Rethinking Malaysian Perspectives of Gender Constructions through Ethnographic-Oriented Approach

This action research encompasses three phases. In the first phase, the current practice of students engaging in reading texts through the perspective of gender is examined. Gender identities: Malaysian Perspectives is a course taught to third year students for the Bachelor of Arts (Literature in English) Programme. The course provides an exploration into constructions of gender identities through literary texts. Because students are more familiar with Western oriented gender theories, they often appropriate Western perspectives in their analysis of texts, marginalising their own beliefs and values in the process of interpretation. In this research, through an ethnographic-oriented approach, students will be exposed to various methodologies as an intervention programme to enable them to rethink gender stereotypes and explore the ways in which we read and make meaning out of texts and contexts. Through ethnography, they will be able to compare their findings with the established findings elsewhere, so that they can analyse differences between the local scene and international landscape in matters related to gender.