Undergraduate Module Descriptor

LAW3011: Gender, Sexuality and Law

This module descriptor refers to the 2017/8 academic year.

Module Aims

The aim of this module is to introduce you to the concepts of sex, gender and sexuality and to highlight their (often uneasy) relationships with the law. The module will foster your critical engagement with the law which will be useful in many other modules as well as your future career. The module is based on your engagement with cutting edge issues backed by up to date scholarship in the areas of law, gender and sexuality. These include genital modification, gay adoption, trans-bodies, domestic violence and civil partnerships. Thus this module also aims to familiarise you with the fascinating theoretical background to aid their critique of the law. The workshops and lectures will foster your critical thinking and encourage you to challenge traditional legal reasoning. The module emphasises student interaction with a focus on presentations, debates and group work in a supportive workshop environment.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.

On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills1. Demonstrate a critical awareness of contemporary sex, gender and sexuality issues and how these issues influence/impact upon law;
2. Critically evaluate theories and techniques regarding gender and sex;
Discipline-Specific Skills3. Demonstrate detailed/comprehensive knowledge of legal concepts and their contextual/social/political implications;
4. Define complex legal problems, identify their relative significance and select appropriate methods for investigating and critically evaluating them;
5. Select, integrate and present coherently and reflectively, orally and in writing, relevant law and legal/theoretical arguments;
Personal and Key Skills6. Work independently and to manage time efficiently in preparing for scheduled learning activities, exercises and assessments;
7. Manage relevant learning resources/ information/ learning strategies and to develop own arguments and opinions with minimum guidance;
8. Communicate and engage in debate effectively and accurately, in a manner appropriate to the discipline/ different contexts;