SOCI 572                                                                                                        Dr. Kristen Myers

Sociology of Gender & Sexualities                                                                 Office: 801 Zulauf

Office hours: TuTh 12:30-2:00 and by appointment                                     753-6431

www.socqrl.niu.edu/myers/courses.html                                                        kmyers@niu.edu

 

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Last taught Fall 2007

 

This syllabus is a contract between you and me. Please read it and ask any questions that you may have. This class promises to be demanding, stimulating, and even exciting. If you choose to stay in this class after reading the syllabus, I will assume that you intend participate fully in order to help the course reach its potential. In reading this syllabus, take note of the warnings discussed below.

 

Course Goals

This course aims to present an upper level examination of the complexities of sex, gender, and sexualities, as well as their interconnections.  I have several goals for this class, and they may expand over the semester.

1. To critically assess the social construction of sex, gender, and sexuality.

2. To situate this knowledge in a social context, recognizing its politics and social repercussions.

3. To be able to critique information and arguments on the basis of logic, and to be able to evaluate which information is more accurate than others.

4. To understand the relationship between sex, gender, and sexuality.   

5. To use course material to improve research, writing, and speaking skills.   

6. To apply material to the real world.

 

Texts

You have five required texts for this class. Your texts are Fausto-Sterling’s Sexing the Body; Foucault’s The History of Sexuality; Seidman, et al’s Introducing the New Sexuality Studies; Butler’s Undoing Gender; and Stein’s Strangers Next Door.  In addition to your assigned readings, I will lecture from relevant

readings, and you will be responsible for this lecture material.

 

Requirements

You will need to read, analyze and write quite a bit in this course. You’ll need to pace yourself to stay on top of it all.

 

Briefs:  For every reading, you will write a 3-5 page “brief” or critical summary of the material.  In each brief, you should summarize the major ideas in the piece.  Then you should react to the material, making connections between other pieces and your own personal perspective/experiences.

 

Research Proposal: You will choose a topic relevant to this course, and you will write a research proposal based on that topic.  This proposal will include a review of relevant literature, a research question to be addressed, and a proposed method with which to answer that question.  You will write an IRB proposal to accompany that proposal. 

 

We will then conduct a peer review of each proposal.  You will be evaluate a peer’s research constructively and critically to help each person revise her/his work. 

 

Next, you will revise your own paper based on the review.

 

Last, you will present your proposal to the class. 

 

All assignments must be typed and stapled or paper clipped, or I will deduct points.

 

Exam:  You will have a final, cumulative essay exam, requiring you to critique and synthesize course material.  As with comprehensive exams, you will answer 2 out of 3 possible questions.

 

Turning in Assignments Late

WARNING: It is not fair for some members of the class to take extra time and turn in papers late, when the rest of the class works hard and completes them by the due date. Occasionally, everyone gets overwhelmed with school work. You have a lot of work to do in this class, so budget your time NOW. If you know ahead of time that you will be unable to complete a project on the date it is due, then arrange an extension with me. Otherwise, I deduct 5 points a day (including weekends) from projects that are turned in late.

 

Attendance and Participation

You should be here, awake, prepared, and ready to discuss the readings. 

 

Cell phones: turn them off before coming into class.

 

Grading

I use a 10 point grading scale (A=100-90; etc).  Many of you already know what grade you need in this class in order to maintain or elevate your GPA. My philosophy on grades is this: They are yours to earn, not mine to give. Therefore, decide now what grade you want to receive, and earn it! Do not come to me at the end of the semester with a creative story about your various personal tragedies (i.e., “I'm going to flunk out;” “I’m going to lose my scholarship;” “My parents will kill me”) and expect me to make it all better.

 

Project 40%

Briefs: 25%

Daily grade (participation, attendance): 10%

Exam 25%

 

Schedule:

Readings are due the day for which they are listed.