HRS 103: Gender and Sexuality
Fall 2008, M 2:30-5:20, L-306
Dr. Susannah Chewning
908-709-7182
Office Hours: M/W
12:15pm-1:30pm
T/Th 1:00pm-3:00pm
and by appointment
Office H-125
Course Description: Sexuality has often been seen as personal matter, sometimes viewed as a choice, but always reflecting a biological reality among individuals within human society. Although this may be true, there are social and cultural aspects to human sexuality, desire, and gender, as well. In this class we will explore issues related to sexual orientation, social constructions or sexual identity and gender, male and female gender stereotypes, “Other” sexualities, and analyses of the visual, written, and verbal rhetoric of resistance to mainstream formulations of sexuality and gender. The course will approach the subjects of sexuality and gender from a variety of cultural and disciplinary perspectives, including literary works, works of art, film, popular culture/media, religion, politics, and other areas of modern society in an effort to examine the nature of sexuality and gender in the past, in the present, and, perhaps, how it may continue to change in the future. Students will read about the issues from many perspectives, discuss them in class, do research on topics of interest, analyze case studies, make presentations in class, and determine their own views on selected topics after studying them in depth. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor or the Director of Honors Studies.
Course Objectives: by the end of the semester each student will
examine concepts of gender and the ways that society constructs
gender difference
think critically about gender implications embedded within society
(especially the media)
examine gender and sexual stereotypes as hey are expressed across
disciplines and cultures
understand the various ways that gendered assumptions are fluid
and change over time
develop techniques of accurate and appreciative interpretation through the practice of critical thinking, verbal presentations, and writing
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Required Texts
Disch, Estelle. Reconstructing Gender. New York: McGraw Hill, 2009.
Eugenides, Jeffrey. Middlesex. New York: Picador, 2002.
Lorde, Audre. Zami: A New Spelling of My Name. Berkeley, CA: Crossing Press, 1983.
Handouts and other readings will be distributed by the instructor and students. Students should choose a film from the list distributed in class to watch, study, and use for a class presentation or paper.
Course Requirements
Attendance: Attendance is required in this course. No absences are excused. Please let me know before you miss a class if you will not be able to attend.
Participation: Participation is 25% of the overall grade for this course. This includes being here on time with all the necessary materials, participating in class discussion, and completing all in-class and out-of-class assignments. Your participation grade in this class can be affected negatively for any of the following:
§ The use of electronic devices such as IPods, blackberries, cell phones, text messaging, or CD players. All devices should be turned off, not set to vibrate, for the duration of class.
§ Doing any work for another class during this class.
§ Sleeping, daydreaming, or otherwise failing to participate.
§ Coming in late or leaving early.
§ Arriving in class without having completed the assignment due for that day.
§ Talking to your classmates when others are talking or otherwise disrupting class discussion.
Group Presentation. Students will be assigned to groups early in the semester and will complete research projects focused on topics generated by readings and discussions of issues associated with sexuality and gender. These projects will be presented in class using any format you want to use: video, music, Power Point, verbal presentation. Presentation dates will be assigned by September 15 and cannot be renegotiated. When you make your presentation the group will turn in an outline of what has been discussed and a copy of the text (if it’s not in the textbooks) and each individual in the group will write a brief reflection on the presentation, his or her involvement in the group, and the overall experience.
In-Class Presentations. Each student must complete at least one in-class presentation based on the readings and topics associated with the course. Students will choose the readings that they present, either from the textbooks or from newspapers, websites, or magazines. Texts to be presented should be at least 500 words in length (unless they take the form of poetry, song lyrics, or film). These projects will be presented in class using any format you want to use: video, music, Power Point, verbal presentation. Presentation dates will be assigned by September 15 and cannot be renegotiated. When you make your presentation you will also turn in an outline of what has been discussed and a copy of the text (if it’s not in the textbooks).
Note on research: By the conclusion of the semester, all students who pass this course will have demonstrated, in at least one substantial graded essay, that they understand the fundamentals of research. This will include doing basic research, being able to evaluate sources and citing at least three of these sources in the proper MLA style in the graded essay. Some of these sources must be electronic, including but not necessarily limited to the Internet. Students must pass this essay with a grade of C or higher, and students will not be allowed to pass it unless they can adequately demonstrate their ability in this area to quote and integrate multiple sources.
Papers and written projects (see list below). The due dates for these assignments are based on when you turn in portfolios, twice during the semester. The contents of these portfolios and due dates are listed below.
Conferences At least four one-on-one conferences with the instructor regarding your progress in the course are expected, around the time of each portfolio due date.
Mid-term and final assignments (in class).
Breakdown of Grades: Participation 25%; Responses 25%; Formal Papers 50%
Grading Scale: 100-92 A; 91-87 B+; 86-82 B; 81-77 C+; 76-72 C; 71-67 D+; 66-62 D; below 62 F. Please see attached for explanation of grades. Please note that Union County College does not permit the assignment of minus final grades (such as A-, B-, or C-), so I will try not to give such grades on your work.
Extra-Credit: Extra-credit is extra, which means that turning it in to make up for missed work or missed classes does not make it extra-credit. If you turn work in to make up for missed assignments or missed classes, they will be counted based on the value of the assignment you missed. Extra-credit only counts if it is extra – that is, if you have already completed all the required work for the course. Assignments turned in to make up for missed classes or work must be turned in the day after you’ve missed the assignment. All extra-credit assignments must be turned in by December 8th.
Grading and Revisions: When I return a paper to you, it will either have a grade or I will have written “revise for a grade.” If I have written “revise for a grade,” it will be recorded as a D until it is revised. Papers that receive a C+ or lower can be revised, as well. Before you revise a paper, please discuss it with me so you can make a more complete revision. I cannot accept a second revision that we have not discussed first. Please be aware that you cannot revise a paper for which you have received a grade of F if it has been plagiarized. Papers that are turned in late cannot be revised.
Plagiarism and Academic Integrity: The first instance of plagiarism or cheating of any kind will result in the failure of the assignment. A second instance of academic dishonesty will result in failure of the class and possible censure (including suspension or dismissal from the College) from the Office of the Dean of Student Services. Plagiarized papers cannot be revised. Please see the attached handout for more specific expectations
How to reach me: on voice mail at (908) 709-7182; by e-mail at chewning@ucc.edu; on WebBoard at http://webboard.ucc.edu:8080/~eng101054. Please note: I do not give final grades over email or over voice mail.
Paper Assignments and Portfolios: One of the main goals of Honors Studies at UCC is to give students an opportunity to take more control of when they complete assignments, as well as how the assignments develop. To this end, the assignments listed below are all required, but the due dates are up to you. You may turn papers in on the two required portfolio dates or at other times before these dates. Each portfolio must contain at least six two-hundred-word responses to the texts we read in class or to other texts (approved by me) that relate to the topics of sexuality and gender. These other texts can include newspaper or magazine articles, films, tv shows, or other media sources. This makes a total of twelve of these responses are required over the course of the semester. Six of these twelve responses must be written in response to material in the textbooks.
Required assignments:
Some of these assignments can be re-imagined to include art or other media (such as photographs, surveys, video, web enhancement, or Power Point) which may shorten the written length of the assignment. We will discuss this one-on-one in our conferences. Please keep in mind that all of your assignments do not have to be traditional papers: you can use your interest, talents, and creativity to enhance what you turn in.
First Portfolio, due Monday, 20 October.
? six responses to essays in Disch, Reconstructing Gender or other sources
? two-page response to gender and sexuality on television
? individual or group presentation response (if completed)
? brief research outline and list of sources for final project
? three-to-five page paper on Audre Lorde, Zami: A New Spelling of My Name.
Second Portfolio, due 15 December.
? six responses to essays in Disch, Reconstructing Gender or other sources
? one three- to five-page paper on a topic relevant to individual or group presentation
? brief response to a film (one to two pages)
? individual or group presentation response (if completed)
? one five- to seven-page research paper on a topic relevant to sexuality and gender
Schedule of Assignments: Below is a tentative list of assignments; these are subject to change based on how the course develops from week to week. If you miss a class and miss the homework, you should speak to a classmate to get the assignment or check the online version of the syllabus--don't count on me to give you assignments.
M
9/8 Introduction to class. Barras, “Does Gender Matter?” Petrie, “Real
Men Don’t Cry . . . and Other Uncool Myths.” Group activity.
M 9/15 Disch: “From, Nothing, A Consciousness” and “A Pornographic
World [What is Normal?].” Response due.
M 9/22 Disch: “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” and “Claiming Jezebel: Black Female Subjectivity and Sexual Expression in Hip-Hop.” Response due. Visit to UCC Library.
M 9/29 Disch: “Where are the Women? The Strange Case of the Missing Feminists” and Karin Quimby, “Will & Grace: Negotiating (Gay) Marriage on Prime-Time Television” (handout). Two page paper on gender and sexuality on tv due. Brief presentations.
M 10/6 Disch: “Passing Last
Summer,” “Sixty Cents to a Man’s Dollar,” and “Does Silencio = Muerte? Notes on
Translating the AIDS Epidemic.” Response due.
M 10/13 Audre Lorde, Zami: Another Spelling of My Name, pp.
1-125.
M 10/20 Audre Lorde, Zami: Another Spelling of My Name, pp. 126-256. Mid-term examination. Portfolios due.
M 10/27 Disch: Audre Lorde “Man Child: A Black Lesbian Feminist’s Response,” “The Puerto Rican Dummy and the Merciful Son,” and “New Black Man.” Response due.
M 11/3 Disch: “The Social Construction of Gender” and “Masculinity as Homophobia.” Response due. Student Presentations.
M 11/10 Disch: “The Myth of the Sexual Athlete” and “Women, Violence, and Resistance.” Response due. Student Presentations.
M 11/17 Jeffrey Eugenides, Middlesex, Book 1. Student Presentations.
M 11/24 Eugenides, Middlesex, Book 2. Sexuality and Film: brief presentations. Student Presentations.
M 12/1 Eugenides, Middlesex, Book 3.
M 12/8 Eugenides, Middlesex, Book 4.
W
12/17 Final examination, H-110,
2:00-4:30. Final portfolio due.
Preliminary list of films for study, discussion, and/or presentations (see Internet Movie Database for more information).
And the Band Played On Angels in America
Beautiful Boxer (2003) The Best Man (1999)
Billy Elliot (2000) Boogie Nights (1997)
Boys Don't Cry (1999) Brokeback Mountain (2005)
But I’m A Cheerleader (1999) Capote (2005)
Chasing Amy (1997) Closer (2004)
Crush (2000) Crush (2001)
Damage Dancing on Pearls (1998)
Flawless (1999) A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story
Heavenly Creatures (1994) Just One of the Guys (1985)
Kinky Boots Kissing Jessica Stein (2001)
Mass Appeal (1984) Memoirs of a Geisha
Million Dollar Baby Mr. Mom
No Dumb Questions (2001) Normal (2003)
Paris is Burning (1990) Party Monster
Personal Best (1982) The Piano (1993)
Pretty Baby (1978) Rent
Rize (2005) Sirens (1994)
Some Like It Hot (1959) Speak Like a Child (1998)
Splendor in the Grass (1961) Tootsie (1992)
TransAmerica (2005) Unfaithful
Vanity Fair (2004) A Very Natural Thing (1974)
Victor Victoria (1995) The Virgin Suicides (1999)
To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar (1995)
TV Series:
Sordid Lives: The Series
Big Love
The L-Word
Six Feet Under
Will & Grace
The Simpsons
South Park (some episodes)
Family Guy (very few episodes)