Gender & Identity

Lesson Plan Gender Schema Theory & sex typing (cont.) Readings: I/1 (transnational, historical, multicultural approach to gender) Readings: III/4, 7 (representations: colonialism, orientalism/Africanism)

Exercise: feminine : masculine sort the following attributes and behaviors into masculine / feminine categories: nightingale, tender, flower, motorcycle, assertive, eagle, weak, strong, computer games, Barbie, barrettes, skirt, Mary, butterfly, blushing, bikini, gorilla, hurling, trousers, ant, stepping, sweater

Exercise: feminine : masculine add additional attributes to this list and then create meaningful narratives out of the associative networks related to cultural categories of feminine : masculine that you have established

Exercise:Readings In groups of 3-4, take an article from our textbook and provide the following: brief summary respond to the questions distributed in class present your arguments as a group to the class

Readings: Women’s Bodies in Science and Culture historical and medical knowledge influential in spreading information about bodies male and female and influencing society meanings shift over time but rooted in society’s organization of knowledge emergence of notion of sex differences as primary explanation for human diversity how difference turns into inequality

Readings: Women’s Bodies in Science and Culture Reading A: Sex and the Body (Oudshoorn) List the bio/technology paradigms related to the changing concept of the female body in the last 300 years. Why scientific definitions can (and are) harmful in creating cultural stereotypes about men and women?

Readings: Women’s Bodies in Science and Culture Reading B: The Egg and the Sperm (Martin) Give examples that show how social imagery can be imposed on biology. Do you agree with the author that biological images create negative associations with female reproductive organs?

Readings: Women’s Bodies in Science and Culture Reading C: A Welcoming Soil: Islamic Humoralism (Laderman) Using Islamic humoralism as example, explain the process by which one quality transferred to others, can create cultural definition of sex.

Readings: Women’s Bodies in Science and Culture Reading D: Androgynous Males and Deficient Females: Biology and Gender Boundaries in Sixteenth-Century China (Furth) Present the argument related to androgynous males and deficient females in 16th century Chinese culture. Do you agree with the author’s feminist explanation of this historical condition?

Readings: Women’s Bodies in Science and Culture Reading E: Social Construction Theory: Problems in the History of Sexuality (Vance) What is natural and what is constructed in terms of sexual identity? (natural corresponds to essential & universal; cultural corresponds to frames that are imposed by society to determine how reality is organized) Do you agree with the author?

Readings: Gender in Relation to Class, Nation, Race Gender in relation to race, class, nationality, culture, religion, sexuality Transnational approach to gender (focus on differences & inequalities rather than continuity) Global economy (national and local identities questioned by movement of goods, money, and media images) (emphasis on inequalities & differences rather than continuity)

Readings: Representing Women in Colonial Contexts Reading A: Woman is an Island: Femininity and Colonization (Williamson) What is the meaning of the ‘other’ mentioned by the author? Why is ‘other’ an abstraction, an ideal, and also a symbol for all that the West is not? How can that type of thinking affect the lives of those that are not in the West?

Readings: Representing Women in Colonial Contexts Reading B: Excerpts from Reading National Geographic (Lutz-Collins) Images have been influential in promoting representations of people. What are the stereotypes of women promoted in National Geographic? Give own examples of how illustrated magazines represent women and ‘the people of the world’?

Readings: Representing Women in Colonial Contexts Reading C: Feminism and Difference (Lazreg) Why are the categories, ‘Islamic women’ or ‘Muslim women’ insufficient? Give your own examples of similar typing of groups.

Readings: Representing Women in Colonial Contexts Reading D: Excerpt from Images of Women: The Portrayal of Women in Photography of the Middle East (Graham-Brown) Discuss the issue of controlling visibility of women in the Middle East and other Mediterranean society. Why is it a problematic concept to most European cultures?

Readings: Gender in Relation to Modernization, Globalization Effect of modernization policies: population control, increased industrialization, use of technology in agriculture Transnational networks (new social movements and non-governmental organizations; new international communities and identities--connections) (emphasis on inequalities & differences rather than continuity)

Readings: Cyberculture Reading A: Feminism for the Incurably Informed (Balsamo) Histories of technology exclude gender and gendered technologies (technologies related to nursing, food preparation, etc.). Why is that a problem? Why is it important that women give their contribution in the area of information technology, shaping it in accordance with their own experience?

Readings: Cyberculture Reading B: The Internet and the South: Superhighway or Dirt-Tracks? (Panos Inst.) What are the implications of the gender gap in access and use of technology bw North and South?

Readings: Cyberculture Reading C: Using Information Technology as a Mobilizing Force: The Case of the Tanzania Media Women’s Association (Alloo) Give other examples from your own experience that show how information technology can be used to mobilize a community and contribute to social change that reflects the interests of that community.