SOCIOLOGY 118

SEX, GENDER AND SOCIETY

Spring, 2002

Dr. Rebecca Bach                                                                                                                                                       
Room 272, Soc/Psych Bldg.                                                                                       
660-5606 or 490-2066 (home)                                                                                    
rbach@soc.duke.edu                                                                                                             
Office Hours:  M  3:45-5:00, W 10:30-11:30, and at other times by appointment.                           

            Welcome to Sociology 118.  This is a course that I thoroughly enjoy teaching and one that students tend to be enthusiastic about also.  I have four goals for this course and they are reflected in my choice of texts, in the nature of class discussion, and in the assignments.  First, I want you to become more aware of the gendered society in which we live, the norms, values and patterns of communication associated with each gender and how these affect personal life choices and social status.  You will be expected to keep a journal in which you will reflect on what you have learned and its relevance for your own life.  In addition, if you choose to do Option 1 for this course you will have the opportunity to learn about our gendered society by engaging in service to the community. 

            The second goal involves broadening our horizons by examining how gender is shaped by time and place.  Articles written by anthropologists and historians provide illustrations of the tremendous cultural variation in past and present constructions of gender and gender inequality.

            Third, I want you to develop a basic understanding of the theoretical explanations of gender inequality found in sociology.  The text, The Gender Knot, provides an overview of theories on the origins of patriarchy and a description of how these theories have influenced feminist social movements. 

            Finally, because I think that the media provide us with excellent examples of gender norms and stereotypes, and because the media are important agents of socialization, we will often focus our discussions on gender and the media.  Feel free to bring in examples of gendered images from the print media or mention relevant movies, videos, or television programs in our class discussion.  Option 2 for this course involves learning more about gender and the media by completing your own research project on some form of the media.

            In the following sections of the syllabus reading assignments, grading criteria, journal writing, and details of your options are outlined.  Please make special note of important dates for assignments and exams.

KEEPING A JOURNAL

     The basic goal of a journal is to allow you an opportunity to reflect on the concepts, ideas, and theories discussed in this class and to make connections between the coursework and your own life.  You will be expected to make 15 1-page entries in your journal, roughly one per week.  For the most part, you have considerable freedom in how you choose to express yourself and the subject matter you choose to address, as long as it is relevant to this course.  You may decide to stick to the topics covered in class each week or you may also examine and analyze images of gender in the media.

     Some of your journal entries will have specific assignments.  For instance, you will be required to identify a gender norm and break the norm in the presence of others.  Your journal entry should contain a description of your feelings and the reactions of others to your norm violation.  This particular entry should be included among the 6 entries required for your first due date, February 13, 2002.  Additional assignments for specific journal entries may be given over the course of the semester.

OPTION 1:  SERVICE LEARNING

       For those of you who are interested in learning through experience, the Service Learning option may be for you.  Working with the LEAPS organization on campus we have arranged several placement options for SOC 118 students this semester.  LEAPS facillitators will attend class next week to provide details about the service learning option.  Also, you can go to http://kenan.ethics.duke.edu/ and click on service learning at Duke for more information.  Enrollment in the service learning option is handled through this website.  Students selecting the service learning option are expected to complete 20 hours of service over the course of the semester, attend a minimum of three reflection sessions, and write a brief paper (3 pages) pertaining to the service learning experience.  In addition, sharing your service experiences in class discussion will contribute to your class participation score.

OPTION 2:  RESEARCH ON GENDER AND THE MEDIA

            Option 2 requires an analysis of some aspect of the media.  You can choose to study books, films, magazines, newspapers, or television.  Within each of these media categories you may choose to focus on a specific subarea, for instance, you may be interested in the editorial page of a newspaper, MTV, print advertising, children's books, romance novels, or action/adventure films, etc.  Your research question must be a gender question.  That is, within your chosen medium you should examine any differences in the ways in which males and females are portrayed.  Do men and women use different kinds of humor in television sitcoms?  Are women portrayed as victims more than men?  Do men and women write about different kinds of issues in their letters to the editor?  Has the treatment of men and women in print advertising changed over time?

            Although you are expected to review the research articles and books written by others, the focus of the paper will be your own research.  If you choose to analyze advertisements geared to children, for example, you will need to spend several hours viewing children's television and analyzing the advertisements.  Your paper should include the following components:

            The paper will be graded on both content (75%) and style (25%).  Papers turned in after 5:00 pm on April 17,2002 will be assessed a penalty of one letter grade per day.  Please come to see me if you have any questions, or if you would like to discuss potential research topics.