Module manager: Ruth Payne
Email: R.Payne@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
Students are required to have completed one of the following modules, or equivalent: LING1100 Language: Meaning.
| LING2380 | Language and Gender |
This module is not approved as a discovery module
This module explores the relationship between language, gender and sexualities by engaging with (English) texts and media that sustain cultural ideas about gendered identities. The module specifically considers the suggestion that men and women use spoken language in different ways, taking into account early approaches to work in the field of language and gender. The module also covers areas of spoken and written language that contribute to the construction of ideas about masculinity and femininity against a backdrop of heteronormativity and cultural assumptions about gendered roles. Students are expected to have been introduced to sociolinguistic analysis on a Level 1 or 2 module in linguistics or English Language before enrolling on this module. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
This module aims to guide you to engage with a range of texts and discourses in relation to ideas about language and gender and help you understand the historical context of research in language and gender. You will then be encouraged to reflect on your own experiences relating to gender, as well as to understand the impetus for research in this area. You are also given specific opportunities to engage critically with approaches that explore gender as a cultural construct.
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
LO1 appraise historical and cultural developments that relate to gender
LO2 interpret theoretical research in relation to issues of both language structure and language use, and consider these in relation to historical and cultural changes relating to gender
LO3 examine in detail the role of language in the representation and construction of gendered identities in spoken and written contexts
LO4 critique nuances of written and spoken texts in relation to the representation and construction of gender and sexuality
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes: LO5 Apply reflective self-awareness in relation to gender and gender bias
LO6 Critically consider language around gender when working with others
The first part of this module focuses on research undertaken primarily in the 1970s and 1980s. Here we look at the question of 'sexist language' as well as some of the possible differences that were proposed between male and female language usage. We then go on to consider developments in this field since the 1990s. Around this time, language and gender researchers began to pay attention not only to the study of feminine identities but also masculinities. Here we also explore the so-called 'move to discourse' where gender became increasingly seen as a social category that is actively constructed through the use of language as opposed to simply 'reflected' by it. We also consider the rapidly growing field of language and sexual identities.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 15 | 1 | 15 |
| Seminar | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| Private study hours | 180 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
Students are offered the opportunity to submit an outline for the written task (40%), and a short extract from the coursework essay (60%); feedback on the plan and on the essay writing style is provided.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Written Task | 40 |
| Coursework | Essay | 60 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 14/05/2025
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team