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SOCI 407/WOMS407 SOCIOLOGY OF SEX AND GENDER Spring 2007 Dr. Margaret L. Andersen Phone: 831-0649 |
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“Just read a book. You'll become part of a worldwide community of all people reading the book at the same time. So much energy going into one place. Fantastic!"--Oprah Winfrey
Course Prerequisites:
Students enrolling in this course should have prior coursework in Women's Studies or the sociology of gender (such as SOCI/WOMS 213 or the equivalent). This is an advanced course with extensive reading. Students should be prepared to complete all of the reading on time and in a way that they will be prepared to engage actively in discussion of the books. The course is also restricted to Sociology and Women's Studies majors--or those with comparable experience.
Course Description:
This course is structured as a seminar where the emphasis will be on student participation in class discusssion and analysis of the books required for the course. We will be reading both nonfiction and fiction, both of which can teach you to observe the social construction of gender in society. Students will be encouraged to relate class readings to their own observations about the topics covered.
Much of the course focuses on the theme of gender and the body, including the representation of gendered bodies in popular culture and their relationship to food and eating disorders. Also included in this section of the course is a discussion of reproduction, race, and rights, with a focus on how racism and sexism have defined the bodies of women of color. And, we will also look at extreme cases of the confinement and strict social control of women's bodies.
Course Objectives:
A primary purpose of this course is to teach you to read critically and carefully. Thus, the course is organized around extensive reading. You can think of it like a book club where we will read together, critically discuss the content of each book, and use our discusssion to build an analysis of the sociology of sex and gender.
A second objective is to teach you to appreciate the different insights and perspectives that readers from diverse backgrounds bring to the reading of books. This will require you to listen carefully to the views of others and be open to ideas and experiences that may differ from your own.
In addition, we will use both fiction and nonfiction to identify the social structural changes that are transforming women's and men's lives as gendered subjects. This includes examining the dynamics of class and race relations as they influence and are influenced by the social construction of sex and gender.
Books Required for Purchase:
Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale
Maxine Leeds Craig, Ain’t I a Beauty Queen?
Ophira Edut, Body Outlaws: Rewriting the Rules of Beauty and Body Image
Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God
Debra Gimlin, Body Work: Beauty and Self-Image in American Culture
Ariel Levy, Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture
Electronic reserve (or paper reserve) readings as required on syllabus
NOTE: All books are also on reserve in Morris Library
Course Requirements
Because there is extensive reading for this course, you will only be required to write two take-home essay exams, each worth 30 percent of your final grade. This means you MUST participate actively in class discussions, which requires having the reading completed before coming to class. You should read carefully, making note of questions, comments, and insights as you do.
You will be given additional written assignments as part of the class work. These will be intended to help you focus your reading, apply what you have read to observing the social world, and thinking critically about the reading material. Class participation counts as 40 percent of your final grade and will be based on attendance, periodic homework assignments, participation in class discussions, and contributions to a classroom environment that is conducive to learning for all students. Including class participation as a major component of your grade is not intended to reward those who dominate discussion. Although all students must participate in discussion, you can contribute to a positive class environment by being respectful of others, listening carefully (even when you disagree) and encouraging others to share their ideas.
Course Policies:
Makeup exams will only be given for excused absences,
as defined by University policy. All written work is due on the date and at the
time announced. Late papers will lose one half grade for every late day (i.e.,
a B paper coming in one day late will get a B-, two days late a C+; three days
late, a C and so forth). If you have an emergency or an excused absence,
please notify the professor as soon as possible. Grade disputes must
be handled in person, not via e-mail.
You should keep all work returned to you until final grades are posted. Saving your work will verify your grade in the unlikely event that your work is misrecorded or misplaced. You keep a backup disk for all work done on a computer for this course; last minute lost computer files are not an excuse for late work.
Course Requirements:
Take-home essay exam (25% of final grade)
Final paper (25% of final grade)
Group Report (25% of final grade)
Class Participation (includes periodic homework, attendance, and discussion, 25% of final grade)
IMPORTANT DATES:
March 20: Take-Home Due
May 1-May 15: Student Group Reports
May 15: Final Papers Due
February 6: Introductions
Film: "Barbie Nation"
February 13: Reproduction and Gender Apartheid
Read: Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale
February 20: Reproductive Rights/Reproductive Wrongs
Read: Rickie Solinger, “Motherhood as Class Privilege in America” (on electronic reserve)
Susan Bordo, “Are Mothers Persons?” from Unbearable Weight(on electronic reserve)
FILM: Film: "The Handmaid's Tale"
February 27: Feminism, Sex, and Popular Culture
Read: Ariel Levy, Female Chauvinist Pigs, Introduction and Chs. 1-3
March 6: Gender and Social Control
Read: Ariel Levy, Female Chauvinist Pigs, Chs. 4-6 and Conclusion
Maxine Leeds Craig, Ain’t I a Beauty Queen?, Chs. 1-3
March 13: Bodies and Social Injustice
Read: Maxine Leeds Craig, Ain’t I a Beauty Queen?, Chs. 4-9
Jael Silliman et al., “Women of Color and Their Struggle for Reproductive Justice” (on electronic reserve)
March 20: Take-Home Exam Due
Film: "Osama"
March 26-April 1: SPRING BREAK
April 3: Feminist Theory and the Body
Read : Susan Bordo, “Whose Body Is This?” and “Anorexia Nervosa,” from Unbearable Weight (on electronic reserve)
Film: “Dying to Be Thin”
April 10: Beauty and Body Work: Women’s Choice?/Women’s Exploitation?
Read: Debra Gimlin, Body Work
Sheila Jeffreys, “The Grip of Culture on the Body,” from Beauty and Misogyny (on electronic reserve)
Audio: “Pop Culture Drives Desire for Nose Jobs in Iraq”
“Chinese Risking Surgery for More Height”
April 17: Consider the Alternatives
Read: Ophira Edut, ed. Body Outlaws: Rewriting the Rules of Beauty and Body Image*
*Note: Students will read selected essays, to be announced
April 24: Love, Violence and Resistance
Read: Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God
May 1: Student Reports
May 8: Student Reports
May 15: Student Reports and Conclusion
