Yearbooks

Programme: BSocSciHons Gender Studies

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Code Faculty
01243018 Faculty of Humanities
Credits Duration
Minimum duration of study: 1 year Total credits: 120
Contact:
Dr SS Molapo
[email protected]
+27 (0)124203111

Admission requirements

  • An average of at least 70% is required in the major/field of specialisation.
  • In certain cases additional modules will be required.
  • Students with an average of between 68% and 70% in the major/field of specialisation could be considered for admission under special conditions. Apply to the programme manager.
  • A relevant bachelor’s degree with Sociology or a directly related social science major.

Additional requirements

• In certain cases additional modules will be required.

• Students with an average of between 68% and 70% in the major/field of specialisation could be considered for admission under special conditions. Apply to the programme manager.

Other programme-specific information

  • Choose one elective module.
  • Not all modules are offered in any given year. Please consult the programme manager in this regard.
  • IPL 752 and PTO 751 are only available to students with International Relations or Politics or a directly related first degree major.

Minimum credits: 125

Elective modules*
Select One module.

Note:
*Not all modules are offered in any given year. Please consult the programme manager in this regard.
**Only available to students with International Relations or Politics or a directly related first degree major.

IPL 752
PTO 751

Core modules

  • Module content:

    Gender is an important concept in our everyday encounters as it informs part of our identity. National identity documents, for instance, place a major significance on our gender status. Gender differences define how women and men are treated by different institutions in society. This programme is therefore aimed at exposing students to different theories as well as literature on gender and gender inequalities. In addition, the course explores our everyday experiences of gender to develop a better understanding of gender and the meanings it takes on in society, including they ways in which race, class and geographical location influence these experiences.

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  • Module content:

    The module focuses on debates about, as well as the practice of, research. The idea of science, the role of theoretical conceptualisations, and the epistemological assumptions underpinning research are introduced with reference to competing paradigms, including positivism, interpretivism and realism. With regard to research practice, general principles of planning such as identifying a topic, delineating a problem area, selecting sites, sampling participants and addressing ethical questions are considered. Thereafter the use of methods through which data can be collected and/or constructed are introduced and ways in which evidence can be interpreted and analysed are discussed.

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  • Module content:

    In this module students are expected to produce a research paper under weekly supervision. In the first instance, the paper ought to demonstrate a student’s ability to conduct empirical research. However, with the necessary permission a student may also base the paper on the analysis of secondary data or draw on archival and/or documentary sources. The research paper needs to demonstrate students’ understanding of and competence in all aspects of the research process, including making an argument, writing a report, analysing data, integrating research findings with the literature, and research ethics.  

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  • Module content:

    This module introduces students to key conceptual vocabularies, as well as selected theoretical paradigms and scholarly works in order to facilitate an understanding of some of the current debates, innovations and controversies in the field. A balance is struck between classic and contemporary social theory, and an emphasis is placed on questions of textuality, canonicity and interdisciplinarity in shaping conversations about social theory and its significance for research, thought and politics. 

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Elective modules

  • Module content:

    In this module students will be exposed to different perspectives on gender (including feminist theory) and the implications thereof for conceptualising and thinking about law and theories of law. The module is aimed at developing a critical perspective on gender and sexualities and its application to areas of the law, such as legal protection against discrimination and household violence.

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  • Module content:

    This module examines debates on gender with an emphasis on the historical and social context and forces that have given shape to the character and form of gender inequalities and stratification on the African continent. The module is aimed at developing a critical perspective on the position and status of women in Africa, and to introduce students to a wide-ranging set of authors – many of whom are writing from the continent – and provocative debates about the contested nature of gender emancipation and/or empowerment and its imbrications with broader social questions. 

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  • Module content:

    The study of empirical and normative theories of international relations, with specific reference to the contemporary development and state of the art thereof. The emphasis is on the extent to which it represents traditional or postmodern thought and it moves away from the contending paradigms and perspectives that presently characterise the discipline. In-depth analyses are also made of specific partial theories, and of the contribution of selected theorists and their works.

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  • Module content:

    This module focuses on and interrogates the nature and theory of labour relations, the South African labour relations dispensation and labour law in South Africa.

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  • Module content:

    The module focuses on African political systems, the position and role of Africa in the international system and aspects of regionalism and regionalisation. An analysis and evaluation is made of the major issues, challenges, trends and transformations concerning the domestic politics and the regional and international relations of African states, including pan-Africanism.

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  • Module content:

    This module examines theoretical explanations of globalisation. In doing so its primary goal is to explore ways in which capital in the era of the end of history is compelling us to rethink sociology as a science of the present. The module begins with theoretical discussions in order to lay the ground for talk about development as a process of incorporating (in this case) Africa into the global world system. The module further studies changes brought about by globalisation to the nation-state system, work and gender relations. It also examines nationalism and ethnicity as specific features of capitalism in the era of the end of history.

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  • Module content:

    This course takes a macro-level perspective and introduces students to scholarly accounts of the changing historical trajectory of gender relations, marriage as an institution, family forms, and household composition and livelihoods and the implications thereof for understanding gender as a social relation. As such, it adopts a historical and comparative perspective, with a specific focus on Southern Africa. In addition, the module explores the role and impact of supra-state organisations, the state and the market in mediating and regulating gender identities and relations, as well as family and household forms, against the backdrop of the nation-state form and in the context of capitalism and neo-liberalism particularly. 

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  • Module content:

    This module takes a sociological approach to understanding and interrogating South African society. It begins by looking at some of the debates and discussions about Sociology in South Africa. It then reviews and debates key issues in order to understand the political economy of Apartheid. Finally it looks at some key debates associated with post-apartheid South Africa. 

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  • Module content:

    This module focuses on the relationship between the personal and social and how these two domains are intricately related, simultaneously implying sameness and difference in the process of identification. It considers how societal structures and institutions shape and construct identities historically, whilst being shaped by individual agency, in turn. Human experience reveals a range of cross-cutting affiliations, based on ethnicity, race, religion, gender, sexuality and generation, amongst others, implying a multiplicity in belonging, suggesting a relational process, rather than an essence. The social, contingent and constructed nature of identities is highlighted against experiences of dislocation within a context of globalisation.

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The information published here is subject to change and may be amended after the publication of this information. The General Regulations (G Regulations) apply to all faculties of the University of Pretoria. It is expected of students to familiarise themselves well with these regulations as well as with the information contained in the General Rules section. Ignorance concerning these regulations and rules will not be accepted as an excuse for any transgression.

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