Queer Theory with international virtual exchange
Undergraduate course
- ECTS credits
- 10
- Teaching semesters Autumn
- Course code
- KVIK113
- Number of semesters
- 1
- Teaching language
- Norwegian and English
- Resources
- Schedule
Course description
Objectives and Content
There are limited places in the course. Enrollment deadline autumn 2025 is august 24th. You will receive a response regarding your admission by September 1. See “Access to the Course”.
"Due to the educational situation in the USA, we cannot conduct the course with digital exchange with Florida Gulf Coast University as planned. Therefore, the course will be designed as a 'Student Advocacy Seminar' (SAS) in collaboration with Scholars at Risk."
The course aims to provide students with in-depth knowledge about the historical, social, and cultural relevance of queer theory in an international context.
The course is practice-oriented in the sense that students will collaborate digitally on a series of tasks and cases. The collaboration will result in an object (film, podcast, photo essay, interview, or similar) that can be integrated into an imaginary Bergen-international queer archive or a campaign related to a current issue. The work on the object will form the basis for the individual student's reflection essay.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completing the course, the student will have achieved the following learning outcomes:
Knowledge
The student:
- Is familiar with central texts and themes in queer and trans theory.
- Has knowledge of how normative structures shape individual and collective understandings of self and others in a global context.
- Has knowledge of how gender and sexuality structure both societies and individual lives.
- Understands how various power structures (such as race, class, gender, sexuality, language, age, religion, and ability) interact in the constitution of individuals and societies.
Skills
The student:
- Can analyze how normativity, especially heteronormativity, operates in various cultural expressions.
- Can critically reflect on the political and cultural contexts of queer theory.
- Can use queer perspectives to examine their own perceptions.
- Can reflect on the possibilities for creating change.
- Can develop methods for critical reflection on concepts and phenomena related to diversity.
General Competence
The student:
- Can collaborate with others to solve tasks and develop internationally relevant knowledge.
- Can think critically and creatively about current societal challenges.
- Can use various digital tools for acquiring and disseminating knowledge.
- Has developed an ethical sensitivity and understanding of global differences
ECTS Credits
Level of Study
Semester of Instruction
Required Previous Knowledge
Credit Reduction due to Course Overlap
Access to the Course
There are 30 places available in the course. Students will be prioritized based on the following criteria:
- They are enrolled in the bachelor's program in Gender Studies
- They are enrolled in the one-year program in Gender, Sexuality, and Diversity
- Completed study credits
The enrollment deadline is august 24th 2025.
Students who wish to take the course must register "undervisningsmelding" in Studentweb by the given deadline. Admission will be announced by September 1st.
Teaching and learning methods
Teaching and learning methods are a combination of lectures, group work, and seminars. Students typically meet for lectures, seminars, and digital task-solving three hours per week (two hours digitally with international students, and one hour offline with students in Bergen).
Lectures facilitate student activity, such as problem-based learning, where students must reflect and develop solutions together.
In the seminars, there will be opportunities to give and receive feedback on student activities.
In addition to the regular teaching, students are expected to work in international groups digitally to develop products that can be part of a conceptual international queer archive.
Compulsory Assignments and Attendance
Forms of Assessment
The course uses the following assessment method:
The exam is a portfolio consisting of
- a product intended for an imaginary international queer archive or campaign related to a current issue. The product is developed in groups.
- an individual reflection essay of approximately 3000 words, where each student reflects on the submitted product and the work on it, in light of theoretical texts on the syllabus.
The portfolio receives an overall grade, which is mainly based on the essayistic reflection on the product in light of the syllabus