Department of European Studies & Modern Languages, Unit Catalogue 2009/10 |
EU20758: Gender und Sexualität im Nachkriegsdeutschland |
 Credits:
| 6 |
| Level:
| Intermediate |
| Period: | Semester 2 |
| Assessment:
| CW33ES67 |
| Supplementary Assessment: | Supplementary assessment information not currently available (this will be added shortly) |
| Requisites:
| |
| Description: | Aims: Far from being fixed and unchanging, our ideas about what it means to be a man or a woman and our views of the nature and value of sexuality are conditioned by the societies we live in. The study of Germany offers particularly interesting examples of how changes in these notions are linked to historical developments on a wider scale: National Socialism, the Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic and the reunified Germany of the 1990s all had differing gender norms, which applied to both men and women and which can only be properly understood in their historical context. This unit aims to help students understand how these norms came about, how they were imposed, and - in some cases - how individuals and groups tried to resist and overturn them. As well as providing a historical overview of constructions of gender and sexuality in Germany since the Second World War, this unit will include analyses of films and short literary texts that illustrate the key ideas discussed. Learning Outcomes: Students who complete the unit will be able to: * understand the processes by which conceptions of gender and sexuality have been constructed in German society; * understand the historical, political and economic contexts of changing conceptions of gender and sexuality; * analyse texts and films which address gender roles and issues of sexuality in German society. Skills: Skills in critical analysis, conceptual thinking, precision in the use of written and spoken language, exercise of independent judgement, reasoned argument, effective communication in the target language, teamwork and the planning/conduct/reporting of non-quantitative research are developed and assessed in this unit. Content: Students will examine changing conceptions of gender and sexuality in Germany. Topics will include: gender and sexuality in the Third Reich, changing gender roles in the post-war reconstruction of Germany, gender in the GDR, the women's movement, gender and German unification, sexual identities in the 1990s. Students will also discuss the novel Wie kommt das Salz ins Meer? (Brigitte Schwaiger, 1977) and the films La Habanera (1936), Eine Frau von heute (1956) and Der bewegte Mann (1994). The unit is taught in German. |