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ANT 405 Anthropology of Gender Dr. Dorothy D. Wills
Cal Poly Pomona University Winter, 2009

Course Syllabus

Instructor: Dorothy D. Wills, Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology, Chair, Dept. of Geography and Anthropology.
Class meetings: MWF 11:45 – 12:50, 9:285.
Office hours: MTW 9:00-10:00, Tues. 1:00-2:00, or by appointment, located in Bldg. 5-149, phone 869-3582, or department office 869-3569.
Email: ddwills@csupomona.edu
Web page: www.csupomona.edu/~ddwills

Course Description

ANT 405 Anthropology of Gender (4) Interdisciplinary cross-cultural examination of gender. Includes anthropology of men and women; role and status; culture and personality; expression and behavior; past and future trends in relationships. Student research and presentations. 4 hours seminar. Pre-requisites: Lower division GE Areas A, two courses from C, and two courses from D.

Required Background or Experience

Lower division GE Areas A, two courses from C, and two courses from D.

Expected Learning Outcomes
This course synthesizes the humanistic and social scientific perspectives on gender cross-culturally. It draws from history, ethnography, literature, psychology, critical theory, and other fields. It takes into consideration both expressions of men’s and women’s own points of view in different cultures, as well as studies carried out by outsiders. Thus, students grow in appreciation of diverse forms of experience and expression and in analytical reasoning ability.

Students will:
1) Build a new perspective on the varied contributions of women and men of different social groups in different cultures around the world and through history, whether in the arts, social movements, public action, domestic maintenance, or invention and production,
2) Analyze and question the continuity between traditional/historical and contemporary patterns of role and status for the sexes/genders, for groups based on sexual orientation, and for life cycle categories such as age groups,

3) Evaluate the gender-related problems of minority groups in various cultures, their individual problems of accommodation to norms established by dominant groups, and the political and cultural processes that produce change,
4) Critique the nature- (biology-)based and environment-based arguments surrounding the issues of sexuality, relationship dynamics, dominance (aggression) and hierarchy, taboo behavior, reproduction, and child-rearing norms related to gender,

5) Critically assess artistic, periodical and popular materials on sex and gender.
Students will also:
6) Integrate and evaluate both humanistic and social scientific approaches to the understanding of human society and culture, through the lens of gender, and
7) Synthesize factual and interpretive material from lower division general education courses, and propose solutions to problematical issues.

Text and Readings

Students will read the text, case studies, short stories, and other materials placed on the course web site in common. They will read a literary work, additional scholarly book(s) related to their research, and Internet materials outside of class individually.
Text :
Brettell, Caroline B. and Carolyn F. Sargent, eds., Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall (3rd or 4th ed.), 2001, 2004.

Course Outline

NO CLASS FRIDAYS

Week 1 – Jan. 5, 7, 9. Theme: An Evolutionary Perspective on Gender. Some topics:
Mammals, primates, and humans.
Sexual dimorphism.
Mating and reproduction.
Status and sex.
Socialization of offspring.

Student Learning Goal: Review biological and evolutionary context.
Assignment: Field and reading log.
Reading: Preface and Section I.

Week 2 – Jan. 12, 14, 16. Theme: Gender, Sex, Sexuality, Reproduction. Some topics:
Is anatomy destiny?
Normativeness and deviance: labelling theory.
Cross-cultural variation.
The concepts of role, status, relative rights.

Student Learning Goal: Critique the language, terminology, meanings, and functions.
Assignment: Discuss and select topic for research paper.
Reading: Section II.

Week 3 – Jan. 21, 23. Theme: Women and Men in Small-Scale Societies. Some topics:
Case studies: !Kung foragers.

Student Learning Goal: Synthesize historical and cultural factors and variations through research and literature review.

Reading: Section III.

Week 4 – Jan. 26, 28, 30. Theme: Various topics on factors of formation of society. Economic roles and inequality.

Student Learning Goal: Relate civilization to environmental and economic factors.
Reading: Section IV and "Lotus".

Week 5 – Feb. 2, 4, 6. Theme: Complex Society and Divided Gender. Some topics:
Case studies: the hijras of India.
West African societies.
Contemporary United States.
Philosophy and writing of otherness.

Student Learning Goal: Expand vision of modern cross-cultural experience.
Reading: Section V, VI.

Week 6 – Feb. 9, 11, 13. Theme: The Cultural Construction of Personhood and Identity. Topics:
Socialization patterns across cultures.
Ritual and religious ideology.
The public/domestic division.
Culture and personality.
Adulthood rites.
Symbolic biological events; puberty, menopause.

Student Learning Goal: Compare and contrast longitudinal (life cycle) and ritual data across cultures. Explore the artistic contributions of women and men.
Reading: Section VII.

Week 7 – Feb. 16, 18. Theme: Marriage, Parenthood, and Other Contracts. Some topics:
Differential rights and obligations of men and women.
Reproductive politics.
Community, church, and family authority.

Student Learning Goal: Frame gender and sex in legal, ritual and political perspectives.
Assignment: Prepare to discuss field and reading logs.
Reading: Sections VIII and IX.

Week 8 – Feb. 23, 25, 27. Theme: Communication, Gender, and Sex. Some topics:
Women's and men's language and art.
Obscenity and pornography.
Non-linguistic signification, e.g., veiling, eating customs.
Homosexuality, transgender phenomena, sexual behavior.

Student Learning Goal: Analyze interactional and social data.
Assignment: Prepare to discuss book of report.
Reading: Section X.

Week 9 – Mar. 2, 4, 6. Theme: Colonialism and Development. Some topics:
Case studies: the Middle East
Thailand and other Asian nations.
Eco-feminism.
Modern political movements.

Assignment: Prepare brief presentation on research project.
Reading: Section XI.
Student Learning Goal: Relate gender theory and activism to other post-modern theory and social movements.

Week 10 – Mar. 9, 11, 13. Theme: Inequality. Some topics:
Gender and nature.
Gender and hierarchy.
The archeological record: ancient society.
Patterns of work, opportunity, the distribution of resources. Privileged persons and classes.

Student Learning Goal: Prepare for social transformation. What does it mean to me?

All written assignments are due no later than Mar. 13th.

No final exam.

The course consists of:

1. Lecture/discussion/student presentation of theoretical background, case studies, readings.
2. Use of films, slides, web-based materials, etc., to supplement readings.
3. In- and outside-class writing projects for discussion.
4. Research outside class, resulting in term paper and book report.
5. Small group discussion and research.
6. Compilation of a comprehensive reference notebook.
7. Maintaining a journal or field log.

Note on syllabus. This should be regarded as a flexible document. We may need to make changes to accommodate scheduling issues, due dates, interest in different topics, etc. The course is intended to be a hybrid – that is, some readings, discussions, and activities may be conducted on-line, using Blackboard. A tutorial on the use of Blackboard is available through the IIT site.
Students will maintain a log or journal, in which they record observations and conclusions, attempting to integrate ideas from the course into their own analysis of their social world. Peer comment will be utilized where appropriate. They will also use the log to enter bibliographic references they encounter during the research process, to check with the professor. In addition to the reading and discussion thereof, students will do the following:

2) two projects, which may be in the form of written reports or multimedia presentations, one based on fieldwork, the other focusing on the view of gender contained within a specific belief system, OR

3) a research paper addressing a cross-cultural gender issue of your choice, whether from a social scientific or philosophical perspective. Topics of any research must be approved by the instructor. Students are expected to demonstrate in class discussion and writing exercises (whether in person or on-line) a command of the conceptual material and an independence from ethno- or gender-centric ideas about men and women.

Evaluation
Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20%
Book report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30%
Research project/s . . . . . . . . . . 30%
Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20%

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