Humans, Animals and Environments

7.5 credits

Syllabus, Master's level, 5GN045

Code
5GN045
Education cycle
Second cycle
Main field(s) of study and in-depth level
Gender Research A1N
Grading system
Fail (U), Pass (G), Pass with distinction (VG)
Finalised by
The Faculty Board of Arts, 31 August 2021
Responsible department
Centre for Gender Research

General provisions

The Centre for Gender Research is responsible for this course.

Entry requirements

A Bachelor's degree, equivalent to a Swedish Kandidatexamen, from an internationally recognised university

Learning outcomes

Following successful completion of the course students will be able to:

- Independently identify, and discuss various theoretical conceptualisations of 'the human', 'animals' and 'environments'.

- Take an interdisciplinary and intersectional approach to questions of power in the construction and enactment of categories such as 'human' and 'environment'.

- Discuss the inter-implication of human and non-human in the construction and experience of life.

- Discuss how critical theory can contribute to debates around 'environmental' issues.

- Actively participate in seminar discussions and present written and oral arguments in the independent and critical manner expected at the advanced level.

Content

Addressing how 'the Social' always involves non-humans and how 'the Natural' is inherently social, this course responds to two interrelated challenges; the first is how is the construction and performance of gender inter-implicated with the non-human and second, how can feminist and gender studies informed theories contribute to knowledge about environmental questions. Informed by two overlapping bodies of work, one from gender studies and the other from animal studies, the course material addresses a series of topics such as gender, race, ability and sexuality from a more-than-human theoretical standpoint and then brings these perspectives to bear on a series of contexts such as agriculture, science, pandemics and environmental change.

Instruction

The course is delivered through a obligatory series of lectures and/or seminars.

Assessment

All seminars are part of the examination and include written and oral assignments. In addition students are expected to complete a written paper based on the theme of the course. All essays will undergo a plagiarism check.

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the University's disability coordinator.

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