Module MLAC2031: The #MeToo Movement in Global Contexts

Department: Modern Languages and Cultures

MLAC2031: The #MeToo Movement in Global Contexts

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To gain a deep understanding of how the #MeToo movement has been represented and received in various linguistic and cultural contexts.
• To engage with the history of gender-based violence and feminist activism.
• To understand and analyse the role of language, social media, and discourse in shaping narratives around sexual harassment and abuse.
• To trace and evaluate how the movement has influenced cultural production in different countries, and the role of culture and aesthetics in challenging or contesting attitudes towards gender.

Content

• Literary and theoretical texts as well as other media forms in English translation from various languages. Set texts/objects/films may vary from year to year in accordance with the research specialisms of the tutors each year, since this is a team-taught, research-led module.
• Students will gain an overview of the #MeToo movement’s origins, spread, and cultural variations as well as of transnational feminist activism and theories.

Learning Outcomes

• Understand the origins and global spread of the #MeToo movement and its cultural adaptations.
• Have gained insight into the way contemporary literature, film, and series interact with the #MeToo movement.
• Engage critically with feminist and cultural theory and place them in dialogue with ongoing debates on gender and power worldwide.

• Discuss and interpret a variety of media including text, image and audio-visual material.
• Analyse the role of language in shaping perceptions of gender-based violence across different cultures.
• Develop independent research skills, through the completion of two research-led summative projects.

• Have enhanced critical thinking skills by connecting theory and activism to real-world gender issues.
• Have developed research skills needed for their dissertation projects at Level 3, notably comparative, intercultural and intermedial analysis.
• Have the ability to construct well-reasoned arguments supported by appropriate and relevant evidence and effectively present them in written form.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• The teaching and assessment on this module will be in English.
• Teaching will involve a combination of plenary lectures and seminars.
• Lectures will provide information about context and introduce methodological and theoretical issues.
• Assessment will be 100% Coursework. The portfolio may include reflective accounts, short essays, reviews and case studies. The final assignment will take the form of an essay-based assessment.
• In seminars, students will have the chance to engage in discussions about the key questions that emerge from their analysis of various materials.
• In both class discussion and in formative and summative assessed work, students will demonstrate their ability to construct clear arguments, and apply both contextual, theoretical, and methodological knowledge to analyse and interpret a range of literary, historical, theoretical, digital, visual, and/or filmic material.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University