Module LAW3011 for 2018/9
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
LAW3011: Gender, Sexuality and Law
This module descriptor refers to the 2018/9 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.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. 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 Skills | 3. 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 Skills | 6. 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; |
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the module's precise content may vary, it is envisaged that the syllabus will include all/some of the following topics:
1) Understanding sex and gender
- What is sex?
- What is gender?
2) Law as Masculinity?
- The masculine bias of law
- Public/private divide
- Autonomy and Equality
- The masculine bias of the legal profession
3) Autonomy and Private Violence
- Intimate partner violence
- Sexual violence
- Sadomasochism
- Pornography
4) Sexing the Body
- Intersexualities (sexing the child)
- Regulating Transsexual Bodies
5) Challenging Heteronormativity
- Civil Partnerships and same-sex marriage
- Same-sex parenting
6) Gendering Justice
- Women as Criminals
- Women Who Kill
- Prostitution
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 28.5 | 121.5 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning & Teaching Activities | 20 | 20 x 1 hour lectures |
| Scheduled Learning & Teaching Activities | 4.5 | 3 x 1.5 hour workshops |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 4 | 4 x 1 hour drop-in clinics to discuss summative assessment |
| Guided independent study | 55 | Individual reading and lecture preparation |
| Guided independent study | 20 | Workshop preparation |
| Guided independent study | 40 | Assessment preparation |
| Guided independent study | 6.5 | Formative assessment |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 750 words | 1-8 | Written. Generic feedback highlighting common errors provided in lecture. |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay and reflective commentary | 100 | 3,750 words | 1-8 | Written or oral. Generic Feedback available on ELE highlighting common errors. |
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay and reflective commentary | Essay and reflective commentary (3,750 words) | 1-8 | August/September Re-assessment period. |
Re-assessment notes
Students resubmitting their essays will have to choose a different topic and/or title to the essay that they submitted originally.
