SOCIOLOGY 223/WOMEN'S STUDIES 221

Women and Men in Contemporary Society

INTERSESSION 2001

MTWThF 9:00-11:40 a.m.

Faner 2525

Instructor: Jennifer Dunn

3423 Faner Hall

Office Hours: MTWThF 12:30-1:30 pm and by appointment

Phone: 453-7623 e-mail: jldunn@siu.edu

Content and Objectives of the Course

This course will introduce you to some basic concepts in the sociology of gender. We will examine and learn to apply concepts--such as reality construction, socialization, identity, social location, gender, discrimination, feminism, and patriarchy--to our experience as gendered social actors and the patterned social arrangements in which we participate. We will thus be exploring social processes that influence the acquisition of a gendered self, socialization into gender roles, and the ongoing interrelationship of individual women and men and contemporary societies. That is, we will consider how gender is created in social interaction even as it shapes social interaction. This is a Core Curriculum course. By the end of this course you should be able to:

• Show a clear understanding of the influence of gender in U.S. history, culture, and social structure

• Use the concepts to analyze your own observations and experience

• Demonstrate your ability to compare, contrast, and assess various theoretical and political perspectives on the intersection of gender with other dimensions of social location, including race, class, and sexuality

Required Texts

Disch, Estelle (ed.). 2000. Reconstructing Gender: A Multicultural Anthology. Second Edition. Mountain View: Mayfield Publishing Company. (paperback)

Kramer, Laura. 2001. The Sociology of Gender: A Brief Introduction. Los Angeles: Roxbury. (paperback)
REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING

Daily quizzes (20%): There will be a 15 minute quiz on the assigned readings each class meeting, beginning the second meeting (5/22). There will be one or two questions for each reading and you may use notes. You MUST be here at 9:00 to take the quiz and no quizzes will be accepted after 9:15. YOU CAN ONLY TAKE THE QUIZ ON THE DAY THAT IT IS GIVEN. Each quiz is worth 2% of your grade, but there will be a total of 12 quizzes, so it is possible to earn more than 20% (extra credit), or to still earn full credit even if you are absent or late on two occasions.

Articles and examples (10%): After doing the reading for each class meeting, find a newspaper or magazine article, or a poem, or a drawing, or a photograph, or a research report from a scholarly journal, or a web site (the list here is virtually unlimited) that illustrates an idea or a point from one of the readings, or that is relevant to the topic we are discussing that day. Briefly explain, in a sentence or two, how what you have found is an example of the concept being expressed. Or, you may simply write a paragraph or two describing an experience you have had or an interaction you have witnessed that illustrates a point from one of the readings. (The purpose, whichever option you choose, is to provide concrete, vivid examples to bring into discussion.) YOU MAY ONLY TURN THESE IN ON THE DAY THAT WE DISCUSS THOSE READINGS. Each of these is worth 1% of your grade, but there are 12 opportunities to turn these in, so it is possible to earn more than 10% (extra credit), or to still earn full credit even if you are absent or late on two occasions.

Class presentation (10%): Every student will present one assigned article to the class; although you will present as a panel, it is not necessary to meet as a group. Important: your presentation itself will not be a summary of the article, but a 5-10 minute critical commentary in which you assess the article and reflect upon what you learned from it. You are expected to prepare a one-page handout giving a summary and questions for discussion. These will be circulated among class members and serve several purposes. FIRST, they provide the basis for discussion of the articles. SECOND, they make excellent study guides for the final exam, provided they are carefully done. THIRD, they serve as the basis for the grade for this assignment (I will be grading for clarity of summary and for how stimulating the discussion questions are). WARNING!!! It is not possible to make-up this assignment if you are absent on the day you are assigned to present, as each day we move on to new material and new presenters.

In-class writings (30%): Toward the end of each unit in this course, there will be an in-class writing in which you are expected to summarize what you have learned in that unit (based on readings, lectures, videos, exercises, presentations and discussions). There will be THREE in-class writings (5/25, 6/1, and 6/7); each one will be worth 10% of your grade. Obviously, you cannot adequately complete these writings if you do not attend class regularly. (Students who must miss class on a day an in-class writing is assigned, and who provide documentation for the reason for their absence, may make up that in-class writing by writing a 5-7 page paper on a topic assigned by the instructor.)

Final examination (25%): There will be an in-class final. The final will be comprehensive and questions will be multiple choice and true/false format. Lecture materials, films, readings and student presentations throughout the course will all be relevant to answering the questions completely. Please read the schedule of classes regarding make-up exams.

Self Assessment (5%): Instructions for self assessments are attached to the syllabus. This assignment is due the last regular class meeting.

Tentative Course Schedule

DAY	TOPIC	Have These Read	Assignments Due
5/21	Introduction
5/22	Multiple Perspectives	S of G Chapter 1, RG General Introduction	Quiz #1, Example #1
5/23	Culture and the Social Construction of Reality	S of G Chapter 2, RG Essay 7	Quiz #2, Example #2
5/24	Social Location and Multiple Jeopardies	RG Essays 1-5, 30	Quiz #3, Example #3
5/25	Socialization into Gender	S of G Chapter 3, RG Essays 8-13	Quiz #4, Example #4, In-class writing #1
5/29	The Family	S of G Chapter 4, RG Essays 32-34, 36, 43	Quiz #5, Example #5
5/30	Family Violence	S of G pp. 108-112, RG Essays 35, 54-58	Quiz #6, Example #6
5/31	The Schools	S of G Pages 70-72, RG Essays 38-42	Quiz #7, Example #7
6/1	Work	S of G Chapter 5, RG Essays 44-48	Quiz #8, Example #8, In-class writing #2
6/4	Politics, Law, and the Criminal Justice System	S of G Chapter #6	Quiz #9, Example #9
6/5	Health	RG Essays 49-53	Quiz #10, Example #10
6/6	Embodiment	RG Essays 14-20	Quiz #11, Example #11
6/7	Communication	RG Essays 21-26	Quiz #12, Example #12, In-class writing #3
6/8	What Do We Know and Where Do We Go From Here? Summing Up	RG Essays 59-63	Comprehensive Final Exam