UGEC3227 LGBTQI+ Studies: Identities and social change
Time
Lecture: Tuesdays 10:30 p.m. – 01:15p.m.
Instructor
Dr. CHO Man Kit
Course Description
This course critically explores the development of LGBTQI+ studies as an interdisciplinary field of inquiry. It traces how LGBTQI+ communities develop against the backdrops of social forces and social oppression. It analyzes the cultural, social and legal environments that LGBTQI+ people live with, in diverse spheres such as families, education, employment, health and the media. The discussions focus on both the structural constraints that LGBTQI+ people face, but also the agency and resilience they display. It explores the development of contemporary LGBTQI+ identities and social movements, as well as the politics involved. The course also asks how gender and sexual diversity is understood in different parts of the world in an era of globalization. Students are also exposed to different practices, policies and laws that are related to LGBTQI+ people’s lives.
The Sustainable Development Goals vow to work towards a society where no one if left behind, particularly those who are most vulnerable and marginalized. In many parts of the world, LGBTQI+ people are historically amongst the most vulnerable and marginalized in society. This course will discuss the unequal treatment they face in cultural, social, political and legal systems and discuss how such inequality may be addressed.
Learning Outcome
- Students are expected to be able to debunk how sexualities and intimacies are shaped by larger social forces and therefore socially constructed.
- Students are expected to be able to analyze the social and historical development of LGBTQI+ identities and communities.
- Students are expected to gain an understanding of LGBTQI+ lives in contemporary societies from empirical examples in diverse spheres of life.
- Students are expected to be able to critically examine how sexualities intersect with other social categories, such as race, ethnicity, class, age and disability.
- Students are expected to critically assess social messages regarding sexualities and intimacies and question the extent to which they themselves agree or disagree with the conventional ‘definitions’ and ‘norms’ in society.
- Students are expected to be able to explore and assess different practice, policy and legal options that are related to LGBTQI+ people’s lives.
Sustainable Development Goals
