2022-23 Academic Catalog

We all lead gendered lives, in our felt identities as well as through how we are perceived, advantaged, and disadvantaged by others. This course examines gender and gender relations from an anthropological perspective, centering and contextualizing the global human diversity of gendered experiences. Key concepts such as gender, voice/mutedness, status, public and private spheres, and the gendered division of labor—and their intellectual history—let us explore intriguing questions such as how many genders there are, and whether gender is mutable. The course focuses on two areas: 1) the role of sex, sexuality, and procreation in creating cultural notions of gender, and 2) the impacts of colonialism, globalization, and economic underdevelopment on gender relations. Prerequisite: The department strongly recommends that 110 or 111 be taken prior to enrolling in courses numbered 200 or above.