University of Florida Homepage

Feminisms, Genders, and Sexualities

This model helps a student to organize a course of study within the undergraduate major in English that examines the production of genders and sexualities through analysis of a variety of texts: from manuscripts to video, from books to film, from postcards to electronic postings.

Courses in this model allow students to address questions that have been pivotal for inquiries relating cultural production to the social relations of gender and sexuality. How do sexualized categories shape, even as they are shaped by, modes of representation? What are the relations between gender and genre? How are masculinity and femininity, as well as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, and transgendered subjectivities represented? How can we conceptualize and narrate the emergence of feminism, gay and lesbian liberation, and queer theory and activism? How do we map the intersections among representations of race, gender, ethnicity, nationality and class?

We encourage students interested in this model to consider additional elective courses in Women’s Studies (WST prefix) or the minor in Women’s Studies. We recommend students pursuing the Feminisms, Genders and Sexualities model follow the pattern below in choosing the ten required courses in English:

At least four courses that specifically highlight questions of gender, sexualities or feminist inquiry; please check with professors, course descriptions on the WWW, or syllabi to receive further clarifications, especially as concerns special topic offerings which differ from semester to semester and are offered under a variety of departmental prefixes. Note that some of the courses listed below may be taken more than once when course content differs significantly:

  • AML 3284 Survey in American Women’s Literature
  • AML 3285 Variable Surveys of American Lit (e.g. Chicana/Latina Literature)
  • AML 4282 Studies in Genders & Sexualities in American Literature
  • ENG 4134 Women & Film
  • LIT 3383 Women in Literature

At least two courses in criticism and theory, including at least one of the following two courses:

  • LIT 4554 Feminist Theories
  • LIT 4930 Var. Topics (only when taught as Queer Theory & Cultural Politics)

Other appropriate criticism and theory courses include:

  • ENG 3010 Modern Criticism & Theory
  • ENG 3011 Major Theorists
  • ENG 3115 Introduction to Film Criticism & Theory
  • LIT 4233 Postcolonial Literature, Culture & Theory

At least four courses which students are free to choose according to their areas of interest within other offerings in the English department.

Faculty

Department of English faculty who regularly teach courses in this model include: