HS3SSP: Sexual Politics: Gender, Sex, and Feminism in Britain after 1918

Module code: HS3SSP

Module provider: History; School of Humanities

Credits: 40

Level: Level 3 (Honours)

When you'll be taught: Semester 1 / 2

Module convenor: Dr Natalie Thomlinson, email: n.thomlinson@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 11 November 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

Special Subject modules provide 'hands-on' experience of the historian's task through the close examination and evaluation of primary sources and the light they shed on issues and problems.

This module will:

• Survey the history of gender, sex and feminism in Britain from 1918 to the present.
• Explore the factors underpinning the significant shifts in gender roles that this period witnessed, and understand how they were experienced by ‘ordinary’ men and women.
• Ask students to consider why both popular and academic understandings of gender, sex and feminist as concepts changed so much in this period.

The purpose of the module is to allow students to further develop and demonstrate the skills they have gained working with primary sources throughout their degree programme.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Undertake detailed textual analysis and comment on the primary materials;
2. Recognise and interpret a wide range of different primary materials; and
3. Demonstrate a detailed command of varying historical interpretations of the primary materials and subject as a whole.

Module content

This module will provide an in-depth exploration of the politics of gender, sex and feminism in Britain after 1918. It will explore not just whether or not the twentieth century was a decade of emancipation for women, but crucially, analyse how ideas about gender roles themselves have changed. Using a variety of primary sources such as feminist texts, oral histories, and print media, students will be asked to explore how understandings of both femininity and masculinity have been constructed in differing ways over the last 100 years, examining key topics such as work, war, the family, and marriage. Students will also examine changing sexual practices and the rise of queer identities and consider how these are linked to gender politics. Finally, this module will explore the nature of feminism as a political movement and the impact of its campaigns. By the end of the module, students will be able to critically analyse changing gender roles and representations in Britain, and to historically contextualise the changing sexual politics of the twentieth century. They will be able to locate primary sources relating to these topics within their historical context and understand the uses that historians can make of them.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

• The teaching for this module involves weekly two-hour discussion seminars;
• Students will gain ‘hands-on’ experience of the historian’s task through the detailed evaluations of key texts, objects, and images, and the light they shed on the issues and problems being investigated;
• Students will be required to prepare for seminars through reading from both the primary sources and the secondary literature;

Study hours

At least 44 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Formative work, for instance essay plans, seminar presentations, book reviews, posters, practice source commentaries, will be required for this Special Subject over the two semesters. Practice commentaries on the sources will be required for formative assessment.

Reassessment

Additional costs