Convenor : Dr. Judy Lattas, Lecturer in Women’s Studies
Contact details : Room C3B 521; Phone: 9850 7947;
e-mail: jlattas@scmp.mq.edu.au
Schedule info : First semester—X1; Second semester— I (D) - 4 credit points
Internet address:http://learn.mq.edu.au
“Family Values” are increasingly invoked in Australia and other Western nations as the 21 st century unfolds in a global response to the U.S.-led War on Terrorism. The new mood of “fear and fundamentalism” carries with it shifts in the relations between the sexes, the races, the religions, the classes, the generations, etc., deepening their effects of division and domination and compounding them (as in the case of the recent “ethnic gang rapes” in Sydney). Whilst the rhetoric of “family values” appears to want to return us to an earlier era in our thinking and our social structures, such a transformation of the world is taking place that is impossible to get back to the way things were. It is imperative to explore the changed landscapes of our political life, our popular culture, our experience of home and work etc., in order to grasp these changes in our Australian context. This unit will explore the rhetoric of “family values” across a range of fields in contemporary Australian culture.
Enrolment
Students do not have to be feminists, nor are feminists particularly privileged as students, but feminist material will be presented and must be engaged with. Men are welcome in the unit. The unit is offered through the Division of SCMP. Staff from our program or from the Division of Society, Culture, Media and Philosophy can sign you into this unit.
Class requirements
This unit requires weekly attendance at one two-hour lecture and one one-hour tutorial.
One two-hour lecture Monday: Noon—2pm, Room C5C240
Oneone-hour tutorial Monday: 2:00pm.
NB: Tutorials begin in the second week of semester.
Assessment
Student assessment will be based on a mid-semester research project of 1500 words (25%), tutorial paper of 1,500 words (25%), a final essay of 2,500 words (40 %) , as well as classroom participation (10%).
Flexibility
This unit is available by distance. Lectures for the unit are available ‘on-line’ and are sent out to distance students on tape as well. Tutorials are managed through an on-line discussion group, which is available flexibly (log in and participate when you can). All lectures will also be taped and available in the library. The lecturer or a tutor will be available in a ‘chat room’ to answer questions about the lecture. There will be plentiful help available for students new to the internet.
Texts
A book of required readings for WST310 will be available through the Co-op Bookshop at Macquarie University.