Postgraduate Module Descriptor

SOCM030: Gender at Work

This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 academic year.

Module Aims

The aim of this module is to provide you with a thorough introduction to how theorizing about gender has developed over the past five decades. The focus is on how gender is constructed and performed in everyday life, in domestic and employment settings. The module will include detailed appraisal of a wide range of empirical research in order to demonstrate its utility in the development or testing of theoretical approaches. The module aims to encourage you to reflect on your own practices and experiences within a society structured and inscribed by gender. 

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 in writing and orally a thorough understanding of the key conceptual debates on gender and sexuality and their applicability to the structure of, and practices within, the domestic sphere, work and organizations
2. demonstrate in writing an appreciation of the contribution of different disciplinary perspectives to the understanding of the gendered nature of work
3. interpret your lived experience of the social world informed by an appreciation of gender as a socially constructed category and by engagement with the testimony of others with a range of subject positions
Discipline-Specific Skills4. demonstrate in writing and orally a well-developed capacity to understand and evaluate theories and arguments in the social sciences
5. demonstrate in writing and orally an understanding of the role and importance of different forms of empirical work to explore the value of theories in the social sciences
Personal and Key Skills6. write clearly, succinctly and persuasively for a general audience
7. work collaboratively, providing constructive feedback for a peer
8. present complex information to a small group of peers with confidence and clarity
9. develop an appreciation of potential use and misuse of social media to generate debate on gender inequalities

Indicative Reading List

This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.

Basic reading:

 

Butler, J. (1990) Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. Routledge.

 

Connell, R.W (1995) Masculinities. Polity: Cambridge.

 

Crompton R. (1999) Restructuring gender Relations and Employment: The decline of the male breadwinner. Oxford: OUP.

 

Crow G. and Ellis J. (2017) Revisiting Divisions of Labour: The Impacts and Legacies of a Modern Sociological Classic. Manchester; Manchester University Press.

 

Glucksman M. (2016) Completing and Complementing: The Work of Consumers in the Division of Labour. Sociology, Vol 50(5) 878-895.

 

Halford, S. Savage, M. Witz, A. (1997) Gender, Careers and Organizations: Current developments in Banking Nursing, and Local Government. Macmillan: Houndmills.

 

McCarthy, H. (2016) ‘Social science and married women’s employment in post-war Britain’, Past & Present 233: 269-305

 

Miller, D. (1998) A Theory of Shopping. Polity press: Cambridge.

 

Oakley, A. (1974) Housewife. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

 

Offer, A. (2008), ‘British Manual Workers: From Producers to Consumers, c.1950-2000’, Contemporary British History, 22, 4: 537-71

 

 

Scott, J. Dex, S. and Pagnol A (eds) (2012) Gendered Lives: Gender Inequalities in Production and reproduction. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

 

Serano, J. (2016) Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity. Seal Press.

 

Siltanen J.  (1994) Locating Gender: Occupational Segregation, Wages and Domestic Responsibilities. UCL Press: London.

 

West, C. and Zimmerman D.H. (1987) Doing Gender. Gender and Society, Vol. 1, No. 2. pp. 125-151

 

http://www.socresonline.org.uk/14/2/10.html: Crow et al short article revisiting Pahl’s work (2009) situated in the recession.