Sociology 327: Sex and Gender in Society

Course Dates & Location:
TR, 2:10 - 3:30 p.m.
162 Heady Hall

Instructor:
Dr. Alicia D. Cast
316 East Hall, 515.294.1184, acast@iastate.edu
Office Hours:Tu 10:00 - 11:00 a.m., Wed 1:00 - 3:00 p.m., and by appointment

Objective of Course:
This course is designed to introduce you to sociological perspectives on sex and gender. While gender can be a very taken-for-granted aspect of everyday life (to the point where most of us don’t even have to think about it), sociologists have shown us that gender is actually something that is socially constructed through a variety of different behaviors, actions, and patterns of organization in society. In this course we will examine common perspectives on sex and gender, but we will primarily be focusing on the different ways that sociologists have sought to understand this pervasive dimension of social life.

Required Readings:
READINGS: The following two books are required for this course:

Kimmel, Michael S. 2008. The Gendered Society. New York: Oxford University Press.

Kimmel, Michael S. and Amy Aronson (eds.) 2008. The Gendered Society Reader.  New York: Oxford University Press.

These books are available for purchase at the bookstore.

Last, there will be several articles placed on e-reserve through Parks library. You should be able to retrieve these on-line through the library’s web-page (http://www.lib.iastate.edu/). These readings are indicated on the syllabus with an “RA.” If for some reason you do not have access to these articles via this route, please come and see me so that an alternative arrangement can be made.