SOC 792B Gender and Society
Fall Session 2003, 2:30 – 5:00pm Mondays
620 Thompson Hall
Professor: Michelle Budig
Office: W34 Machmer, Office Hours: 11:30am – 12:30pm, M & W
Telephone: 545-5972 e-mail: budig@soc.umass.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is designed to provide an interdisciplinary overview of the sociology of gender at the graduate
level. Theories of gender considered include socialization, sociobiological, and feminist. Feminist
methods and other sociological methods are debated. Intersections between gender, race, and class are
explored. Topical areas demonstrate how gender is constructed at the individual level of social
interaction to the institutionalization of gender in organizations, nations, and the economy.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1. Required Readings:
Required books are available at the Textbook Annex on the UMass Campus. One copy of each
book is also on reserve at the library.
Connell, R.W. 1995. Masculinities. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Craig, Maxine Leeds. 2002. Ain’t I a Beauty Queen? Black Women, Beauty, and the Politics of Race.
New York: Oxford University Press.
Folbre, Nancy. 1994. Who Pays for the Kids? Gender and the Structures of Constraint. New York:
Routledge.
Guttentag and Secord. 1983. Too Many Women? The Sex Ratio Question. Sage Publications.
Thorne, Barrie. 1994. Gender Play: Girls and Boys in School. Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Tong, Rosemarie. 1998. Feminist Thought. Westview Press.
Required articles are all available through JSTOR or from the instructor.
2. Term Paper and Presentation:
Each student will work on a paper or proposal relevant to gender and/or employment during the semester.
Students should orient their work toward either a publishable paper or a research grant proposal. Papers
or grant proposals begun previously may be used if substantial progress is made on the paper/proposal
during the semester. Projects begun during the semester should culminate in an all-but-the-data-analysis
term paper (with proposed plan for conducting the research). Projects will be graded as follows:
1- Page summary of proposed paper (due 9/22)
Full outline of proposed paper (due 10/22)
First draft of paper (due 11/17)
Class Presentation of term paper (12/1 or 12/8)
5% of final grade
5%
5%
15%
1
Final paper (due 12/19)
40%
3. Peer Review
You will write a review of another student’s draft of her/his term paper (due 11/24) and share comments
one-on-one in class (11/24). Your review will count as 15% of your final grade.
4. Discussion Leader
Each student will prepare and lead two class discussions from two different topics on the course schedule.
This involves a very brief presentation of the main points of the reading, unanswered questions you have
about the topic, and provocative questions for further class discussion on the readings or topic more
broadly. Each class discussion will count as 5% of the final grade (for a total of 10%).
5. Class Participation
Class attendance, preparation and attendance are expected. Participation will count as 5% of your final
grade.
COURSE SCHEDULE
September 8 Social Theory and Feminist Theory
Sprague, Joey. 1997. “Holy Men and Big Guns: The Can[n]on in Social Theory.” Gender and Society
11(1):88-107. JSTOR
Tong, Rosemarie. 1989. Feminist Thought. Westview Press. “Introduction: Diversity of Feminist
Thinking.” ON RESERVE
September 15 Feminist Methods Debate
Cancian, Francesca. 1992. “Feminist Science: Methodologies that Challenge Inequality.” Gender and
Society 6(4):623-642. JSTOR
Comments and Replies on Cancian (all available through JSTOR)


Risman, Barbara, Joey Sprague, and Judith Howard. 1993. “Comment on Francesca M. Cancian’s
‘Feminist Science.’” Gender and Society 7(4):608-609.
Cancian, Francesca. 1993. “Reply to Risman, Sprague, and Howard.” Gender and Society
7(4):610 611.
DeVault, Majorie. 1996. “Talking Back to Sociology: Distinctive Contributions of Feminist
Methodology.” Annual Review of Sociology 22:29-50. JSTOR
September 22 Gender, biology, and the body
Rossi, Alice. 1984. “Gender and Parenthood.” American Sociological Review 49:1-19. JSTOR
Udry, J. Richard. 2000. “Biological Limits of Gender Construction.” American Sociological Review
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65:443-57. JSTOR
Comments and Replies on Udry (all available through JSTOR)





Miller, Eleanor M. and Carrie Yang Costello. 2001. “The Limits of Biological Determinism.”
American Sociological Review, 66(4):592-598.
Kennelly, Ivy, Sabine N. Merz, and Judith Lorber. 2001. “What Is Gender?” American
Sociological Review, 66(4):598-605..
Risman, Barbara J. 2001. “Calling the Bluff of Value-Free Science.” American Sociological
Review, 66(4):605-611.
Udry, J. Richard. 2001. “Feminist Critics Uncover Determinism, Positivism, and Antiquated
Theory.” American Sociological Review, 66(4):611-618.
Firebaugh, Glenn. 2001. “The ASR Review Process.” American Sociological Review, 66(4):619621.
September 29 Gender and Socialization
Thorne, Barrie. 1994. Gender Play: Girls and Boys in School. Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
ON RESERVE
October 6 Feminist Theory: Liberal Feminism and Marxist/Socialist Feminism
Tong – “Liberal Feminism” and “Marxist and Socialist Feminism” ON RESERVE
October 15 Feminist Theory: Radical Feminism
Tong— “Radical Feminism: Libertarian and Cultural Perspectives” ON RESERVE
October 20 Feminist Theory and Psychology
Maccoby, Eleanor, and Carol Nagy Jacklin. 1974. Psychology of Sex Differences. Stanford: Stanford
Univesity Press. Pages 1-13 (Introduction) and 349-374 (Conclusion) ON RESERVE
Tong— “Psychoanalytic and Gender Feminism” ON RESERVE
October 27 Deconstructing Feminist Theory
Tong— “Postmodern Feminism” and “Multicultural and Global Feminism” ON RESERVE
November 3 Gender, Race, and Culture
Craig, Maxine Leeds. 2002. Ain’t I a Beauty Queen? Black Women, Beauty, and the Politics of Race.
New York: Oxford University Press. ON RESERVE
November 10 Theorizing Masculinity
Connell, R.W. 1995. Masculinities. Berkeley: University of California Press. ON RESERVE
November 17 Gender, Ethnomethodology, and Social Interaction
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Goffman Erving. 1977. “The Arrangement between the Sexes.” Theory and Society 4(3): 301-31. JSTOR
West, Candace and Don Zimmerman. 1987. “Doing Gender.” Gender & Society 1: 125-151. JSTOR
West, Candace and Sarah Fenstermaker. 1995. “Doing Difference.” Gender & Society 9: 8-37. JSTOR
Peter Kollock, Philip Blumstein, and Pepper Schwartz. 1985. “Sex and Power in Interaction:
Conversational Privileges and Duties.” American Sociological Review. 50:34-46. JSTOR
TOPICAL READINGS THAT FOLLOW ARE SUBJECT TO REVISION AT STUDENTS’
DISCRETION
November 24 Gender and Demographic Pressures
Guttentag and Secord. 1983. “Too Many Women? The Sex Ratio Question.” Sage Publications.
Chapters 1, (3), 6-9. ON RESERVE
December 1 Gender and Economic Inequality
McLanahan, Sarah, Sorensen, and Watson. 1989. “Sex Differences in Poverty, 1950-1980.” Signs
15(1):102-122. GET FROM INSTRUCTOR
Kathryn Ward. 1990. “Introduction.” Pp. 1-22 in Kathryn Ward’s (ed.) Women Workers and Global
Restructuring. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. ON RESERVE
Folbre, Nancy. 1994. Who Pays for the Kids? Gender and the Structures of Constraint. New York:
Routledge. Intro, 1-3, 7 ON RESERVE
December 8 Gender and Sexual Violence
A. Ayres Boswell; Joan Z. Spade. 1996. “Fraternities and Collegiate Rape Culture: Why Are Some
Fraternities More Dangerous Places f or Women?” Gender and Society, Vol. 10, No. 2. (Apr., 1996),
pp. 133-147. JSTOR
Kenneth F. Ferraro. 1996. Women's Fear of Victimization: Shadow of Sexual Assault? Social
Forces, Vol. 75, No. 2. (Dec., 1996), pp. 667-690. JSTOR
Beth E. Schneider. 1991. “Put up and Shut up: Workplace Sexual Assaults.” Gender and Society,
Vol. 5, No. 4. (Dec., 1991), pp. 533-548. JSTOR
Jenness, Valerie and Kendal Broad. 1994. “Antiviolence Activism and the (In)Visibility of Gender in the
Gay /Lesbian and Women's Movements” Gender and Society 8(3):402-423. JSTOR
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