MSc Gender (Sexuality)

The MSc in Gender (Sexuality) is an interdisciplinary programme that explores sexuality theories and transnational issues of sexual activism and legal frames.

This is a flexible degree, and you’ll develop expertise in gender theories, as well as gaining an understanding of the significance of gender and sexuality in research design.

Throughout the programme, you’ll learn how to treat sexuality as an object of study, as an analytic approach, and as a way of thinking across disciplinary boundaries. Organised around broad themes, you will be introduced to new developments and critical frameworks such as queer theory, trans* politics and arguments about the "sexualisation of culture" and cultural production.

A key focus of the degree is the ethical and intellectual issues that arise from practicing gender and sexuality studies. In addition to the compulsory courses, you can choose from a range of options, from within and outside of the department, enabling you to develop your own gender studies pathway and focus on key research areas.

Previous graduates from the MSc have gone on to work in various careers, including research and consultancy for government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Others have careers in humanitarian and charity work, personnel work, civil and diplomatic services, representative politics, advocacy, and the legal profession.

• Jacqui Alexander (2006) Gay Tourism: Culture and Context (Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press).
• Clare Hemmings, ed. (2014) 'Sexuality Section', Mary Evans et al, eds, Handbook of Feminist Theory (London: Sage).
• Kamala Kempadoo (2004) Sexing the Caribbean: Gender, Race and Sexual Labour (New York: Routledge).
• Susanne YP Choi and Ming Luo (2016) 'Performative Family: Homosexuality, Marriage and Intergenerational Dynamics in China', British Journal of Sociology 67(2): 260-280.
• Jasbir Puar (2007) Terrorist Assemblages: Homonationalism in Queer Times (Durham: Duke UP).
• Mitra Rastegar (2013) ‘Emotional Attachments and Secular Imaginings: Western LGBTQ Activism on Iran’, GLQ 19(1): 1-29.
• Diane Richardson (2000) ‘Constructing Sexual Citizenship, Theorising Sexual Rights’, Critical Social Policy 20(1): 105-135.
• Laura Ann Stoler (1995) Race and the Education of Desire (Durham: Duke University Press).
• Susan Stryker and Talia M. Bettcher (eds.), (2016) “Trans/Feminisms” [Special Issue] Transgender Studies Quarterly 3(1-2).
• H. Sharif 'Herukhuti' Williams (2016) 'Introduction to Afrocentric Decolonizing Kweer Theory and Epistemology of the Erotic', Journal of Black Sexuality and Relationships 2(4): 1-31.