Battlelines: Religion, Gender, and Sexuality in Australia and the West (AR3100Z)

Undergraduate, 18.0 points

Content

It is relatively simple to perceive the encounter between religion and people of diverse sexualities and gender identities only and always in terms of conflict. This straightforward story is complicated by the existence of LGBT people of faith, not to mention religious allies. Nevertheless, much attention in Australia and the West is directed toward an ongoing tussle over the “truth” – even, it might be said, “God’s truth” – of sex, sexuality, and gender. In this unit, we investigate the origins and nature of this conflict, exploring the modern foundations of the current battlelines. We will address the question – must this necessarily remain a discursive fight to the death, or is there a possibility for peace? If so – where?

Unit code: AR3100Z

Unit status: Approved (New unit)

Points: 18.0

Unit level: Undergraduate Level 3

Unit discipline: Religious Studies

Proposing College: Wollaston Theological College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Outline the emergence, evolution, and present shape(s) of discourses of sex, sexuality, and gender in Australia and the modern West.
2.

Discuss the significance of religion (especially Christianity) in the emergence of Western modernity, particularly modern understandings of sex, sexuality, and gender.
3.

Critically evaluate competing claims regarding the "truth" of sex, sexuality, and gender in religious and secular traditions.

Pedagogy

Lectures/seminars and student-led tutorials

Indicative Bibliography

  • Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York and London: Routledge, 2007.
  • Connell, Raewynne. Gender in World Perspective. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2021.
  • Fielder, Bronwyn, and Douglas Ezzy. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Christians: Queer Christians, Authentic Selves. London and New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2018.
  • Foucault, Michel. The History of Sexuality Volume 1: The Will to Knowledge. Translated by Robert Hurley. London: Penguin Books, 1978.
  • Gahan, Luke, and Tiffany Jones (eds). Heaven Bent: Australian Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Experiences of Faith, Religiosity and Spirituality. Melbourne: Clouds of Magellan, 2013.
  • Jennings, Mark. Happy: LGBTQ+ Experiences of Australian Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2023.
  • Jordan, Mark D. The Silence of Sodom: Homosexuality in Modern Catholicism. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2000.
  • Singleton, Andrew, Anna Halafoff, Mary Lou Rasmussen, and Gary Bouma. Freedoms, Faiths and Futures: Teenage Australians on Religion, Sexuality and Diversity. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2021.
  • Vasey-Saunders, Mark. The Scandal of Evangelicals and Homosexuals: English Evangelical Texts 1960–2010. Surrey: Ashgate, 2015.
  • Yip, Andrew Kam-Tuck, and Alex Toft. Bisexuality, Religion and Spirituality: Critical Perspectives. London and New York: Routledge, 2021.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Oral Presentation 1500 30.0
Tutorial Paper/Seminar Paper 1000 25.0
Essay 2500 45.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Prof Albert Haddad on 12 Sep, 2023

Unit record last updated: 2023-09-12 13:33:24 +1000