Course Description
Feminist theories and methodologies on gender, with an emphasis on contemporary American society and the intersection of gender, race, and class. Topics include socialization, sexual orientation, reproduction, violence, family and household, work and global restructuring, and politics.
Athena Title
SOC OF GENDER
Prerequisite
SOCI 1101 or SOCI 1101H or SOCI 2600 or permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
The course will acquaint students with diverse theoretical approaches to understanding the origin and operation of gender as a major principle of social organization. The focus in this course is primarily on the U.S. context. Students will cover sociological and feminist theories of gender and will explore methodological issues in the study of gender. The course will explore the impact of gender relations and gender ideologies in social organizations such as families, labor markets, schools, governments, religious institutions, and health care systems and analyze the combined effects of gender, race/ethnicity and class in many domains of social life. Finally, students will learn of past and contemporary movements seeking reform around issues of gender. Students will be asked to demonstrate their mastery of the course content in written work that is appropriate for an academic context. Students will be asked to demonstrate their mastery of the course content in speech that is appropriate for an academic context.
Topical Outline
I. Theoretical perspectives on the study of gender Socialization/Social Learning Psychoanalytical Structural Marxist Feminist Socialist Feminist Radical Feminist The New Men's Studies Multiracial Feminism and Theories of Intersectionality II. Methodological Issues in studying gender III. Theories of the origin of gender difference IV. Gender in the Context of Social Organizations A. The Family B. The Workplace C. The Educational System D. The Health Care System E. The Political System and the Military F. The Social Organization of Sexuality G. Religious and Spiritual Organizations H. The Mass Media I. Culture
Syllabus