166-434 The Body and the State: New approaches in political and legal theory.

Credit Points

Coordinator

Prerequisites

Admission to fourth-year Political Science.

Semester

Contact

Subject Description

This subject looks at feminist and lesbian and gay political and legal theory on the body, sexuality and state regulation. It will consider issues at the cutting edge of change in the law and in feminist, queer and postmodern theory. These include cloning and genetic technology, the lesbian and gay family, paedophilia, cosmetic surgery and body modification, sex tourism, trafficking in women on the internet. Course will use insights of theorists such as Shane Phelan, Carl Stychin, Ruthann Robson, Carol Pateman, Catharine MacKinnon, Judith Butler, Davina Cooper. It will consider the usefulness of the ideas of gender, choice and transgression, whether the body is real, and what constitutes sexual violence. Students who complete this subject should: be able to analyse critically different perspectives within political and legal theory on the body and sexuality; be able to critically assess the ways in which such issues as genetic technology, lesbian and gay rights and sex tourism currently approached within legal theory and practice; be able to suggest change in these areas which will advance the human rights of women, lesbians and gay men.

Assessment

Written work totalling 6000 words.

Prescribed Texts

NA