Sociology of Gender

Male, female, woman, man, feminine, masculine. We all know what gender is, right? In this course, we will critically examine the idea of gender from a sociological perspective. For the first few weeks, we will tackle the big question 'What is gender?' To do this, we will begin by interrogating taken-for-granted ideas about the biological underpinnings of gender. We then dive into sociological conceptions of gender. In the latter portion of the course we will examine the ways gender operates and produces inequality within a variety of societal institutions, including the media, the family, the workplace, and the legal system. This class will expose you to some of the methods social scientists use to study gender and help you think critically about common sense understandings of gender through a look at both popular journalism and rigorous academic research. The emphasis of this class is to leave you with a long-lasting understanding of why the study of social problems, and especially those related to gender, matter.