‘Before’ commentary
The idea behind Embodiment and Feminist Theory is that many students find theory more understandable and interesting if they can see its potential relevance in examples. It has been running for about 4 years, and has some changes along the way but this is more in updating the material than a rewrite.
The module is typically delivered over two hours per week to approximately 60 students. The format was written for a one hour lecture, one hour seminar per week. One year I managed to get a 2 hour slot in the same room, which gave much more flexibility in the format, and I felt this worked better but timetabling has meant this was not possible in other years. The module uses a lot of visual resources so as well as the ability to run powerpoint, connection to the internet makes the module much more alive for students. I make use of lots of short clips of film (often from You Tube) such as TV adverts or news reports to illustrate points and allow the students to ‘see’ the theory. As always It is important to check the web material is still there before the module starts as some of it moves around. Although the module has a formal lecture component, this is not delivered by just me talking. Every few slides there is a discussion question, where I ask students to talk to the people sitting around them about the issue. I also encourage discussion on most of the visual materials used. I encourage the students to contribute throughout the lecture, and try to make the lecture slot as interactive as possible. I also always start the sessions by asking the students to recap on what they have learnt so far, and to tell us all about any examples they have seen outside of the classroom which relate to the module. Often these will be items in the media with films and TV programmes featuring strongly. This is one of the ways I try to encourage the students to engage critically with the ideas, by applying the concepts and theories to elements within their everyday lives.
Feedback from the students is carried out informally, by asking students how they found a particular reading or lecture during the module, then by a formal evaluation form at the end.
‘Process’ commentary
Developing a new module is always a tricky process, in that I find that you cannot always be sure what will work and what won’t. I am always really interested in finding out more about how others approach this, and learning different ways to make teaching and learning more successful. Consequently my motivations for getting involved in this project were premised on a need to partly to get time to inside other people’s teaching practices. The module I have put forward as a case study is one which I think works really well because of the ability to incorporate a wide range of e-learning. The facility to use a wide range of images and videos makes the issues raised much more ‘alive’ although there are issues to consider. In class, we discuss the ethical implications of some of the images. For example, issues around ‘race’ and gender are implicated in the Trident campaign (targeting violence and drug related crime in London) used young Black women and the slogan ‘Turn away’. The lecture slides only contain prompts of the issues being addressed, and so I am not really sure how much sense they make without the wider context. This was discussed during the review process, and whilst we felt that those familiar with the material would find it relatively easily to follow the narrative of the lecture, it might be more difficult for those who do not.
Most of the images used are found through general internet searches, and the copyright implications are often unclear. However, in general terms, the ‘fair use’ in education settings should mean that these are not breeching legal requirements.
I include in the module outline a list of helpline numbers relevant to some of the topics covered, but also discuss the need for students to be aware that some of the issues are sensitive and whilst there are no ‘banned’ topics, students need to ensure that they think carefully about how issues are discussed.
‘After’ commentary
Guidance will be provided once we have reviewed the literature on pedagogic frameworks.
Any other supporting material
We have access to a back catalogue of TV programmes which can be made available to students through the VLE. Some of the additional material the students have access to are:
Panorama (BBC1): Rape on Trial - explores the low conviction rate for Rape
Dispatches (Channel 4) : When Did You Last Beat Your Wife? –explores policy on domestic violence
This World (BBC2) : Iran Kidney Sale – explores the legal trade in body parts
Bleach, Nip, Tuck: The White Beauty Myth (Channel 4) – explores the trend for cosmetic ‘deracialisation’ surgery
C-SAP OER case study guidance v.1 2