SOCIOLOGY OF GENDER

Sociology 226

M 6-8:50

Amador 260

Todd A. Migliaccio

Amador 451D

W 12:30-1:30, 5-6 Tu 10-11 or by appointment

278-7573

tmigliac@csus.edu

Article URL: http://locus.csus.edu/locus2005/index.php

WebCT URL: http://online6.csus.edu

Course Objective

This seminar is intended to introduce graduate students to diverse theories that explain gender relations in contemporary society. Consequently this seminar is intended to provide a critical perspective on how we construct male and female identities and how the consequences of such a construction affect institutions, culture and society. The course is broken up into four sections. The first will be an introduction to the ideas, concepts and methods of studying gender and gender inequality in society. The second section will deal directly with the major theories of gender analysis, the differences between the perspectives and the projected ways of challenging inequality. The third section will continue discussions of theory by applying theory to groups that had been marginalized in previous theoretical discussions. The ideas and theories in this section problematize both theoretical and epistemological aspects of gender and raise important issues for sociological practices. Finally, in the fourth section, the course will address the issues that arise in society in relation to gender. Much of this section will be spent discussing empirical research, but theory will be addressed throughout.

Learning Outcomes:

Demonstrate basic understanding of the different theoretical perspectives related to the analysis of gender.
Understand and discuss methods of research in the field of gender.
Recognize and critically examine the construction of gendered individuals and their relation to society.
Identify diverse presentations and experiences of gender in society, with special attention to the intersection between gender, race, class and sexuality.
Critically analyze the relationship between gender and other social institutions.
Express an understanding of the role gender plays in society and its relation to issues of inequality.

Texts

Course Reader. (Some will be on reserve, some will be located on-line. You are required to copy/print all of them.)

Gender Inequality, 3^rd ed. Lorber, Judith. 2005. Los Angeles: Roxbury.

Feminist Perspectives on Social Research. 2004. Hesse-Biber, Sharlene and Yaiser, Michelle. New York: Oxford.

Requirements

Paper: A short research project in which you will study some aspect of gender, whether it is through interviews, observations, surveys, you will analyze gender in the world. You will be expected to draw on the readings and class discussions, as well as to use outside materials in your paper. Be prepared to discuss the ideas in the paper on the last day of class.

Paper Presentation: Every student will be required to present their research topic to the class, including a review of relevant literature and an explanation of the research (methods).

Reading Presentation: Every person will be expected to present one article from the reader to the class. You will explain the article to the class, and simply summarize it (this should be short and easy to understand. If you do not understand it, then you can come and talk to me, but try to figure it out on your own first before coming to me so we can talk about it and not just have me lecture at you). You will also be expected to go beyond the article, bringing in outside material, all to create discussion. You should end with discussion topic/questions for the class, and you should help to facilitate the discussion.

Article Reviews: You are required each week to write up a short analytical commentary about the readings that are not being presented in class. You should end with a thought or question that goes beyond the readings discussed. You can focus on one reading, but it would be better to identify a connection between the readings. You will discuss these in your groups and identify the best question/commentary of the group to discuss with the class. But be open to bringing in ideas from any of the reviews in the class discussion. You will turn in a copy to me two hours before class and bring a copy to discuss in your group.

Group Work, Class Involvement and Attendance: You will be placed in work groups for the entire semester. The focus will be not simply on discussing the material, but drawing out the ideas to bigger discussions beyond the articles and readings. Your analytical articles will help you to do this. Many of the readings will be presented in class in greater detail, but I will have you work in groups prior to the presentation to be prepared to be part of the discussions created by the presentation. You are also expected to offer comments during class discussions that reflect on the ideas and more importantly, on the readings. Finally, you are required to attend all of the classes. Understand if you miss, it can affect your grade.

Schedule

Part I Beginnings and Understandings

Week One

Overview of class. Discussion with everyone about Gender issues in society, directions to go and concerns in academia with gender. Review of article in class.

Week Two

Origins of gender/gender inequality

Reader:

Bem: Dismantling Gender Polarization and Compulsory Heterosexuality

(On-line)

Buss: Sexual Strategies Theory (On-line)

Epstein: Symbolic Segregation: Similarities and Differences…..(On-line)

Johnson, Gender Knot, Chapter 1 (On-line)

Lorber: Believing is seeing: Biology is ideology (On-line)

Week Three

Researcher Methods in Gender Research: Concerns and controversies

Hesse-Biber and Yaiser, Readings 1, 2, 13, 17, 22

Week Four

Feminism and Power

Lorber, Part 1, Part IV, Chapter 13

Reader:

Tong: Introduction: The Diversity of Feminist Thinking (On-line) (NO)

Steinem: If Men Could Menstruate (On-line) (NO)

Walker: Couples Watching Television (On-line)

Sheffield: Sexual Terrorism (On-line)

Spivey: Distancing and Solidarity as Resistance to Sexual Objectification in a

Nude Dancing Bar (On-line)

Part II Theories of Gender Development

Week Five

Marxist, Socialist and Radical Feminists

Lorber, Part II, Chapters 2, 3 & 5

Reader:

Colley: A ‘Rough Guide’ to the History of Mentoring from a Marxist Feminist Perspective (On-line)

Zillah: Constructing a Theory of Capitalist Patriarchy and Socialist Feminism (On-line)

Blum: Possibilities and Limits of the Comparable Worth Movement (On-line)

Week Six

Social Constructionist, Psychoanalytic and Liberal Feminists

Lorber, Part II, Chapters 1, 7, & 11

Reader:

West & Zimmerman: Doing Gender (On-line)

McGuffey & Rich: Playing in the Gender Transgression Zone (On-line)

Carr: Tomboy resistance and conformity (On-line)

Part III: Applying theory beyond the dominant group

Week Seven

Men and Masculinity in Gender Studies: Controversy with both

Hesse-Biber & Yaiser, Reading 10, 14

Lorber, Chapter 10

Reader: bell hooks: Men: Comrades in Struggle (Reader: Reserve)

Kaufman: The Construction of Masculinity and the Triad of Men’s Violence

(On-line)

Messner: Politics of Masculinities, Chapter 1 (On-line)

Kendall: “Oh No! I’m a Nerd”: Hegemonic Masculinity…. (On-line)

Connell: The Social Organization of Masculinity (On-line)

Week Eight

Multicultural Feminism: Moving beyond White, Middle-class Feminism

Hesse-Biber & Yaiser, Readings 6

Lorber, Chapters 8 & 9

Reader:

McIntosh: White Privilege and Male Privilege: Unpacking the White

Knapsack (On-line)

Tuana (and discussion): With Many Voices (On-line)

hooks: Feminism—It’s a Black Thang! (On-line) (NO)

Week Nine

Queer Theory and Sexuality

Lorber 6 & 12

Hesse-Biber & Yaiser: 11

Reader:

Rochlin: Heterosexual Questionnaire (On-line) (NO)

Katz: “Homosexual” and “Heterosexual” (On-line) (NO)

Bem: Exotic becomes Erotic (On-line)

Townley: Lesbians play football too (On-line)

Part IV Gender in Society

Week Ten

Socialization and Childhood: Learning Gender

Reader:

Messner: Boyhood, Organized Sports, and the Construction of Masculinities (On-line)

Carter & Hesse-Biber: Socialization and the Production of Gender Inequality (WebCT: On-line)

Bem: Feminist Child-rearing (On-line)

Smith: Schooling for Inequality (On-line)

Burnham & Harris: Effects of Real Gender….. (On-line)

Week Eleven

Work and Gender: Inequality in the Workplace

Reader:

O’Neill: The gender gap in wages (On-line)

Lips: The gender pay gap: Concrete indicator of women’s progress toward

equality (On-line- with O’Neill’s article)

Williams: Glass Escalator (WebCT: On-line)

Giuffre & Williams: Boundary Lines (On-line)

Henson & Rogers: “Why Marcia you’ve changed!” (On-line)

Martin: Humor in Middle Management (On-line)

Week Twelve

Family and Gender: Marriage, Housework and Childcare

Reader:

Hays: Mommy Wars (WebCT: On-line)

Young: The Mommy Wars (On-line)

Marcusa: Revisiting the Mommy Wars (On-line)

Gardner: Search for a truce in ‘Mommy Wars’ (On-line)

Coltrane: Families and Gender Equity (On-line) (NO)

Hochschild: The Second Shift (On-line)

Popenoe: Parental Androgyny (On-line)

Week Thirteen

Violence: Is it a gendered issue?

Hesse-Biber & Yaiser, Reading 14

Reader:

White, Donat & Bondurant: A developmental examination of violence against

girls and women

Felson: Violence and Gender Reexamined (On-line- with White article
above)

Straus: Physical Assaults by Wives

Kurz: Physical Assaults by Husbands (On-line)

Quinn: Sexual Harassment and Masculinity (On-line)

Gardner: Analyzing Gender in Public Places (On-line)

Berns: Degendering the problem and gendering the blame (On-line)

Week Fourteen

Media, language and final thoughts

Lorber, Part V

Reader:

Messner, Duncan & Jensen: Separating the Men from the Girls: The Gendered language of Televised Sports (On-line)

Kang: The Portrayal of Women’s Images in Magazine Advertisements (On-line)

Barron & Kimmel: Sexual Violence in Three Pornographic Media (On-line)

Week Fifteen

Discussions and Presentations