Department of Anthropology
http://www.anthropology.ualberta.ca/
Anthr 110 (Winter 2018 Term)
Gender, Age, and Culture
Class time: TTh 11-12:20 AM
Class meeting place: CAB 239
Instructor: Joseph Hill (joseph.hill@ualberta.ca)
Office: 13-29 Tory
Telephone: 780-492-5889
Fax: 780-492-5273
Office Hours: Th 9–10:50 AM or by appointment
Personal Websites:
https://www.ualberta.ca/arts/about/people-collection/joseph-hill
https://sites.google.com/a/ualberta.ca/joseph-hill/
TA: Rebecca Gray (ragray@ualberta.ca)
Office: 13-11 Tory
Office Hour: Tuesday 1-2 PM
Course Website: https://eclass.srv.ualberta.ca/
The University of Alberta acknowledges that we are located on Treaty 6 territory, and respects the histories, languages, and
cultures of the First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and all First Peoples of Canada, whose presence continues to enrich our vibrant
community.
Course Prerequisites
None
Course Description and Objectives
In any given community, two factors central to shaping a person’s social roles and attributes are their gender and
age. Yet different communities not only understand these roles and attributes differently, but they define and di vide gender and age categories differently. This course studies gender and age distinctions in a cross-cultural perspective, asking what it means to be a man, woman, or other gender, and to be part of an age class (child, adult,
elder, etc.) in any given society. We will study sex, gender, and age distinctions from socio-cultural, political, and
biological perspectives.
Required Texts and Materials
• Brettell, Caroline B., and Carolyn F. Sargent, eds. 2017. Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective. 7th ed.
London: Routledge.
•
Kenny, Mary Lorena. 2008. Hidden Heads of Households: Child Labor in Urban Northeast Brazil.
Toronto: University of Toronto Press. (This book is also available electronically through the library, so
you can choose whether to buy the hard copy or read the electronic version.)
•
Other articles available online either through the Library or on eClass. (See below on accessing these
articles. You don’t have to pay for them, even if the site at first tells you you have to pay.)
Joseph Hill, Gender, Age, and Culture Syllabus (updated January 8, 2020)
•
Kritik online software subscription
Kritik: We will be using the Kritik (https://www.kritik.io/) peer evaluation system in class for submitting and
peer-evaluating assignments. Kritik requires a paid subscription, which costs around $15.
EPoll: We will also use the University of Alberta’s free “ePoll” system for answering questions in class and for
quizzes. This service does not require a paid subscription. But you will need to bring a computer or smart
phone to class to participate.
Hint on Downloading Scholarly Articles: Don’t use the “paywall” as an excuse not to do the readings. Instead, learn how to locate them. For scholarly articles and books available through university subscriptions, the
university encourages professors not to provide direct links, instead encouraging students to learn how to find
these articles on their own. I am adopting this policy. Usually, it is easy to find scholarly articles simply by going
to Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.ca, or https://scholar-google-ca.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/ if
you’re off campus) and entering the author’s name and the title of the article (or a few key words from it). Or
you may use the U of A library website (https://library.ualberta.ca/). Carefully check the article’s title, author,
and publication to make sure you got the right one.
Off-campus downloading: To download a reading off campus, you will usually have to use the U of A library’s
EZProxy server, which requires adding “.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca” to the end of the server address.
This includes Google Scholar, for example: http://scholar.google.ca.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/. Then
anything linked to from this proxified Google Scholar address will also go through the proxy server. Magic! Or
you may add the same suffix to the server name (before any slashes) of the database hosting the document. For
example, the address
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2008.00462.x/abstract becomes
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2008.00462.x/abstract.
Personally, I installed an EZProxy plugin on Chrome (also available on Firefox and other browsers), which
makes a button on my browser toolbar that automatically changes the address (after I set it up by entering the
proxy domain as “login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca”). Automating it is much easier than trying to remember that
EZProxy address.
Grade Distribution
Participation, attendance, and quizzes (discussion, ePoll, online forum)
Kritik assignments (approximately 8 total)
Midterm exam
Final exam
20%
20%
25%
35%
Assignments
The semester’s grade will be based on the following:
•
Class participation, attendance, and quizzes: This score is a combination of my personal assessment
of your verbal contribution to class discussions, your participation in ePoll questions (through which I
also get a sense of your attendance), you performance on quizzes, and your participation in the online
discussion forum through posting and commenting. Participation in the online forum is not required,
but it can offset a lack of participation in discussions. There will be approximately 5 pop quizzes over
the course of the semester (although potentially more or fewer). Some may be administered through the
ePoll system, while others may be written on paper. They will generally consist of between 5 and 10
multiple-choice or short-answer questions. The dates of these quizzes will not be announced ahead of
time, and they cannot be made up. You can miss one quiz and still get full credit on the quiz portion.
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Joseph Hill, Gender, Age, and Culture Syllabus (updated January 8, 2020)
•
Kritik assignments: Kritik is an online platform that allows students to create content and assess one
another’s work. It allows students to engage in higher-level and more creative thinking even in larger lec ture courses and, over the following week, to provide effective (anonymous) feedback to other students.
The first few assignments will be simple, for example coming up with a short explanation for a concept
or a sample exam question. The last couple assignments will be a little more elaborate, for example, finding a cultural phenomenon online that exemplifies a concept we’re reading about and applying the
concept to explaining it, or recording yourself doing an oral PowerPoint or similar presentation. In addition to creating your own work, you will be learning from others’ work and providing them with con structive feedback. Your Kritic score is a composite of the quality of your own Kritic creative work, the
quality of your evaluations, and the quantity of your Kritik participation. I will provide more details as
the course goes on. Kritik routine: Assignments will be due on a Friday; peer assessments will be due
the following Wednesday; your feedback for assessments of your work will be due that Friday (often the
same day you’re submitting the next Kritik assignment). There will be a Kritik assignment most but not
all weeks.
•
Midterm and final exams: These exams will consist primarily of multiple choice and potentially some
short answer questions. The final exam will mostly cover the second half of the course but will also in clude some comprehensive questions.
Learning and working environment
The Faculty of Arts is committed to ensuring that all students, faculty and staff are able to work and study in an
environment that is safe and free from discrimination and harassment. It does not tolerate behaviour that undermines
that environment. The department urges anyone who feels that this policy is being violated to:
◦
Discuss the matter with the person whose behaviour is causing concern; or
◦
If that discussion is unsatisfactory, or there is concern that direct discussion is inappropriate or threatening, discuss
it with the Chair of the Department.
For additional advice or assistance regarding this policy you may contact the student ombudservice:
(http://www.ombudservice.ualberta.ca/ ). Information about the University of Alberta Discrimination and Harassment
Policy and Procedures can be found in the GFC Policy Manual, section 44 available at
http://gfcpolicymanual.ualberta.ca/.
Sexual Violence Policy
It is the policy of the University of Alberta that sexual violence committed by any member of the University community
is prohibited and constitutes misconduct. Resources and more information can be found at
https://www.ualberta.ca/campus-life/sexual-violence.
Resources for Students
The best all-purpose website for student services on campus is here: https://www.ualberta.ca/current-students.
There you can find information about services such as the Academic Success Centre and Accessibility Resources.
Please talk to me (and/or the TA) if you are experiencing conditions that are making it hard to succeed in the
course. I am always ready to listen and do whatever I can to help students succeed.
Academic Integrity
The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students are
expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University in
this respect. Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student
Behaviour and avoid any behaviour that could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation
of facts and/or participation in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or
expulsion from the University.
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Joseph Hill, Gender, Age, and Culture Syllabus (updated January 8, 2020)
See the University of Alberta’s new Academic Integrity website:
https://www.ualberta.ca/current-students/academic-resources/academic-integrity.
Plagiarism and Cheating
All students should consult the “Truth-In-Education” handbook or Website ( http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/TIE/ )
regarding the definitions of plagiarism and its consequences when detected. Students involved in language courses and
translation courses should be aware that on-line “translation engines” produce very dubious and unreliable
“translations.” Students in language courses should be aware that, while seeking the advice of native or expert speakers is
often helpful, excessive editorial and creative help in assignments is considered a form of “cheating” that violates the
code of student conduct with dire consequences. An instructor or coordinator who is convinced that a student has
handed in work that he or she could not possibly reproduce without outside assistance is obliged, out of consideration
of fairness to other students, to report the case to the Associate Dean of the Faculty. Before unpleasantness occurs
consult http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/TIE/; also discuss this matter with any tutor(s) and with your instructor.
Recording of Lectures
Audio or video recording, digital or otherwise, of lectures, labs, seminars or any other teaching environment by students
is allowed only with the prior written consent of the instructor or as part of an approved accommodation plan. Student
or instructor content, digital or otherwise, created and/or used within the context of the course is to be used solely for
personal study, and is not to be used or distributed for any other purpose without prior written consent from the
content author(s).
Attendance, Absences, and Missed Grade Components:
Regular attendance is essential for optimal performance in any course. In cases of potentially excusable absences due to
illness or domestic affliction, notify your instructor by e-mail within two days. Regarding absences that may be
excusable and procedures for addressing course components missed as a result, consult sections 23.3(1) and 23.5.6 of
the University Calendar. Be aware that unexcused absences will result in partial or total loss of the grade for the
“attendance and participation” component(s) of a course, as well as for any assignments that are not handed-in or
completed as a result.
Attendance and reading are both a must—the readings illustrate the lectures, and the lectures highlight key
points and tie readings together. The lectures do not simply summarize everything you need to know from the
readings (or vice versa). You can’t pass this course by doing one or the other (or neither). That said, I won’t take
attendance per se, but I will take it indirectly through the above-mentioned in-class activities.
Grading
Marks for exams are given in percentages, to which letter grades are assigned according to the table below. The
percentage mark resulting from the entire term work and final exam then yields the final letter grade for the
course.
The historical Faculty of Arts class average for 100 level courses ranges from is 2.48 to 3.08 (C+ to B). The class
average is likely to fall in this area, although grades are not curved and, theoretically, everyone could get an A.
Excellent
Good
Satisfactory
Percentage
Letter Grade
Grade Point Value
95-100
A+
4.0
90-94
A
4.0
85-89
A-
3.7
80-84
B+
3.3
74-79
B
3.0
70-73
B-
2.7
66-69
C+
2.3
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Joseph Hill, Gender, Age, and Culture Syllabus (updated January 8, 2020)
62-65
C
2.0
58-61
C-
1.7
Poor
54-57
D+
1.3
Minimal pass
50-53
D
1.0
Failure
0-49
F
0.0
Reading/Assignment Schedule
You are expected to read approximately 1/3 of any given week’s readings before each class session. Thus, if there
are three readings in a week, this normally means that you should read at least one before each class (or 1/3 of
the overall pages). You are expected to complete all the readings before Friday’s class. Quizzes will ask about any
material up to and including the portion of reading assigned for that day. Occasionally, they may ask you to recall things studied earlier.
Any readings that simply have the page numbers after the author and title are in the readings textbook. Readings with full references are available as online library resources.
The reading schedule may be subject to changes that will not increase course workload. EClass will always reflect
the most recent version of the schedule.
1/7 & 9 Motherhood and Childhood: Questioning Universalities
Scheper-Hughes, Nancy. “Lifeboat Ethics: Mother Love and Child Death in Northeast Brazil”
(19–26).
Kenny, Mary Lorena. 2008. Hidden Heads of Households: Child Labor in Urban Northeast
Brazil. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. (Chapters 1–2.)
1/14 & 16 Kenny, Hidden Heads of Household, cont. (Chapters 3–7.)
1/21 & 23 Are Gender Roles Biologically Determined and Universal?
“Part 1: Biology, Gender, and Human Evolution” (1–8).
Zuk, Marlene. “Animal Models and Gender” (9–18).
Hewlett, Barry S. “The Cultural Nexus of Aka Father-Infant Bonding” (27–39).
Chikkatur, Anita. “Difference Matters: Understanding and Embodying Gender Identities at an
Urban Public High School in the United States” (40–51).
Friday 1/24 by midnight: Kritik Assignment #1 due. Peer assessments due the following
Wednesday, and your feedback for assessments of your work due that coming Friday.
1/28 & 30 “Part 2: Gender and Prehistory” (53–58).
Joyce, Rosemary A. “The Past Is a Foreign Country: Archaeology of Sex and Gender” (55–61).
Adovasio, J.M. et al. “The Fashioning of Women.” (61–70).
Ortner, Sherry B. 1972. “Is Female to Male as Nature Is to Culture?” Feminist Studies 1 (2):5–
31.
Friday 1/31 by midnight: Kritik Assignment #2 due. (Same routine described above for
assessment/feedback.)
2/4 & 6 The Domestic, the Public, and the Household
“Part 3: Domestic Worlds and Public Worlds” (91–96)
Lamphere, Louise. “The Domestic Sphere of Women and the Public World of Men: The
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Joseph Hill, Gender, Age, and Culture Syllabus (updated January 8, 2020)
Strengths and Limitations of an Anthropological Dichotomy” (97–108).
Parikh, Shanti. “From ‘Private’ Affairs to ‘Public’ Scandals: The Modern Woman’s Challenge to
Husband’s Infidelities in Uganda.” (109–21).
Broughton, Chad and Tom Walton. “Downsizing Masculinity: Gender, Family and
Fatherhood in Post-industrial America” (122–38).
2/11 & 13 Stratification and Division of Labour
“Part 4: Equality and Inequality: The Sexual Division of Labor and Gender Stratification”
(153–58).
Estioko-Griffin, Agnes and Bion Griffin. “Woman the Hunter: The Agta” (159–69).
Archambault, Caroline S. “Ethnographic Empathy and the Social Context of Rights:
‘Rescuing’ Maasai Girls from Early Marriage” (182–199).
Falola, Toyin. “Gender, Business, and Space Control: Yoruba Market Women and Power”
(200–214).
Friday 2/14 by midnight: Kritik Assignment #3 due. (Assessment/feedback will be due the
Wednesday and Friday after reading week.)
2/17–21 READING WEEK
2/25 & 27 Local and Global Economy
“Part 11: Gender and the Global Economy” (603–10).
Hinrichsen, Megan Bond. “Little Princesses and Tiny Barons: Gender, Microfinance, and
Parental Priorities in Urban Ecuador” (611–23).
Cairoli, M. Laetitia. “Factory as Home and Family: Female Workers in the Moroccan Garment
Industry” (624–38).
Constable, Nicole. “Sexuality and Discipline among Filipina Domestic Workers in Hong
Kong” (639–60).
3/3 (Tuesday) Midterm exam in the classroom
3/5 Sexuality and Reproduction
“Part 6: Culture, Sexuality, and the Body” (291–98).
Abu-Lughod, Lila. “Is there a Muslim Sexuality? Changing Constructions of Sexuality in
Egyptian Bedouin Weddings” (299–309).
Friday 3/6 by midnight: Kritik Assignment #4 due. (Same routine described above for
assessment/feedback.)
3/10 & 12 Gottlieb, Alma. “From Pollution to Love Magic: The New Anthropology of Menstruation”
(310–22).
Reddy, Gayatri and Serena Nanda. “Hijras: an ‘Alternative’ Sex/Gender in India” (323–31).
“Part 10: Gender, Politics, and Reproduction” (541–46).
MacDonald, Margaret. “Natural Birth at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century: Implications
for Gender” (547–58).
Friday 3/13 by midnight: Kritik Assignment #5 due. (Same routine described above for
assessment/feedback.)
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Joseph Hill, Gender, Age, and Culture Syllabus (updated January 8, 2020)
3/17 & 19 Kligman, Gail. “Political Demography: The Banning of Abortion in Ceausescu’s Romania”
(559–76).
Sobonya, Sarah. “Making Room for Daddy: Fathers and Breastfeeding in the United States”
(588–601).
Gruenbaum, Ellen. “Female Genital Cutting: Moving Forward on Abolition?” (398–411).
Friday 3/20 by midnight: Kritik Assignment #6 due. (Same routine described above for
assessment/feedback.)
3/24 & 26 Making Men and Women
“Part 5: The Cultural Construction of Gender and Personhood” (215–220).
Gilmore, David D. “My Encounter with Machismo in Spain” (221–38).
Herdt, Gilbert. “Rituals of Manhood: Male Initiation in Papua New Guinea” (239–43).
Gulbas, Lauren E. “Surgical Transformations in the Pursuit of Gender” (244–53).
Kiesling, Scott F. “‘Now I Gotta Watch What I Say’: Shifting Constructions of Masculinity in
Discourse” (254–70).
Friday 2/28 by midnight: Kritik Assignment #7 due. (Same routine described above for
assessment/feedback.)
3/31 & 4/2 Religion and Ritual
“Part 9. Gender, Ritual, and Religion” (475–81).
Sood, Anubha. “Possessing Spirits and Healing Gods: Female Suffering and Agency in North
India” (482–96).
McIntosh, Janet. “‘Tradition’ and Threat: Women’s Obscenity in Giriama Funerary Rituals”
(497–511).
Santos, José Leonardo. “How to Change a Man: Spiritual Transformation and Shifts in Gender
Ideology in El Salvador” (526–40).
Friday 4/3 by midnight: Kritik Assignment #8 due. (Same routine described above for
assessment/feedback.)
4/7 Bowen, John R. “Women’s Autonomy, Islam, and the French State” (371–80).
TBA Final exam in the classroom
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