. If you prefer to purchase a copy of the book, I recommend ordering a copy online in the first week(s) of the course so that arrives in time for the weeks 6-7 module on Cross-Cultural Queer Subjectivity.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• written comments
• verbal comments
• feedback to whole class, groups, individuals, focus group etc

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Anthropology and Feminisms	Introduction of course materials
2	Cross-Cultural Femininities
3	Probing the Universal Male Domination Debate	Tutorials begin, Assessment #1 (Portfolio 1)
4	Cross-Cultural Masculinities
5	Growing Up Gendered	Assessment #1 (Portfolio 2)
6	Cross-Cultural Queer Subjectivity (part 1)
7	Cross-Cultural Queer Subjectivity (part 2)	Assessment #2 (Book Club)
8	Economies of Sex and Gender
9	Interrogating the 'Patriarchal Past'	Assessment #1 (Portfolio 3)
10	Post-Gender Digital Futures?	Assessment #3a (Un-essay Proposal)
11	Gender and Empire	Assessment #3b (Un-essay Proposal peer review)
12	Language and Gender
13	Examination Period	Assessment #4 (Un-essay)

Tutorial Registration

Please sign up for online and in-person tutorials on the course Wattle site

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Tutorial Portfolio	15 %	*	*	1,4
Book Club	30 %	24/09/2021	10/10/2021	1,3
Un-Essay Proposal	25 %	19/10/2021	31/10/2021	2,4
Un-Essay	30 %	17/11/2021	02/12/2021	1,2,3,4

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information 
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Integrity . In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Assessment Task 1

Tutorial Portfolio

A formative assessment activity focused on the tutorial material will be due in weeks 3, 5, and 9 of the course.

Week 3: a close-reading and peer-based annotation exercise

Week 5: kinship diagram and genealogy exercise

Week 9: Object analysis exercise

Assessment Task 2

Book Club

Summative assessment activity focused on a significant ethnography. Students will be grouped in a “book club” (4-6 peers) to read the principal ethnography assigned during week 6-7 (including the mid-semester break). Book clubs should organise to meet independently with their peers during this time – a recommended 4 meetings, but at the discretion of the group.

Group project (20%)

Each group will be assessed on an audio and/or video record of no more than 30 minutes divided into four reflections responding to the following prompts:

(1) Define “erotic economy” and assess its significance within the text

(2) Analyse an “ethnographic vignette” and explain its most important theoretical insight

(3) Evaluate a situation of cross-cultural encounter using theories or critical frameworks of sex and gender

(4) Provide a summative “book review” such as you would post on Goodreads. How many stars and why?

Individual project (5%)

Individual students will be assessed on an analytic memo (no more than 500 words) evaluating their contribution to the “book club” and reflecting on a discussion topic that developed their understanding of a key concept in anthropology of gender/sexuality. The word limit does not include the bibliography.

Assessment Task 3

Un-Essay Proposal

Individual Un-essay Proposal (20%)

Students will be assessed on a formative project proposal for their “un-essay” (see Assessment Task 4). Up to four students can collaborate on a team project; however, each student will be responsible for writing in an individual proposal that outlines their approach and contribution to the project. The proposal should include:

 

Project Description: 150 words

Briefly describe in simple language what you plan to do. (I will produce a blog series about… I will make a podcast… My oral history of… I will create a comic book… My stop-motion animation film will be about… My design for an interactive museum exhibit is… I will teach myself how to… This LEGO model expects to critically interrogate…)

 

Objectives: 300 words total; up to 3 objectives

What are the aims of the project? These can be empirical (I want to describe/document), analytical (I want to evaluate, critique, re-think), and/or creative (I want to produce, make, assemble, chart, map, draw, compile).

 

Theoretical Background: 350 words

Using key texts from the course supplemented by independent research, explain how your proposal will apply theories of gender and sexuality that we have engaged over the course of the semester. Students should demonstrate an excellent grasp of the conceptual tools and extend them into novel contexts/situations.

 

Methodology: 200 words

Provide a detailed plan of what you expect to do. This might include a step-by-step guide, a timeline for completion, and a research plan. Explain what resources you plan to access/make use of and why.

Statement of Contribution: 200 words

Explain how your project addresses 'Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective'

 

For individuals collaborating on a group project, your methodology should take particular care to explain what your role will be in the unessay and how you will integrate team resources (including time/capabilities) into the project.

Peer-review Un-Essay Proposal (5%)

Students will workshop their Un-Essay Proposals with their Book Club. 5% mark will be assessed based on a group meeting with the Convenor.

Assessment Task 4

Un-Essay

Un-Essay (20%)

This is an individually designed student-centred project that fosters the characteristics of high-level learning. The unessay is an assignment that gives students freedom to decide what elements of the course material (theory, ethnography, methodologies) they want to focus on and the specific ways they want to accomplish these goals. For example, students can write a poem, draw a comic, produce a podcast, design a board-game, create a webpage, or anything else that engages in a rigorous and principled way with some aspect of the course. Any sort of submission can work, so long as the message is communicated effectively and is in line with the content and ideas presented in ANTH2025/GEND2035. This summative project will build on the formative project proposal and peer review process undertaken in Assessment 3.

As indicated in the description of Assessment 3, groups of up to 4 students can collaborate on an un-essay.

Reflective statement, 1,000 words (10%)

Students will be assessed on an individual reflective essay that interprets and evaluates the feminist, queer, and anthropological theory and methodology that they have engaged through the un-essay process.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically, committing to honest and responsible scholarly practice and upholding these values with respect and fairness.

The ANU commits to assisting all members of our community to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle and Academic Misconduct Rule, uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with.

The Academic Misconduct Rule is in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Very minor breaches of the academic integrity principle may result in a reduction of marks of up to 10% of the total marks available for the assessment. The ANU offers a number of online and in person services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. Visit the Academic Skills website for more information about academic integrity, your responsibilities and for assistance with your assignments, writing skills and study.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Individual assessment tasks may or may not allow for late submission. Policy regarding late submission is detailed below:

• Late submission not permitted. If submission of assessment tasks without an extension after the due date is not permitted, a mark of 0 will be awarded.
• Late submission permitted. Late submission of assessment tasks without an extension are penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item. Late submission is not accepted for take-home examinations.

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Diversity and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students