Social Construction of Gender Prepared by: Lilit Shakaryan Lecturer, Department of Sociology Yerevan State University, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia E-mail: lilitshakaryan@gmail.com Specialization: Semester: Credits: Total: Sociology 3 (MA Course) 3 ECTS 32 hours I. COURSE DESCRIPTION This course is designed to raise the consciousness of students to the nature of gender as a social construct. Rather than understanding gender in terms of fixed dichotomies (e.g. male/female, masculinity/femininity), sociologists see it as a complex social phenomenon that changes over time and varies across cultures. This means that the course explores the ways in which gender conceptualized as a social construct viewing it not as a fixed or static identity but as a product that is constructed and performed in interaction. Course readings focus on sociological theories, mainly on social constructionist approach to show how gender arises out of our everyday interactions and is shaped by different domains of social life. The class will begin by introducing some conceptual and theoretical tools for understanding gender issues and gender research methodology within the framework of Sociology. It will critically examine the idea that sex and gender are fixed biological realities and discuss gender as a major organizing aspect of society. In order, to help better understand social life and our participation in it, the course will explore gender from both macro and micro-level of analysis. It will focus on five paradigms used in studying gender: functionalism, conflict, symbolic interaction, ethnomethodology and social constructivistic approach. In addition, the course will introduce mechanisms and technologies of gender construction and reperezentaion. Then the course will move on to explore how gender relates to process of socialization to analyze its impact on the formation of the expected gender roles in society. 1
II. LEARNING OUTCOMES (OBJECTIVES) Upon successful completion of the course, students will demonstrate: an understanding of social constructionist perspective on sex and gender as a social and cultural construction rather than a natural, biological given ; an understanding of gender discourse within the framework of social theories; an appreciation of pecularities of gender approach in Sociology; insight into mechanisms, technologies and agents for social construction of gender; an ability to interpret how a society s gender constructions affect people s lives through processes of socialization and how people do gender (engage in gender roles) in their everyday interactions; an ability to use the critical methodologies to analyze how gender constructions shape the realities of contemporary social life and theorize about it using sociological concepts. III. COURSE ASSIGNMENTS: 1. Participation and Attendance (10%): Learning takes place as a result of active participation. Consequently, attendance at each class is critical. In this course, participation should take two distinct forms: a) Crafting discussion questions: each student will be responsible for crafting two questions designed to stimulate thinking and provoke discussion for one specific assigned reading. b) Semester-long engagement with course materials in class: engagement can take the form of responses to questions, syntheses and analyses of course materials, focused interaction during group activities. 2. Critical Essay (20%): Critical essay intends to facilitate research activities of students, basically in the field of gender analyzing by using different methodological approaches and principals. Each student will prepare a critical essay which they will execute during the course of the semester. In the critical essay the development of coherent problem statements and well-reasoned, systematic and fair data analysis and conclusions are especially stressed. All of this will be worked out together as the course progresses. The 2
last 5 lessons before exam will be dedicated to collaborative work on student presentations of their essays. 3. Examinations: a) Tests (40%): There are 2 midterm exams in this course. For the 1st midterm exam students need to get ready on the basis of materials from the first thematic part of the course. The material on the exam will be drawn from lectures, recitations, and the required textbook readings. Exam contains 2 questions with 2 points for each question. The 2nd exam is based on the second part of the course. Exam contains 2 questions with 2 points for each question. b) Final Exam (30%): The final exam must be taken on the lesson and time. The Grading and assessment: final exam is a comprehensive exam covering all the lectures, recitations, and required readings for the entire semester. Generally excellent work earns 18-20 -range grades, good work earns 13-17 -range grades, average work earns 8-12 -range grades, unsatisfactory work earns 0-7 -range grades. The final course grade will be calculated as follows: ASSIGNMENT EXAM /PRESENTATIONS/ PERIOD % OF TOTAL Attendance 10 2 Midterms (2) 1 st exam- Mid October; 40 8 2 nd exam-end of December Critical essay November-December 20 4 Final exam January 30 6 TOTAL 100 20 GRADES 3
IV. TEACHING/LEARNING STRATEGIES This course will operate as an interactive lecture, which means that there will be some lecturing but the bulk of each class will run as a group discussion. Therefore, regular attendance, student preparedness, and meaningful participation are expected of each student. It is problem-based, and inquiry oriented. While learning in this course will take place as a result of lectures, guest speakers, readings, and concentrated study by individual students within the course. A major teaching/learning strategy calls for small group discussions, individual and group presentations (spontaneous and planned), and class discussions. This will allow students to better work through difficult concepts and theories and to develop their skills in applying to theoretical constructs in solving real problems, issues, and situations. V. STRUCTURE OF THE COURSE LECTURING AND SEMINAR HOURS THEME THEME NAME Lecture Seminar work Total Theme 1. Introductory concepts: gender and social 4 2 6 constructivist tradition Theme 2. Discourse of gender in social theories 4-4 Theme 3. Sociological perspectives on gender roles: macro and micro level analysis The 1 st Midterm Exam 4 2 6 Theme 4. Social constructionist approach in gender 2 2 4 studies: specialties of implementation Theme 5. Principles of gender construction: main 4 2 6 social mechanisms and agents Theme 6. Gender and the proccess of socialization 4 2 6 The 2 nd Midterm Exam TOTAL 22 10 32 4
VI. COURSE CONTENT AND ASSIGNED READINGS Theme 1. Introductory concepts: Gender and social constructivist tradition Course introduction, expectations and interests, syllabus review, the assignments 1. Laying the Foundation: Sociology, Biology, Gender as System and Power 2. Perspectives of social constructivist theory development 3. A. Schutz, The structure of everyday thinking 4. Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann, The Social Construction of Reality C. Wright Mills, The Promise of Sociology, from The Sociological Imagination, pp.1-5 Chapter 2, Wood, J. T. (2013). Gendered lives: Communication, gender, and culture (10 th ed.) Boston: Wadsworth. Chapter 7, Scott Appelrouth, Laura Desfor Edles (2011). Sociological Theory in the Contemporary Era: Text and Readings Schutz A. Common-Sense and Scientific Interpretation of Human Action // Collected, Papers. V. 1. The Problem of Social Reality. The Hague, 1962. P. 7-26. Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann (1991), The Social Construction of Reality Theme 2. Discourse of gender in social theories 1. Historical context of the gender discourse 2. Social constructivism versus biological determinism 3. E. Durkheim s and T. Parsons s approaches over the gender issues 4. Masculine culture and social psychology of gender roles: G. Simmel s concept Chap. 2, DeFrancisco and Palczewski (2007). Communicating gender diversity: A critical approach Part 1, Janet Saltzman Chafetz (2006), HANDBOOK OF THE SOCIOLOGY OF GENDER, pp. 3-25 Chris Brickell (2006). The sociological construction of gender and sexuality. The Sociological Review, Volume 54, Issue 1, pages 87 113. Talcott Parsons, «Age and Sex in the Social Structure», in Talcott Parsons, Essays in Sociological Theory. Pure and Applied (Glencoe, Illinois: The Free Press, 1949), pp. 218-232; 5
Talcott Parsons, R. Bales, Family, Socialization and Interaction Process (New York: The Free University Press, 1955) Chapter 1, I. N. Tartakovskaya (2005). Sociology of gender, Moscow, pp. 19-33 Theme 3. Sociological perspectives on gender roles: macro and micro level analysis 1. The varieties of gender theory in sociology 2. Gendered interpretation of functionalistic theory 3. Gendered analysis of conflict theory 4. Feminist Interactionist Theory. Symbolic interactionism and ethnomethodology in a contribution to gender theory development. Seminar work Feminist Structural Theory (Discussion of R. Connell s concept of gender and power). Chapter 1, Linda L. Lindsey (2011) Gender Roles: A Sociological Perspective, 5 th edition, Janet Saltzman Chafetz (2006), HANDBOOK OF THE SOCIOLOGY OF GENDER, pp. 45-64 Candace West and Don H. Zimmerman, Doing Gender. The social construction of gender, edited by J. Lorber, S. Farrell, 1991, pp.13-37 Garfinkel H (1967). Passing and the Managed Achievement of Sex Status in an Intersexed Person. In Studies in Ethnomethodology. New Jersey; Prentice-Hall, pp. 116-140 Herbert Blumer (1986). Symbolic Interactionism: Perspective and Method. University of California Press Connell R., Gender and Power. Society, the Person and Sexual Politics. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1987. P. 141. Theme 4. Social constructionist approach in gender studies: specialties of implementation 1. Social constructionist approach as a critical concept in gender researches 2. Features of social constructionist approach within the framework of gender researches in sociology Seminar work Analysis of any gendered issue within the framework of social constructionist approach 6
Introduction to gender studies: part 1, edited by I. Dzerebkina, Xarkov, 2001, pp. 80-98. Zdravomislova E., Social construction of gender: feminist theory. Introduction to gender studies: part 1, edited by I. Dzerebkina, Xarkov, 2001, pp. 147-173. Principles of gender construction. The social construction of gender, edited by J. Lorber, S. Farrell, 1991, pp. 7-12 Candace West and Don H. Zimmerman, Doing Gender. The social construction of gender, edited by J. Lorber, S. Farrell, 1991, pp.13-37 Judith Lorber, Gender. In: E.F.Borgatta and M.L.Borgatta (eds.). Encyclopedia of Sociology. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1992, p.748 754. Theme 5. Principles of gender construction: main social mechanisms and agents 1. E. Goffman, gender framing and representation 2. Mass media, literature and art as agents of gender construction 3. The study of gender in culture Seminar work Gender symbols and cultural representation (case analysis) J. Lorber, The Social construction of gender. The social construction of difference and inequality, edited by Tracy E. Ore, 2000, pp.106-112 E. Goffman, Frame Analysis of Gender, in C. Lemert and A. Branaman, eds., Goffman Reader. (Oxford, Blackwell Publ., 1997), pp. 201-208; E. Goffman, Gender Display, in C. Lemert and A. Branaman, eds., Goffman Reader (Oxford, Blackwell Publ., 1997), pp. 208-227. Cahpter 10, Janet Saltzman Chafetz (2006), HANDBOOK OF THE SOCIOLOGY OF GENDER Theme 6. Gender and the proccess of socialization 1. Features of gender socialization: gender stereotypes 2. Gender and social learning theory 3. Gender and cognitive development theory, psychoanalytic theory 4. Gender and social roles Chap. 11, 12, Janet Saltzman Chafetz (2006). HANDBOOK OF THE SOCIOLOGY OF GENDER 7
Dana Berkowitz, Namita N. Manohar and Justine E., Walk Like a Man, Talk Like a Woman: Teaching the Social Construction of Gender. Teaching Sociology, Vol. 38, No. 2 (APRIL 2010), pp. 132-143 Isabella Crespi, SOCIALIZATION AND GENDER ROLES WITHIN THE FAMILY: A STUDY ON ADOLESCENTS AND THEIR PARENTS IN GREAT BRITAIN (http://www.mariecurie.org/annals/volume3/crespi.pdf) Jivka Marinova (2003), Gender Stereotypes and the Socialization Process, (http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/egm/men-boys2003/ep3-marinova.pdf) VII. READINGS 1. C. Wright Mills, The Sociological Imagination, Oxford University Press, 2000 2. Wood, J. T., Gendered lives: Communication, gender, and culture (10 th ed.) Boston: Wadsworth 2013. 3. Scott Appelrouth, Laura Desfor Edles, Sociological Theory in the Contemporary Era: Text and Readings, 2011 4. Schutz A. Common-Sense and Scientific Interpretation of Human Action // Collected, Papers. V. 1. The Problem of Social Reality. The Hague, 1962. P. 7-26. 5. Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann, The Social Construction of Realit: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge, NY, 1991 6. DeFrancisco and Palczewski, Communicating gender diversity: A critical approach, Sage publications, 2007 7. Janet Saltzman Chafetz, HANDBOOK OF THE SOCIOLOGY OF GENDER, USA, 2006 8. Chris Brickell, The sociological construction of gender and sexuality. The Sociological Review, Volume 54, Issue 1, 2006, pages 87 113. 9. Talcott Parsons, Essays in Sociological Theory. Pure and Applied, Glencoe, Illinois: The Free Press, 1949 10. Talcott Parsons, R. Bales, Family, Socialization and Interaction Process, New York: The Free University Press, 1955 8
11. I. N. Tartakovskaya, Sociology of gender, Moscow, 2005 12. Linda L. Lindsey, Gender Roles: A Sociological Perspective, 5 th edition, 2011 13. Garfinkel H, Studies in Ethnomethodology. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.:Prentice- Hall, 1967 14. Herbert Blumer, Symbolic Interactionism: Perspective and Method. University of California Press, 1986 15. Connell R., Gender and Power. Society, the Person and Sexual Politics. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1987. P. 141. 16. I. Dzerebkina, Introduction to gender studies: part 1, Xarkov, 2001 17. J. Lorber, S. Farrell, The social construction of gender, edited by, 1991, pp. 7-12 18. Judith Lorber, Gender. In: E.F.Borgatta and M.L.Borgatta (eds.). Encyclopedia of Sociology. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1992, p.748 754. 19. Tracy E. Ore, The social construction of difference and inequality, California, 2000 20. C. Lemert and A. Branaman, Goffman Reader. Oxford, Blackwell Publ., 1997 21. Dana Berkowitz, Namita N. Manohar and Justine E., Walk Like a Man, Talk Like a Woman: Teaching the Social Construction of Gender. Teaching Sociology, Vol. 38, No. 2 (APRIL 2010), pp. 132-143 22. Isabella Crespi, SOCIALIZATION AND GENDER ROLES WITHIN THE FAMILY: A STUDY ON ADOLESCENTS AND THEIR PARENTS IN GREAT BRITAIN (http://www.mariecurie.org/annals/volume3/crespi.pdf) 23. Jivka Marinova (2003), Gender Stereotypes and the Socialization Process, (http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/egm/men-boys2003/ep3-marinova.pdf) 9