Theories of Gender and Sexuality

V97.0742-001

Professor Svati P. Shah

This course explores the development of contemporary feminist theories of gender and sexuality.  The course will begin by posing questions about theory itself, including its modes of production, uses, and historical contexts, and will proceed to asking questions about what makes certain theories “feminist” in their orientation.  The course will be organized around exploring the ways in which feminist theories from around the world have discerned the politics, categories, and problematics of gender and sexuality in social, cultural, and political formations.

Readings will come from multiple fields, including sociology, history, anthropology, law, and literature.  Using a historical framework to understand the development of theory in relation to political movements and ideologies, the course will also explore the ways in which feminist theoretical discourses have developed in relation to, and, in some instances, as sites of resistance to other dominant theoretical currents.  The readings will prioritize examinations of “intersectionality” (i.e., the complex ways that different social hierarchies and axes of power interconnect and inform each other), race and class.  These will be positioned vis-à-vis key theoretical concepts (including abjection, autonomy, agency, and desire) that have served to constitute contemporary feminist debates.