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The Social Construction of Woman
SOC280 SP

Crosslistings: SISP280,WMST282

In this class we will examine the relationship between images of black, white and lesbian women within a changing historical context--from the 1930s to the 1990s. By locating these images in specific historical moments and exploring how they play off each other and change over time we can begin to unpack how social, economic and political anxieties change over time; how these anxieties are represented, reproduced and undermined in popular discourses, science and social science research, cultural and political narratives and policy decisions; and how these anxieties contribute to the production of social and political realities as well as to the construction of gendered, raced and sexed ideologies and to women's lived experiences. While the relationsh ip between images of women will be the primary focus, these images are, of necessity, closely linked and symbiotically related to others--to images of men, heterosexuality and the nuclear family.

MAJOR READINGS

Solinger, WAKE UP LITTLE SUSIE Kennedy and Davis, BOOTS OF LEATHER, SLIPPERS OF GOLD May, HOMEWARD BOUND Faderman, ODD GIRLS AND TWILIGHT LOVERS Breines, YOUNG, WHITE AND MISERABLE Lorde, ZAMI Evans, PERSONAL POLITICS Echols, DARING TO BE BAD Faludi, BACKLASH

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Weekly readings and journals, class participation, individual and group projects. No examinations. Two take-home papers based on life histories, located historically and analyzed sociologically.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

A prerequisite override form, secured from the Registrar's Office, will be available for SISP and WMST majors and pre-med students. Sophomores will be considered during the Drop/Add period. Unless preregistered students attend the first class meeting or communicate directly with the instructor prior to the first class, they will be dropped from the class list. NOTE: Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add form to the Registrar's Office.

COURSE FORMAT: Lecture/Discussion

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD    Credit: 1    Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS SOC    Grading Mode: Graded   

Prerequisites: SOC151

Last Updated on MAR-24-2000

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