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104 : Intro to Sociology
303 : Race & Ethnicity
315 : Social Class
316 : Gender & Society
480 : Pop Culture
480 : Social Movements
520 : Seminar in Inequalities

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Jennifer Eichstedt
Assistant Professor
Department of Sociology
Humboldt State University
1 Harpst Street
Arcata, CA 95521

Office: 707-826-4949
Fax : 707-826- 4418
jle7001@humboldt.edu

316 : Gender and Society : Syllabus


This course is designed to introduce sociology students to an in-depth gender analysis of U.S. society and culture. We will interrogate the meanings of gender and the ways that gender categories are enforced in the contemporary U.S. Most people in the U.S. accept as "natural" the division of people into two primary gender categories, men and women, and one primary form of sexual/romantic expression, heterosexuality. These divisions and categories seem to come from biological differences between males and females, and appear affirmed through our everyday patterns of appearance, economic position, dress, speech, family experience, and so on. These assumptions of naturalness are increasingly being challenged by sociologists and other scholars involved in gender studies. We argue that there is compelling evidence to support the assertion that the categories of "woman" and "man" are social constructions, as are much of the differences in the lived experiences of women and men, heterosexuals, and others. Much of this course will focus on this question of constructedness, we will seek to explore the nature of these constructions as they are shaped by group memberships and institutional patterns. Fundamental to our exploration of gender will be an exploration of the ways one’s gendered experience is always mediated by race, class, and sexual orientation.

An Important note: In this class we will be dealing with issues of gender; how it is constructed and experienced in contemporary society. This means that we will read some texts, and watch some movies, which use explicit sexual language and explore important themes which may include prostitution, cross-dressing, heterosexuality, gays, lesbians, and bisexuality. Some of the ideas presented in this course may challenge ideas/beliefs that you hold very dear; while it is understood that at times you may feel discomfort, it is expected that you will be able to watch these movies, read these texts, and discuss them all, in an academic manner. This does not mean you are not supposed to have emotional reactions to these texts, but that you are willing to struggle with the readings, texts, etc., and the emotions they raise, in a critical, and respectful manner. If you remain in this course, it will be assumed that you are consenting to work with the assigned material in such a way.

Required Texts:

Bornstein, Kate, 1995. Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and the Rest of Us. New York: Random House

Disch, Estelle (Ed). 1997. Reconstructing Gender: A Multicultural Anthology. Mayfield Press.

Messner, Michael. 1997. The Politics of Masculinities: Men in Movements. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Press.

Various required readings will be on reserve at the library. If possible some will be available on the ONCORES system toward the end of the semester.


COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

There will be several components of this course, each of which will play an important part in your overall evaluation. These include:

Attendance: Pretty clear: be here and receive credit - be absent and don't. I count this toward your grade because your presence, and participation, is vital to the success of this course. I can't do it without you folks. It succeeds or fails because of our collective effort. Plus, I want to see and hear you; your input and perspective is important.
Participation in a Group Journal: It is crucial that we engage each other as much as possible to develop a sense of a scholarly community. Your active participation in on-line group journals is an important part of creating this environment. There will be five (5) journals and each member of the class will be assigned to a journal. The journals will be set-up as on-line discussion groups or list-serves. Each student will be assigned to a journal on the first day, and will write with the other five or six students who have also been assigned to that specific journal about issues and concerns pertinent to the class. The point of the journal is to communicate with each other about the topics in class - or closely related topics. I expect you all to read each other’s entries and to dialogue with each other. If this doesn’t seem to be working I will give you a topic to explore and you can address that, but my preference is for you to deal with issues that are compelling to you. I will be checking the journals on a regular basis and making sure that everyone is contributing. A *contribution* consists of at least the equivalent of _- one full page of writing. Each person should be contributing at least one entry per week. I will be a member on all of the journals and will track people’s contributions in this way.

Group Project/Teaching a Course - Each member of the course will teach, in conjunction with 2 or 3 other members, one course meeting. In essence, you each will be part of a group project where you will research a particular topic. What the topic is will be determined through group discussions and negotiations. I encourage you to consider social change topics, as well as more traditional topics. The end product of this group process will be to team teach one class meeting. As a group you will decide how best to teach your classmates about the topic - and how to get others to think critically about the topic. Teaching, as you may know, is not something done off the cuff - there’s a lot of planning that goes into this. To ensure that you are prepared for this, the following things will be required of you: 1) Everyone in the group has to participate in the teaching. Everyone has to speak. You will be evaluated as to the effectiveness of your actual teaching by myself and other members of the class. This will count for 5 % of your grade. 2) At the beginning of the class you are teaching the group will turn in a typed lesson plan for the class - the thoroughness of this is important and should be a collaborative effort. This will account for 10% of your grade. 3) Each person, as an individual, will turn in, on the day you teach, an annotated bibliography of the sources that you used to prepare. This accounts for 5 % of your grade. You will do stronger on this if you use multiple scholarly sources; examples will be provided. 4) Each person will also turn in a 1-2 page summary of the main points they learned through their research and what you think are the most provocative points raised by what you have learned. This also will account for 5 % of your grade. Total points for this project is 25.

Outside Activity Reports:

1. Exercise to be handed out on Tuesday, September 25th. 3 page paper due on October 4th.

2. Outside Activity Report: The purpose of this component is to encourage you to integrate the academic work we study with the "real world." You may do just about anything (legal, of course) as an outside activity. Some possibilities include: contact/visit an organization that deals primarily with issues of gender (e.g., Women’s Center, Gay/Lesbian bookstore, etc.); visit an exhibit that focuses on some aspect of gender; search the World Wide Web on a particular issue and engage in discussion on the net; attend a lecture, film, etc. and write a thoughtful critique of how gender issues were addressed. These are just a few ideas. There are many! See me if you are lacking in possibilities. Creativity is rewarded! You should not write about something that you did in the past; the point is to go out and do something NOW. Papers should be approximately 2-4 pages in length, typed or computer printed, and stapled. Late papers will not be accepted. Early submissions are fine! (Adapted from Melissa Herbert, Hamline University, Minnesota).

Mid-term #1 - Due October 11th. Exploring Socialization - your own in relation to the readings. A description of the mid-term will be handed out on October 4th.

Final Exam - Take home exam, Due Tuesday, December 18th at 12:40 in the classroom where we meet.Course Grades:

Total Points possible on each component:

Attendance 10 %
14 entries in the group journal 10%
Group Project and Presentation 25%
Mid term #1 - Due October 11 20%
Outside Activities
A. First Exercise, Due 5 %
B. Visit Outside Location (see description) 5%
Final Exam Due ....... 25%

Total Possible Pts. 100 pts.

GRADING IN GENERAL: In all your work I will take the following things into account when grading: did you write the paper you were asked to write - or did you write something else; to what extent do you demonstrate your understanding of the material - this doesn’t mean you always have to understand everything. Rather, you are expected to be able to demonstrate what you do know and fess up to what you don’t know; do you ask interesting sociological questions in your work; do you write in complete and legible sentences; does what you hand in read as if it was your first draft - i.e. have you worked on the assignment; are there typos and misspellings. While my focus is always primarily on content, I do take into account the quality of writing you turn in. You MUST be able to write well to get an A in this course; if you don’t feel as if you write well, we’ll work on it. Faculty do you no favors when we tell you that your work is exceptional (which is what an A signifies) when it is not. This leads me to my next brief topic: grades themselves.

A "C" is not uncommon in my classes - C’s signify to me competent, average quality work. You get a C if you fulfill what is asked of you and don’t go beyond it. If your work indicates a standard level of understanding of the material, etc. you get a C. In order to get a B you must submit work that is above average. It is work that demonstrates a more sophisticated and complex reading of the material and your more sophisticated ability to discuss the material. "A" work is work that is truly outstanding. "A" work is unusual in its excellence - it demonstrates a very high ability to handle the course material and ask proactive and important sociological questions. It is often signaled by the ability to synthesize material in creative and thoughtful ways. It is also work that is very well written and organized. It doesn’t come with misspellings and bizarre paragraphs. A’s are difficult to achieve - not because there is anything lacking from students - but because they really do signify excellence - and in a room full of smart, capable people, being "outstanding" is very unusual. I don’t say these things to discourage you, but rather to be clear about where I’m coming from. Please see me if you have questions.

* All work for this course must be typed/computer generated. Additionally, NO LATE WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED WITHOUT A DOCUMENTED, LEGITIMATE EXCUSE. Computer problems do not constitute a legitimate excuse. The fact that your computer jammed, stopped working, won’t print, or ran out of printer ink/paper is unfortunate; it doesn’t excuse late work. Here’s why: I assume that every student makes a back up copy of their file onto a floppy disk as they make changes, can gain access to campus computers if theirs crashes, isn’t writing their paper at 10:00pm the night before it is due, and isn’t printing their paper out for the first time 10 minutes before class. If you read this, and know that you do/don’t do these things - I suggest you change your habits. I also recommend that students keep a backup printed copy of their papers for their own files. (Faculty do sometimes misplace student papers - unfortunately it’s up to the student to produce another one for the faculty).


COURSE OUTLINE
*Draft* - *or - It could always change in conditions warrant...."

Please note that the last several weeks are rather nonspecific - this is because I anticipate that your concerns and choices around what you would like to teach will determine what is most appropriate in terms of readings and scheduling.

WEEK 1 - August 28th and 30th. Introductions and Beginning Explorations

Tues: Introductions/Small Groups

Thurs: Film


WEEK 2 - September 4 - 6th: Getting of Gender - Beginnings of Theory

Tues: Development of field of study - Sex, Gender, Biology, etc.

Thurs: Biology..... Possible Film: Gender Differences

• Week’s Readings: Disch, Part I; To be finished by Thurs, Sept. 6th.


WEEK 3 - Sept 11th and 13th : Sociological Theories and the Study of Gender

Tues: Biology

• Readings: Kessler, Medical Construction of Gender....(Library)

Thursday: Gay/Lesbian/Hetero - What causes sexual orientation - some debates

• Readings: Start Gender Outlaw


WEEK 4 - Sept 18th and 20th: Sociological Theories and the Study of Gender

Tues: Socialization Theories - Anthropology, Psychoanalysis, and Feminism

• Readings: Parsons.... (Library)

Thurs: Feminism and Structurings of Gender

• Readings: Continue Gender Outlaw


WEEK 5 - Sept 25th and 27th : Gender as Socially Constructed: Learning to Be Men and Women

Tues: Gender as Social Accomplishment

*Hand out Assignment #1
• Readings: West and Zimmerman - Doing Gender (Library)

Thurs: Examples of Socialization - Discuss Disch articles

• Readings: Disch - Part II


WEEK 6 - Oct 2nd and 4th - Embodying Gender

Tues: Issues of Embodiment

• Readings: Disch, Part III

Thurs: Turn in and Discuss Assignment #1


WEEK 7 - Oct 9th and 11th - Continuing Theories and Discussion - Midterm Due

Tues: Bring Drafts of Paper to Class - meetings with Professor

Thurs: Paper #1/Midterm Due - Self and Theories of Being Gendered


WEEK 8 - Oct 16th and 18th - Economic Gender Gap and its explanations

Tues: Overview and Theories....

• Readings: Reskin and Hartmann, Women’s Work, Men’s Work (Library).
• Disch, Part VIII

Thurs: Possible Student Teaching Day?


WEEK 9 - Oct 23rd and 25th: Economic Gender Gap and its explanations

Tues: Theories and Position of Women and Men of Color in the Economy

• Readings: Disch, Part VIII

Thurs: Possible Student Teaching Day?


WEEK 10 - Oct 30th and November 1st: Gender and the State/Violence

Tues: Overview and Issues....

• Assignment #2 Due at beginning of class.
• Readings: Disch, Part X
• Gordon, Women and the Welfare State, (Library)

Thurs: Student Teaching Day?


WEEK 11 - Nov 6 and 8th Gender and the Family

Tuesday – Disch Readings Part VI – Discuss Family as Personal, Family as State Control

Thursday – Creating New Families; Actions and Resistances
(Possible Student Teaching Day)


WEEK 12: Nov 13th and 15th: Movements to maintain inequality...

Tues: Movements for maintaining the status quo

• Readings: Messner Politics of Masculinity, Chapters 1-2
• West, Women of the New Right (Library Reserve)

Thurs: Possible Student Teaching Day.... Readings: TBA


WEEK 13: NO CLASS – THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY


WEEK 14 Nov 27th and 29th - Advocating for Change

Tuesday: Gay/Lesbian Rights Movements

• Readings: Burton, Rienzo, Wald, Contemp. Gay Political Movement (Library)
• Messner, Politics of Masculinity, Chapter 5

Thursday: New Waves of Feminism/Womanism


WEEK 15: Dec. 4th and 6th. International Issues

Tues: International issues of Gender

• Readings to be assigned – possible Student Teaching Day

Thurs: Student Teaching Day

• Readings: Disch, Part XI - A World that is Truly Human


WEEK 16: Dec 11th and 13th

Tuesday: International Issues of Gender

• Alliances across boundaries
• (Readings to be assigned)

Thursday: Student Teaching Day

FINAL EXAM PERIOD IS TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18TH – 12:40-14:30. Your final will be due at the beginning of the class period (12:40). We will also meet for the first hour or so of this time period, so please plan accordingly.