Sociology 3046 TOPICS IN SEX AND GENDER Fall 1999

Professor: Martha E. Gimenez
Office: Ketchum 205A
Office Hours: T-Th 10:30 - 11:45 and by appointment
e-mail: gimenez@csf.colorado.edu
Virtual Office Hours: everyday - any time

SEX AND GENDER HOME PAGE

This page has been constructed by students enroled in this course in the Fall of 1998. One of the graded assignments for this semester is to contribute to the course home page (see details below, under course requirements).

Course Description

In this course we will examine important debates in the field of gender studies, exploring the social construction of gender, the relationship between biological sex and gender, and between gender and class, race, work, health and politics.

Course Requirements

This is a lecture and discussion course. Students are expected to attend classes regularly, read all the assignments and come prepared to participate in class discussions and structured debates.

Your class participation will be graded on the basis of its contribution to the learning experience of the other students.

Remember: I am available during my office hours and through email to answer questions about your assignments and any other course related matters you would like to bring up, so reserve your classroom questions to those which can be helpful to you and the other students.

Lectures will be brief and focused on theoretical issues and conceptual clarification. Lectures will be related to but will not necessarily cover every aspect of the assigned readings; they are designed to supplement, NOT to replicate the readings.

Your grades will be based on class participation and attendance (25 percent of the grade), one short essay, and the final exam.

1. Short Essay (8 double spaced pages or less): there are 18 debates in WOMEN, MEN, AND GENDER. Choose one to examine in depth and write an essay organized as follows: a) outline the main arguments on each side; 2) choose one side of the debate and present a carefully constructed argument supporting your choice. (30 percent of the grade).
2. Contribution to the course home page: Search the internet and identify at least 3 relevant websites not included in Perspectives where students of sex and gender could find useful information. Write a short (between two and three pages, double spaced) essay justifying your selection in light of the course objectives, using your learning in the course to evaluate the merits of the website. In other words, at the end of the semester, you will have contributed to construct a very important resource for this course: an annotated set of links to relevant websites. (30 percent of the grade)
3. Short Essay (8 double spaced pages or less): Choose a section from Perspectives, examine all the relevant websites in WiseGuide Wrap-Up, choose the one you find most informative and useful, given your interests on the topic, and write a short essay following the guidelines in the text and including also elements from your other readings, if appropriate. (30 percent of the grade)
4. Short Essay (8 double spaced pages or less: Choose one of the required book chapters and find, using sociofile or the internet, an article presenting a different view point. Compare the two arguments, following the guidelines indicated for the first essay. (30 percent of the grade).
5. Take Home Final Exam: This exam will be composed of essay questions based on the topics discussed during the semester. You will be given a list of study questions in advance and the exam will based on some of those questions. (45 percent of the grade)

Required Readings

Books

Bredin, Renae, ed., WOMEN'S STUDIES. Coursewise Publishing, 1999. = P in the Scheduled Readings

Walsh, Mary Roth, ed., WOMEN, MEN, AND GENDER. Ongoing Debates. Yale University Press, 1997. = W in the Scheduled Readings

Michael Kimmel and Michael Messner, eds., MEN'S LIVES. Allyn and Bacon (all editions) = MM in the Scheduled Readings.** (selected chapters)

Rose Weitz, THE POLITICS OF WOMEN'S BODIES. Sexuality, Appearance, and Behavior. Oxford University Press, 1997. = WB in the Scheduled Readings.** (selected chapters)

** these books are on reserve at Norlin.

Chapters in Books

Baca Zinn, Maxine, "Chicano Men and Masculinity," pp. 25-35 in MEN'S LIVES*

Beneke, Tim, "Men on Rape," PP. 437-443 in MEN'S LIVES*

Sterling, Anne Fausto, "How to Build a Man," pp. 385-399 in MEN'S LIVES*

Kaufman, Michael, "The Construction of Masculinity and the Triad of Men's Violence," pp. 4-17 in MEN'S LIVES*

Le Spiritu, Yen, "All Men are not Created Equal: Asian Men in U.S. History," pp. 35-45 in MEN'S LIVES*

Lorber, Judith, "Believing in Seeing: Biology as Ideology," pp. 12-24 in WOMEN'S BODIES.*

Marable, Manning, "The Black Male: Searching Beyond Stereotypes,"pp. 18-25 in MEN'S LIVES*

Nonn, Timothy, "Hitting Bottom: Homelessness, Poverty, and Masculinity," pp. 318-327 in MEN'S LIVES*

Pollitt, Katha, "'Fetal Rights': A New Assault on Feminism," pp. 278-287, in WOMEN'S BODIES.*

Williams, Christine, "The Glass Escalator: Hidden Advantages for men in the "Female" Professions," pp. 285-299 in MEN'S LIVES*

Recommended Additional Readings on reserve at Norlin Library*

You are required to read selected chapters, identified above with an *

Michael Kimmel and Michael Messner, eds., MEN'S LIVES. Allyn and Bacon (all editions) = MM in the Scheduled Readings.

Rose Weitz, THE POLITICS OF WOMEN'S BODIES. Sexuality, Appearance, and Behavior. Oxford University Press, 1997. = WB in the Scheduled Readings.

Scheduled Readings

I have scheduled readings for 12 weeks to give us flexibility and opportunity to cover other issues reflecting students' interests.

Week 1.

W - Question 1 - Should we Continue to Study Gender Differences?
Question 2 - Biological Causation: Are Gender Differences Wired into Our Biology? Lorber in WB

Week 2.
P - #8 The Five Sexes....
Fausto Sterling in MM
Kaufman in MM
Marable in MM

Week 3.
Baca Zinn in MM
Le Spiritu in MM

Week 4:
Review

W - Question 3 -Diversity Issues ....
P - #17 A Question of Class

Week 5. P - #1 Facts of Working Women
W - Question 14 - Discrimination..
. W - Question 17 - Women's Behavior...

Week 6
Williams in MM
Nonn in MM

Week 7
P - Section 5

Week 8
P - #10 The Partial-Birth....
Pollitt in WB
P - Section 6

Week 9
W - Question 7 - Pornography...
P - #3 It's a Pleasure....
P - #9 The Meaning of Sex

Week 10
W - Question 8 - Sexual Orientation...
W - Question 9 - Domestic Violence...

Week 11
W - Question 4 - Conversational Style...
W - Question 5 - Non-Verbal Behavior...

Week 12
P - Section 7

9:30 SECTION: FINAL EXAM DUE TUESDAY DECEMBER 14

2:00 SECTION; FINAL EXAM DUE FRIDAY DECEMBER 1