WMST2015 Sex, Gender and the Law - Flinders University

You are viewing an older version of this curriculum item. Select the current year or your commencing year of study from the drop down above. For Pre-2022 Course Rules, use the link located on the right-hand side of the screen.

Alert for students

THIS TOPIC IS NOT CURRENTLY OFFERED.

Overview

Do sex, gender and sexualities matter in Australian law? Do men and women experience legal regulation in identical ways? We tend to think of sex and sexualities as 'private matters' as somehow beyond the regulatory reach of the law. This topic challenges that conception by exploring the interplay of sex/gender, sexualities and the law in areas such as domestic violence, marriage and marriage-like relationships, sexual violence, and reproductive autonomy. It also examines the relationship between gender and crime: who commits crime? Who has crime committed against them? Students will be exposed to a wide range of perspectives, and will be encouraged to research several areas of debate in depth.

Aims

The topic gives students the opportunity to survey, analyse and evaluate a range of ideas and issues located at the intersection of sex/gender, sexualities and the law in Australia. It equips students with skills and knowledge to undertake theoretical and applied critical analysis, offering learning activities and assessment options designed to enhance students' collaborative, independent, and ethical learning.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this topic you will be expected to be able to:

Describe and analyse how sex, gender and sexualities are understood in a number of law-related debates concerning the government of gendered social and/or `private' life in Australia

Assess the strengths and weaknesses of different feminist strategies and interventions in Australian socio-legal issues

Criticise and evaluate claims to sexual equality and/or neutrality in Australian law and society

Develop your ability to research, analyse, criticise and evaluate scholarship relating to sex/gender, sexualitites and the law

Enrich and develop your skills in reasoning, reading, group work, written and oral communication in collaborative, independent and ethical ways

Requisites information

Anti-requisites:

Assumed knowledge

Familiarity with the kind of knowledge, conceptual understanding and skills that can be obtained by the completion of at least 4.5 units of first level undergraduate topics from the Women's Studies major, or in Law.

Handbook

Sex, Gender and the Law