WMST2018 Researching Women's Life Stories

The topic introduces students to the different ways in which women's lives may be researched and represented from feminist perspectives. Examples of women's life stories in various genres (biography, autobiography, oral history, life-story writing and documentary film) will be considered. The topic focuses on researching the diversity of women's lives, as individuals and as groups, in different contemporary cultures. It encourages critical thought about the processes of feminist research and representation, and will enhance students' research, oral and writing skills.

This topic aims to introduce students to the variety of ways in which women's lives are researched and represented. It introduces students to a range of contemporary feminist theories about the representation of women's lives. It aims to develop critical perspectives on the ways that stories of women's lives have been told and the limits on and possibilities for the ways that they can be told. It aims to foster an ethical sense of the ways in which representations of the lives of women, in particular those from non-culturally dominant backgrounds, play a part in the power relations of social life. Students will work both collaboratively and independently to explore the lives and scholarly and creative work of and about a range of women from contemporary and past contexts. The topic aims to develop students' oral presentation skills, independently and in collaboration with others.

1. Understand some of the theoretical issues, including ethical issues, relating to the research and representation of women's lives
2. Demonstrate knowledge of some of the particular ways in which women's lives are researched and represented
3. Demonstrate familiarity with the complexity of the representation of one woman's life, or with a groups of women's lives
4. Work collaboratively to engage with the stories of women's lives
5. Demonstrate competent communication skills