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Gender and Sexuality Seminar

1. Print off and read the following:

Toril Moi’s chapter ‘Feminist, Female, Feminine’ available here:

http://www.torilmoi.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Feminist_Female_Feminine-ocr.pdf

An excerpt from Judith Butler’s discussion of ‘Subversive Bodily Acts’ in Gender Trouble (1990), available here under ‘seminar reading’:

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/french/current/ug/modules/firstyear/strategies/seminars/term2

2. In the light of the theories of gender and sexuality discussed in the lecture, consider the following questions:

  • Summarise the most important points made by Toril Moi in the above chapter. (200 words or fewer). Add your summary in the comments section below by Thursday 6pm
    • Andy, Matthew, Faz
  • What insights might be gained from a feminist reading of Le Coup de lune? (You might like to consider Felman’s reading of Adieu for comparison).
  • Summarise the most important points made by Butler in the above excerpt. (200 words or fewer). Add your summary in the comments section below by Thursday 6pm
    • Polly, Peter, Jordan
  • How can Butler’s ideas about the performativity of gender inform our reading of literary, filmic or musical texts? Explain using an example of any text.
  • In what ways does a reader’s own gender identity/sexuality inform or bias the reading of a text? Explain your ideas with reference to one of the texts on the Strategies course.

3. Some lighter reading (optional but entertaining):

A witty feminist critique of a the Unilad website, written by a Warwick student:

http://theboar.org/comment/2012/jun/14/two-pints-lager-and-couple-dicks/

Compare this to Toril Moi’s short discussion of today’s undergraduates’ reluctance to call themselves ‘feminists’:

http://www.torilmoi.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Moi_PMLA_2006.pdf