GS40080 Culture & Sexualities: Final Assignment-2025 by Ernesto Vasquez del Aguila

OPTION 1: A Critical Essay on Sexuality and New Technologies

ernestovasquezdelaguila — 2024-03-26 17:56:33 UTC

Develop a critical essay about how the Internet and new technologies have impacted sexual exploration and expression in contemporary societies. Some guiding questions for your essay: What are the positive and negative outcomes of new technologies and the sexualities of particular populations? (e.g., men, women, trans individuals, young, older, migrants, etc.). How do globalisation and the Internet are reshaping sexualities (e.g. dating culture; notions of courtship, fidelity, heteronormativity, homonormativity, etc.).

OPTION 2: My Adopted Country

ernestovasquezdelaguila — 2024-03-26 17:56:33 UTC

Based on your individual research about a pressing issue related to sexuality in your assigned country, develop a critical essay that engages your topic with issues of sexuality studies. How does your topic illustrate some of the concepts in sexuality studies we have discussed so far?
As per all other options, make sure to engage with literature on sexuality studies.

OPTION 4: Applied Research (design an intervention)

ernestovasquezdelaguila — 2024-03-26 17:56:33 UTC

You have been hired as a sexuality researcher to advise a sexual education team on the sexual cultures of a population of your choice (e.g. adolescents, racial minorities, sexual minorities, inmates, etc.). In your paper discuss key aspects of your population’s sexual culture, for instance, sexual scripts, sexual geographies, intimacy, etc. Remember that you are NOT a health practitioner or health educator, but a sexuality researcher interested in unpacking the values, norms, expectations, sexual practices, etc. of your chosen population. You are expected to design the research, not to implement it.

Please discuss your ideas with me by 24 April.

OPTION 9: A Book Review

ernestovasquezdelaguila — 2024-03-26 17:56:33 UTC

A book review should provide a clear and concise description of the book and its thesis, situate the book within the relevant literature, and present its contribution to the field of sexuality studies. Please discuss your idea with me in advance (by 24th April).

Requirements

ernestovasquezdelaguila — 2024-03-26 17:56:33 UTC

To develop your final assignment, it is required that you incorporate readings from the syllabus that suit the purpose of your essay. Readings outside the syllabus are welcome, but not essential.

Deadline: Tuesday, 6 May by the end of the day.

Submission: An electronic copy is to be submitted through Brightspace by the end of the day.

Length: 2,500 words (+-10%) - excluding bibliography.

Include page numbers and Word Count at the end of your paper.

At the top of your paper, clearly indicate which of the eight options you have chosen.

Please note that for options 4-9, you have to discuss your ideas with me by 22 April.

***Follow Essay Writing Guidelines

ESSAY WRITING GUIDELINES

ernestovasquezdelaguila — 2024-03-26 17:56:33 UTC

Over time you will develop your own system for writing. However, despite differences between people’s approaches to essay writing, every good essay should follow this basic structure:

Title (choose a title that captures the main ideas covered in your paper)

I. Introduction (Outline of the topic/overview)

The purpose of the introduction is to outline what you are going to write about, to let the reader know what the topic is, to engage the reader’s curiosity, to pose a question/problem which you intend to address, and highlight which aspects of the topic you will be focusing on. Tip: It is often easier to write up the final version of your introduction at the end of the essay process when you know what shape your final draft has taken. (Aprox 250 words)

II. Body(consisting of sub-sections)

The body of your essay consists of a number of sub-sections in which you develop your ideas in detail. You may use sub-headings for this if you wish but are not obliged to.

The body should be structured in a way that makes your argument flow and read logically. Therefore, planning how/when you will be introducing the different points and evidence you will be including is important in producing a good essay body.

Ensure you prove your points continually by using specific examples, quotations, references to the source. For instance:

a) if you are rephrasing a concept from the whole text: According to Khan (2005), sexual relations outside marriage are generally considered a serious religious sin in Bangladesh sexual cultures.

b) If you are quoting a specific concept: In most western cultures, homosexual men are certainly at or near the bottom of the masculine pecking order (Dowset 2008:123).

(Approx. 2000 words)

III. Conclusion
This sums up the points in the essay and clearly but briefly reviews the main points, but without restating them word for word. (Aprox 250 words).

IV. Bibliography/References (not part of the word count)
Include a list of all the references you used in your essay at the end of your paper. These references should include all information about the sources:

Include your references at the end of your paper, NOT as footnotes or endnotes.

Examples (Chicago Author Date style):

McNeill, Tanya. 2013. "Sex education and the Promotion of Heteronormativity." Sexualities 16(7):826–846.

Weeks, Jeffrey. 2003 [1981]. "Discourse, Desire, and Sexual Deviance: Some Problems in a History of Homosexuality." In Culture, Society and Sexuality: A Reader, edited by Richard Parker and Peter Aggleton. (Pp.125-149) New York: Routledge.

While there is no requirement to follow a particular style (e.g. Harvard, Chicago, APHA, etc.), it is required that once you choose your style, you follow it consistently throughout the entire paper. If you have doubts, see the style used in the syllabus to cite references.
I suggest the use of a reference manager such as Endnote, Mendeley, EasyBib.com, or Zotero.

OPTION 3: A Literature Review of a Topic

ernestovasquezdelaguila — 2024-03-26 17:56:33 UTC

Select a topic from the syllabus and choose at least FIVE references to write your critical review. You can use references from any section of the syllabus, but at least five should be from a “Further Reading as Desired” section. A critical review is much more than a simple summary. Writing a good critical review requires that you read and understand the material. This option could provide the opportunity to work on a theoretical framework of a topic of your interest. If the topic is not contemplated in the syllabus, please discuss your choice with me in advance.

Option 6: A culture and sexualities video

ernestovasquezdelaguila — 2024-03-26 17:56:33 UTC

If you wish to produce a short video on a topic that deals with issues of culture and sexualities, please discuss your idea with me in advance (by 24th April).

Suggested Lenght: 15-20 minutes.

OPTION 8: An E-Portfolio

ernestovasquezdelaguila — 2024-03-26 17:56:33 UTC

An electronic portfolio is a space to display the work you have done in the module during the trimester. You can include photographs, videos, designs, writing, advertisement, etc.)

Please discuss your ideas with me by 24 April.

Note: Sway is a versatile presentation tool that enables you to create interactive and visually appealing e-portfolios. It allows you to integrate various types of media, such as text, images, videos, and documents. See HERE.

See additional formats HERE.

Read the rationale of e-portfolios HERE.

OPTION 7: A Script for a Film/Theatre/TV Show

ernestovasquezdelaguila — 2024-03-26 17:56:33 UTC

You are an independent film company and want to produce a movie targeting [choose your population]. You are an expert in sexualities studies and want to use some of the concepts discussed in class to challenge traditional ways of representing sexualities in the film/theater/TV industry. Discuss and devise a strategy to address this film, plot or representation of sexualities. Please discuss your idea with me in advance (by 29th November).

Note: as per other options, you are also expected to engage with the relevant academic literature on the topic and cite these sources appropriately in the reference section. No need to insert citations in the body of the script, but these references should be clearly identified with an * in the body of the script.

Please discuss your ideas with me by 24 April.

OPTION 5: An Essay of a Movie / TV Show

ernestovasquezdelaguila — 2024-03-26 17:56:33 UTC

Choose a movie/s or a TV show that clearly illustrates issues of sexuality studies. Develop a critical essay about how the media portrays notions of sex and sexuality. If you choose a television show, make sure to watch at least 3 episodes before writing your paper. This paper is not about plot summary but rather your chance to critically engage with concepts on sexuality studies. Some guiding questions for your essay: How does the media represent ideas of sex and sexuality? What kinds of sexualities and sexual subjects are portrayed in the show/movie?

Please discuss your ideas with me by 24 April.

Rubric for assessment

ernestovasquezdelaguila — 2024-05-13 11:31:38 UTC

Become familiar with the rubric system used for this final assignment.

Additional Learning Sources

ernestovasquezdelaguila — 2025-04-01 10:59:35 UTC

See HERE

FAQ HERE