THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF SEX & GENDER Department of Anthropology New York University V

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1 THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF SEX & GENDER Department of Anthropology New York University V Professor Noelle Stout Class Location: Time: TA: Class Blog: Office Hrs: Thurs. 3:30-5 pm Office: Rm. 604 Rufus Hall, 25 Waverly Pl. How do studies of culture reveal and challenge our most basic assumptions about gender, sex, and sexuality? This course explores these questions by examining how anthropologists have restructured common sense notions about the body, social identities, scientific truth, and our relationships to one another. The primary objective of this course is to develop your ability to think, speak, and write critically and constructively about debates in the contemporary anthropology of gender and sexuality. We will focus on the social context of practices pertaining to gender and sexuality by analyzing key concepts such as identity, location, difference, equality, race, class, and nation. We will also consider the usefulness and limitations of contemporary anthropological theories of sexuality and gender for analyzing Western and non-western societies. By introducing students to various techniques of social critique including Marxist, poststructuralist, and postcolonial perspectives, this class is designed to maximize your ability to interrogate analytical concepts and think critically about many ideas taken for granted in contemporary U.S. society. COURSE OBJECTIVES: 1. To understand the socially constructed and power-laden roots of sex, gender, and sexuality as they intersect with ideologies of class, ethnicity, nation, and race. 2. To comprehend the links between the intimate practices of gender and sexuality and broader economic, historical, and political contexts. 3. To consider the relationship between contemporary representations and symbolism and everyday practices of gender and sexuality. 4. To gain fluency in ethnographic field methodologies and garner first-hand experience of anthropological analysis based on primary field research on gender and sexuality. REQUIRED TEXTS Required texts are available at the bookstore. All other readings are available on the course Blackboard site. The Gender/Sexuality Reader: Culture, History, Political Economy, eds. Roger Lancaster and Micaela di Leonardo, Routledge (1997) The History of Sexuality: An Introduction, Vol. One Michel Foucault, Vintage (1990) Families We Choose: Lesbians, Gays, Kinship. Kath Weston Columbia U. Press (Revised Edition 1997) BB = Electronic Version on Blackboard GS = Gender & Sexuality Reader

2 GRADE EVALUATION: Reflection Paper (2 pg.) Outing (1 Blog entry) Discussion Questions (7 posts, 2-3 Questions) Participation/Facilitation Exam #1 Take Home (5-7 pgs.) Exam #2 Take Home (5-7 pgs.) Ethnographic Interview & Analysis TOTAL 5 pts. 5 pts. 10 pts. 15 pts. 20 pts. 20 pts. 25 pts. 100 pts. ASSIGNMENTS: Grading criteria and guidelines for the exams will be distributed and discussed in class. Grading decisions are final and no post-grading negotiation will be permitted. If you do not complete all of the assignments, you will not pass the course. No incompletes will be granted for the course except in cases of personal emergencies, subject to the discretion of the professor. Participation: The goal of this course is to develop your writing and discussion skills, thus your spirited and informed participation in class discussions is mandatory. Class attendance is vital. Come to class prepared, with your materials and books in hand and contribute thoughtful comments to class discussions. Please bring printed copies of the readings for the week to the class meeting. In order to encourage your full participation, laptops are not allowed. Attendance is mandatory, and more than three unexcused absences over the course of the semester will affect your grade. Class Facilitation: Working in groups of three, students will spend 10 minutes presenting their response to the readings. Each presentation should include a brief explanation of the text and why you believe it is significant for our course. If appropriate, your group may raise a topic in current events related to the course material. The presentation should end with questions for class discussion. Reflection Paper: A 2-pg. reflection paper will be due Wednesday, February 3 in which students will examine the notion of situated knowledge and articulate how their own personal background and experience shapes their perspective on topics discussed n the class. Discussion Questions: In preparation for 7 course meetings, students must post 2-3 questions or specific points for discussion on the readings by midnight the day before class. Your questions should address the content of the readings as well as the analytical framing of the arguments. Outing Blog [ As a way to relate theory to practice, students will attend an event, lecture, art exhibit, or volunteer activity related to course topics. They will chose from a wide variety of preapproved events, then post a blog entry about their experience. Posts should detail the activity, 2

3 provide relevant background information, and suggest how the activity relates to class discussions. Students are encouraged to post photos of the outing. Take Home Exams: Two take home exams will consist of a 5-7 page essays based on the material covered in each half of the class. You will chose two out of three questions and use course texts to compose your answers. Questions will be posted on the website and handed out in class one week prior to the due date. No extensions will be granted. Exam I will be due March 8; Exam II will be due May 4. Ethnographic Project In order to gain fluency in ethnographic techniques and analysis, students will conduct an indepth ethnographic interview related to gender and sexuality and analyze their findings. Students will incorporate course readings and discussions into their analyses and submit at least two pages of the transcribed interview. With consultation with Professor Stout, video projects and/or films will be accepted in lieu of a written piece. CONDUCT: Plagiarism: All information borrowed from print sources or the internet must be identified. Plagiarists fail the course and have their offense recorded. Violations of academic honesty can affect a student's graduation, financial aid, and eligibility for honors. [Note: submitting the same work for more than one class without notifying the instructor is considered plagiarism.] Privacy & Respect Collaborative learning is a key aspect to this course. In order to create an effective learning environment, what is said in the classroom, stays in the classroom. Personal stories shared among classmates, either during lectures or in small groups, are private and not to be discussed with others. Inappropriate use of personal information will be grounds for disciplinary action. NOTE: Information for Students with Disabilities: Any student who feels he or she may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss his or her specific needs. Also contact the Moses Center for Students with Disabilities at (212) as soon as possible to better ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion. 3

4 COURSE SCHEDULE Weds. 1/20 Introduction & Overview Post Photo & Introduction on Class Blog GENDER & THE POLITICS OF DIFFERENCE Mon. 1/25 Rayna Reiter, Introduction Toward an Anthropology of Women pp BB Michelle Rosaldo, The Use and Abuse of Anthropology: Reflections on Feminism in Cross-cultural Understanding pp BB Weds. 1/27 Audre Lorde, Age, Race, Class and Sex: Women Redefining Difference pp. 1-7 BB Karen Sacks, Toward a Unified Theory of Class, Race and Gender pp BB Ruth Frakenburg, White Women, Race Matters pp BB Mon. 2/1 Weds. 2/3 Group Exercise (In class) Group Exercise (Cont.) SHORT PAPER DUE GENEAOLOGIES OF SEXUALITY Mon. 2/8 Gayle Rubin, Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality pp BB Adrienne Rich, Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence pp BB Weds. 2/10 Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality: An Introduction Vol. 1 Part 1, 2 Mon. 2/15 PRESIDENT S DAY - NO CLASS Weds. 2/17 Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality: An Introduction Vol. 1 Part 3,4 Mon. 2/22 Ann Laura Stoler, Carnal Knowledge and Imperial Power pp GS Siobhan Somerville, Scientific Racism and the Invention of the Homosexual Body pp GS 4

5 Weds. 2/24 Ned Katz, The Invention of Heterosexuality pp BB John D Emilio Capitalism and Gay Identity pp GS Mon. 3/1 Chandra Mohanty Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses pp BB Aihwa Ong, Colonialism and Modernity: Feminist Representation of Women in Non-Western Societies pp. 1-3 BB Lila Abu-Lughod, Do Muslim Women Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others pp BB Weds. 3/3 Jasbir Puar, On Torture: Abu Ghraib pp BB Jasbir Puar, Mapping U.S. Homonormatives pp BB SEX & THE BODY Mon. 3/8 Weds. 3/10 EXAM # 1 DUE FILM: Paris Is Burning (In class) bell hooks, Is Paris Burning? pp BB Judith Butler, Gender Is Burning in Bodies That Matter pp BB Mon. 3/15-3/20 Mon. 3/22 SPRING BREAK Susan Bordo, Whose Body Is This? Feminism, Medicine, and the Conceptualization of Eating Disorders, pp BB Susan Bordo, Material Girl : The Effacements of Postmodern Culture pp GS Weds. 3/24 PROJECT PROPSAL DUE (1 pg.) Judith Butler, Excerpt from Introduction to Bodies That Matter pp GS Emily Martin, The End of the Body? pp GS Mon. 3/29 Anne Fausto-Sterling How to Build a Man pp. GS Anne Fausto-Sterling, The Five Sexes pp. 1-9 BB 5

6 Jennifer Terry, Lesbians Under the Medical Gaze, pp GS Weds. 3/31 Judith Halberstam, Macdaddy, Superfly, Rapper: Gender, Race, and Masculinity in the Drag King Scene pp BB Roger N. Lancaster, Guto s Performance: Notes on the Transvestism of Everyday Life pp GS Mon. 4/5 Carol Vance, Negotiating Sex and Gender in the Attorney General s Commission on Pornography pp GS Ariel Levy, Raunch Culture and Female Chauvinist Pigs pp.7-45, BB Weds. 4/7 Don Kulick, Porn in Fat: An Anthropology of an Obsession pp BB Linda Williams, Skin Flicks on the Racial Border: Pornography, Exploitation, and Interracial Lust, pp BB REPRODUCTION & KINSHIP Mon. 4/12 BRING INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Susan Sperling, Baboons with Briefcases vs. Langurs with Lipstick: Feminism and Functionalism in Primate Studies pp GS Weds. 4/14 Emily Martin, The Egg and the Sperm pp BB Sarah Franklin, Postmodern Procreation: A Cultural Account of Assisted Reproduction pp BB Mon. 4/19 Nancy Scheper-Hughes Life Boat Ethics: Mother Love and Child Death in Northeast Brazil pp GS Anna Tsing Monster Stories: Women Charged with Perinatal Endangerment pp BB Weds. 4/21 Jane Collier, et. al., Is There a Family: New Anthropological Views pp GS Kath Weston, Families We Choose: Lesbians, Gays, Kinship Chp. 1 Mon. 4/26 Kath Weston, Families We Choose: Lesbians, Gays, Kinship Chp. 2,3 Weds. 4/28 Kath Weston, Families We Choose: Lesbians, Gays, Kinship Chp. 5,7 6

7 Mon. 5/3 Kath Weston, Families We Chose: Lesbians Gays Kinship Chp. 8 Course Evaluations Tues. 5/4 (Mon. Schedule) Fri. 5/7 EXAM #2 DUE ETHNOGRAPHIC PROJECT DUE 7