The five eLearning modules here teach core concepts in Feminist Studies. These modules were originally developed at the University of Minnesota, and are mirrored here as a convenience to University of Kentucky students and members of the community.
NOTE: These modules require the Flash plugin from Adobe, and will launch in a new browser window.
-
Empire
“Empire” introduces users to key concepts in postcolonial and transnational feminist thought, such as Orientalism, settler colonialism, and cultural imperialism. Users can expect to learn how these terms interact with critiques of race, class, gender, sex, and nation. Examples from science and popular culture are also used.
-
The Gaze
“The gaze” theorizes the uneven power of looking by examining the concepts of the “male gaze” and the “white gaze.” Users can expect to learn about Laura Mulvey’s theory of “the male gaze,” bell hooks’ and Kobena Mercer’s critical race critiques of “the gaze,” and how to use the term in film, media, and cultural analyses.
-
Gender
“Gender” introduces how gender is theorized as a biological fact, a social construction, and a performative “doing” or enactment of social norms. This module also includes discussion of sex and sexuality and how gender relates to sex and sexuality. Users can expect to learn about how these theories differ, their implications, and how to engage gender intersectionally.
-
Intersectionality
“Intersectionality” describes how systems of power and identities interlock, or become mutually-constitutive. Users can expect to learn about the theoretical and methodological implications of intersectionality, the genealogy of the term, and its practical application. Case studies of anti-discrimination law are used as examples.
-
Whiteness
“Whiteness” introduces analyses of white supremacy, white privilege, and whiteness as a racial/social formation. Users can expect to learn about how to theorize whiteness, the genealogy of white supremacy, how to identify white privilege, and how to discuss the social construction of race. Examples of property law in the U.S. are provided to break-down these concepts.