Download SYD 4800, Sociology of Sex Roles

SYD 4800, Sociology of Sex Roles
Instructor Rosalind Fisher
Office
Anthropology/Socio Department
Building 13, Room 111
850 474-2797
Office
Hours
N/A - On-line Class
Emergency
My cell
785 766-8105
phone
E-mail
[email protected]
Required Texts:
1. Gendered Worlds by Judy Root Aulette & Judith Wittner
2. The Gendered Society Reader by Michael Kimmel & Amy Aronson, 4th Edition
Overview of the course:
Gender is a key factor in our lives that often seems invisible. The first question we ask about a
baby is whether it is a boy or a girl. When you fill out census forms, you are given two choices:
male, female. While race and income (other big areas of stratification) are often on a continuum,
gender is a binary category in which we place people. What about a child born with ambiguous
genitalia? Should his/her parents make them a boy, girl, or let them decide when he/she is older?
The goal is for us to think deep about our lives and society regarding gender and sexuality, and
improve our critical thinking and analysis skills.
This course focuses on the sociological study of gender as a organizing principle of social life
and examines women and men as gendered beings. For sociologists, gender is not fixed; it is
instead a system of evolving social practices.
Learning Objectives:
The main objective of this course is to provide a foundation for understanding gender roles.
Through the use of the Aulette and Kimmel texts, we will use three key assumptions:
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Sex and gender are the outcomes of social arrangements and social relations.
We must always consider intersectionality and the social locations of groups and how
those “create networks of power and inequality that intersect with gender
relations”(Aulette & Wittner 2011).
Standpoint is a political choice in which we recognize we are not neutral observers of
social life. Social inequalities generate standpoints, in which knowledge, truth and the
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right to be heard are not equally distributed, there is no one objective view but the view
of subordinated groups, is often discounted, ignored or misunderstood.
In addition, by referring back to the theoretical perspectives throughout the text and reader, we
are able to better grasp the application of each approach to gender.
Resources:
All instructional content and interaction for this course takes place over the WWW. If you run
into any computer or software glitches or problems you can get assistance seven days a week at
UWF’s computer [email protected] (850) 474-2075. I can not help with technical problems.
Under links on the eLearning page I provide you with study and writing help links and sociology
theory sites.
In addition to basic word processing skills and sending/receiving email with attachments,
students will be expected to search the internet and upload/download files. In addition, students
will need the Dropdown Browser available for download from computer services in order to see
incorrect quiz answers. You must install the Dropdown Browser before you take the quiz in
order to see the quiz results. You may also need one or more of the following plug-ins:
Adobe Acrobat Reader: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
PowerPoint Viewer: http://microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=D1649C22-B51F4910-93FC-4CF2832D3342&displaylang=en
Windows Media Player: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/
QuickTime Player: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/
Real Player:
http://forms.real.com/netzip/getrde601.html?h=207.188.7.150&f=windows/RealOnePlayerV2G
OLD.exe&p=RealOne+Player&oem=dl&tagtype=ie&type=dl
Macromedia Flash Player:
http://macromedia.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlas
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Special Needs:
Reasonable accommodations are available for students with documented disabilities. If you need
an accommodation to participate in this class, contact the Director of Special Student Services at
474-2387, as soon as possible. She will assist you in documenting your disability and requesting
needed services.
Expectations:
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I have expectations regarding student behavior and performance. Be sure you understand these!
1. Read the syllabus and course schedule and be aware of the contents and your responsibilities.
2. Meeting the deadlines is critical to your grade. Your written assignments must be uploaded to
a drop box on the eLearning course webpage by 11:50 PM on the deadline date (usually
Friday’s). Failing to meet the deadline will result in a failing grade for the assignment because
there are no make-up assignments.
3. This class will use the on-line eLearning site for handouts, lecture notes, assignments, etc.
Basic computer savvy and access is required.
4. My goal is to provide you with an understanding of the material. If you are having problems
in the class please email me to seek help. I prefer email or the Muddy Issues Forum on-line to
telephone calls since I am in Kansas City, MO this semester.
5. I expect you to act with honesty and integrity. The University of West Florida considers
plagiarism a serious violation of the Student Code of Conduct. Cheating and/or plagiarism will
merit an automatic failing grade for this course. Plagiarism applies to any material written by
someone else. This material can be published in books, magazines, journals and newspapers. It
may also include lyrics, scientific charts, graphs, and materials published on Web sites via the
Internet. When you use information from these sources you must properly cite the sources
utilized. I may upload papers into the Turnitin software to verify originality.
6. Remarks of a personal and/or derogatory nature are not acceptable. No disparaging remarks
will be tolerated with regard to race or ethnic background, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age,
disability, socioeconomic background, etc.
Class Assignments:
Bi-Weekly Activities – 25 points
Research Project (Prospectus, Bibliography and 6 – 7 page Research Paper) – 75 points
Assessments – 5 @ 35 points each
Bi-Weekly Activities: Using the Gender Exercises at the end of each chapter, students are to
choose one of the activities listed and complete a one-page paper. There are 8 activities total
throughout the semester.
Research Project: Students will pick a topic regarding gender that they will research and explore
further. Students will be responsible for researching that topic and relating it back to the
concepts and theoretical perspectives found in the Ryle text.
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Assessments: Six quizzes will occur throughout the semester. They will include approximately
30 multiple choice, true/false and short answer questions.
No make-up assignments. There can be no exceptions to this arrangement. An exam may be
made up if it is missed due to a documented illness, or emergency such as a hurricane, car
accident or family death.
Weekly readings will include chapters from the Aulette & Wittner text and Kimmel & Aronson
Reader. This course contains adult content.
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