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Gender and the Body in Narrative Discourse

Code: 45366
Credits: 5
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
English Studies: Linguistic, Literary and Sociocultural Perspectives OP 1

Contact lecturer

Name :
Carme Font Paz
Email :
carme.font@uab.cat

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

Interest in thinking critically, developing a scholarly voice, and learning about gender and the body in classical and contemporary narratives. 

  •  To pass this module, students must have a C1 level of English or its equivalent. This is because they will need to produce practical work with advanced texts in the field of literature, which requires a deep understanding of the subject and the use of critical skills.

Objectives

Learning how to critically analyze gender and bodies in narrative discourses across literary and media (mainly, the novel, short fiction, nonfiction) through new historicist, marxist, queer and feminist narrative theory.

Learning outcomes

  • CA14 (Make theoretical proposals on the cultural expression of the body and sexuality that are connected to the studied paradigms.) Make theoretical proposals on the cultural expression of the body and sexuality that are connected to the studied paradigms.
  • CA15 (Write up research projects on intersectionality and gender in literature.) Write up research projects on intersectionality and gender in literature.
  • KA14 (Identify the social and cultural models that make an impact on the expression of the body in narrative discourse.) Identify the social and cultural models that make an impact on the expression of the body in narrative discourse.
  • KA15 (Recognise literary and cultural expression based on an LGBTIQ+ perspective of the texts analysed.) Recognise literary and cultural expression based on an LGBTIQ+ perspective of the texts analysed.
  • KA16 (Contrast the various cultural trends that tackle the distinct types of literary genre and their links to the authorial corpus.) Contrast the various cultural trends that tackle the distinct types of literary genre and their links to the authorial corpus.
  • SA20 (Analyse the way in which literary genre is reconfigured based on the expression of corporality.) Analyse the way in which literary genre is reconfigured based on the expression of corporality.
  • SA21 (Examine the expression of gender bias in a literary and/or cultural production in the English language.) Examine the expression of gender bias in a literary and/or cultural production in the English language.
  • SA22 (Apply literary criticism to the analysis of identity markers in relationships between society and the individual.) Apply literary criticism to the analysis of identity markers in relationships between society and the individual.

Contents

The course is divided into two parts:

The first part of the course explores how gender and the body were conceptualized and represented in discourse from the early modern period to the nineteenth century.

The second part of the course examines how gender and the body are represented in modern and contemporary narrative discourses across a range of media and literary texts.


Please know that some of the readings in this class can be difficult as they deal with the subjects of violences, forms of oppression, and other forms of embodied experiences.

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
reading and studying 30 1.2 KA14, KA15, KA16, SA21, SA22
Lectures 30 1.2 KA14, KA15, KA16, SA20, SA21, SA22
Essay writing 20 0.8 CA14, CA15, KA14, SA21, SA22
class discussion and activities 20 0.8 KA15, SA20, SA22

1 ECTS credit = 25 teaching/assessment hours > 5 credits = 125 hours.

 

 

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Class discussions and class activities 15% 5 0.2 KA14, KA15, SA21, SA22
Essay 1 40% 10 0.4 CA14, CA15, KA14, KA15, KA16, SA20, SA21, SA22
Essay 2 45% 10 0.4 CA14, CA15, KA14, KA15, KA16, SA20, SA21, SA22

Evaluation activities

Class discussions and class activities (15%)

Position Paper (2000 words) (40%)

Final essay (2,500 – 3,000 words) (45%)


Definitive dates for each of the above exercises will be published at the start of the course.

Students will obtain a not assessed/not submitted course grade unless they have submitted more than 30% of the assessment items.

On carrying out each evaluation activity, lecturers will inform students (on Moodle) of the procedures to be followed for reviewing all grades awarded, and the date on which such a review will take place.

All exercises are compulsory.

Students are asked to use non-sexist language in their oral and written production. See the website of the Linguistic Society of America (LSA): https://www.linguisticsociety.org/resource/lsa-guidelines-nonsexist-usage.


Reassessment conditions

  • Students whose final average mark of the two exams is between 3,5 and 4,8 are eligible for re-assessment.
  • Under continuous assessment, students must have been assessed in activities representing at least two thirds of the final grade.
  • The specific re-assessment activity will be confirmed by the lecturer.
  • The two assessment items (position paper and final essay) are eligible for reassessment.
  • The reassessment will consist of submitting the essay or essays that are eligible for reassessment.
  • The reassessment mark is not restricted. The maximum possible grade is 10.
  • In the event a student cannot submit the paper/s on the date set up by the teacher for justified medical reasons, a different date can be agreed on with the teacher.
  • Reassessment is available only to students who have failed the initial assessment; it is not available to students who have passed but wish to improve their final grade.
  • Erasmus and exchange students requesting an earlier examination must provide written justification from their home university.


Single Assessment

Students choosing single assessment must complete both scheduled single-assessment activities before they can access reassessment.

Students who opt for this will be required to take the following assessment, which will be scheduled on a single day:

  • A written exam which will include all the theoretical perspectives offered in the course (50 %).
  • An oral commentary on a chosen text, based on all of the critical perspectives offered in the course. (50 %)


The same assessment method as continuous assessment will be used.


Plagiarism

In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place.

In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.

Irregularities refer, for instance, to copying in an exam, copying from sources without indicating authorship, or a misuse of AI such as presenting work as original that has been generated by an AI tool or programme. These evaluation activities will not be re-assessed.

This subject entirely prohibits the use of AI technologies in all of its activities. Any submitted work that contains content generated using AI will be considered academic dishonesty; the corresponding grade will be awarded a zero, without the possibility of reassessment. In cases of greater infringement, more serious action may be taken.



Bibliography

Readings for the first part (fragments):

  • Pamela, Samuel Richardson, Oxford Edition (2002 [1740])
  • The Last Man, Mary Shelley, Oxford Edition (2026 [1826])
  • The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka, Oxford Edition (2009 [1915])


Readings for the second part:

  • The Edible Woman, Margaret Atwood (2009 [1969])
  • The Vegetarian, Han Kang (2016)
  • Detransition, Baby, Torrey Peters (2021)
  • Feeling at Home: Transforming the Politics of Housing, Alva Gotby (2025)


A selection of secondary critical readings and bibliography will be available in PDF in the intranet (Moodle). It will include, among others:

  • Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge, 2011.
  • Carastathis, Anna. Intersectionality: Origins, Contestations, Horizons. Nebraska: Nebraska University Press, 2016.
  • Cooke, Jennifer. New Feminist Literary Studies. London: Cambridge University Press, 2020.
  • Hooks, Bell. Feminist Theory: from Margin to Center. New York: Routledge, 2014.
  • Adams, Carol J., Lori Gruen. Ecofeminism, Second Edition: Feminist Intersections with Other Animals and the Earth. London: Bloomsbury, 2022.
  • Ahmed, Sara. Living a Feminist Life. Durham: Duke University Press, 2017.
  • Armstrong, Nancy. Desire and Domestic Fiction: A Political History of the Novel. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987.
  • Bottici, Chiara. Anarchafeminism: An Introduction and Guide. London: Bloomsbury, 2021.
  • Connell, Raewyn. Gender in World Perspective. Chicago: Pluto Press, 2919.
  • Davis, Angela. Women, Race & Class. London: Penguin, 2019.
  • Faye, Shon. The Transgender Issue: An Argument for Justice. London: Penguin, 2022.
  • Finke, Laurie. Feminist Theory, Women's Writing. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2018.
  • Friedan, Betty. The Feminine Mystique. London: Penguin, 2010.
  • Gottzén, Lucas, Ulf Mellström, Tamara Shefer. Routledge International Handbook of Masculinity Studies. London: Routledge, 2020.
  • Naples, Nancy. A Companion to Women's and Gender Studies. London: Wiley-Blackwell, 2020.
  • Rooney, Ellen. The Cambridge Companion to Feminist Literary Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
  • Sullivan, Alice, Selina Todd. Sex and Gender: A Contemporary Reader. London: Routledge, 2023.
  • Toi, Moril. What is a Woman? And Other Essays. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
  • Weik, Alexa. Affective ecologies. Empathy, emotion, and environmental narrative. Columbus: The Ohio State University Press, 2017.
  • Barbie, dir. Greta Gerwig (2023).
  • “Till Death Do Us Part: Embodying Narratology,” Susan S. Lanser, 2018.
  • “The Body as Medium: A Phenomenological Approach to the Production of Affect in Narrative,” Amy Shuman i Katharine Young, 2018.
  • “Toward (a Queerer and) More (Feminist) Narratology,” Susan S. Lanser, 2015. Disponible: https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/30/oa_edited_volume/chapter/1518417/pdf
  • Queer Narrative Theory and the Relationality of Form,” Tyler Bradway, 2021.
  • Ways of Seeing (Capítol 3), John Berger, 1972.
  • “What Does It Mean to #BelieveWomen? Popular Feminism and Survivor Narratives,” Tanya Serisier, 2022.


Software

Moodle

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TEm) Theory (master) 1 English second semester morning-mixed