ANTHROPOLOGY 3200--Women’s Roles in Cross-Cultural Perspective
Dr. Holly Mathews
Spring 2016
Flanagan 207; 328-9452; mathewsh@ecu.edu
T-Th 2:00
Office Hours: Monday 10-12; Tues-Thur 9:30-11:30 and 3:30-4 or by appointment
Course Objectives: by the end of this course, students should:
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Be familiar with the diversity of roles and statuses of women across time and place
understand the importance of gender as a basic principle of social organization cross-culturally
be able to delineate the different anthropological theories about the origins of gender differences
and the reasons for the perpetuation of inequalities
apply anthropological methods to investigate a major issue facing women globally
understand how cultural beliefs and values shape people’s perceptions and impact global
decisions and actions in order to formulate better solutions to women’s issues globally
apply critical thinking skills to evaluate global events and issues from multiple perspectives
be able to communicate effectively their informed opinions on women’s global issues through
participation in a shared blog
Required Texts: There are five required ethnographies for this course and these are available in
the student store and UBE. In addition, I will post some articles on blackboard for class.
Holloway, Kris
Mam, Somaly
Prieto, Norma
Shostak, Marjorie
Underhill, Ruth
Monique and the Mango Rains (Africa—maternal health)
Road of Lost Innocence (SE Asia—sex trade)
Beautiful Flowers of the Maquiladora (Mexico—labor)
Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman (Africa—
hunter/gatherer life)
Papago Woman (Native American—gender diversity)
Course Requirements: I have designed the course requirements to meet the objectives listed
above and also to try and involve you in thinking about the materials to be read and discussed in
class. These requirements are:
a) attendance and participation: It is important that you attend class regularly because
I will be lecturing on materials not covered in the readings. You will be responsible for
these materials on the exams. We will also discuss the readings in class and cannot have
quality discussions if you are not present. I will take attendance and excessive unexcused
absences will factor into your participation grade. Normally, two absences for whatever
reason (equivalent to a week of class) should be sufficient.
From time to time during the semester, I will give you short homework assignments. In
addition, we will have a joint blog for this class. Students are expected to monitor and
post discussion items or comments on the blog weekly (at least two per week). Your
participation grade derived from all of these activities will count for 15% of the final
course grade. The blog address is http://blog.ecu.edu/sites/genderpoliticsculture/
b) quizzes: We will have a quiz or take-home questions on each book required for the
course. In some cases, I will break the books into parts. Dates for these are indicated
on the syllabus, and discussion questions on all the books are posted on blackboard to
help you with the reading. Quizzes will cover the main themes and events of books
to encourage students to read and as a check for understanding of the books.
Grades on these will be averaged together and will count for 20% of the final course
grade. If you miss a quiz, you will only be allowed to take an essay make-up if you
have a university approved excuse for the absence.
c) Exams: There will be a mid-term and final exam in the course. Each will count for
15% of the final course grade. The exams will be short answer and essay in format
and will test you on both the lectures and the readings. Exam dates are listed on the
attached course schedule. Make-up exams will only be given if arrangements are
made in advance or if the student has a university-excused absence. The final will not
be comprehensive.
d) paper and op-ed piece for blog: Each student will write one op-ed articles such as
you might find in a newspaper or news magazine. Such an article can reach millions
of readers, swaying hearts and changing minds. It can help reshape a public debate
and affect policy. It also can bring you considerable recognition for less effort than it
takes to write a professional monograph or journal article. These articles will be
between 750-1000 words and should express your opinion on a key issue addressed in
the course. These will be posted on the blog for this class, and students must also
respond to any comments received on these pieces.
A good op-ed piece must be based on a knowledge of the issue—the facts as well as
possible solutions and the feasibility of these. Therefore, this assignment has two
parts. Students will pick an issue, research the issue and write a 5-6 page,
appropriately documented paper outlining the problem, the statistical information,
what is known about causes and also possible solutions. Once these papers are
completed, we will work on developing the op-ed piece—written for the general
public. Students will write the pieces, we will read and critique them in class, then
revise and then post them on the blog.
Grades on the background paper and revised op-ed piece will count for 30% of the final
course grade.
e) Outreach activities: A key principle of feminism is working to improve women’s lives.
We will have some type of outreach opportunities in the class. ECU will sponsor
activities for International Day of the Woman on Thursday, March 3rd, so helping with or
attending these is one option. We might want to develop something for Anthropology
Day in February or work with She’s the First to do a joint fund-raiser. Outreach will
count for 5% of the final course grade.
Grading Scale: A = 94-100 percent; A- = 90-93; B+ = 87-89; B = 83-86; B- = 80-82; C+ = 77-79; C =
73-76; C- = 70-72; D+ = 67-69; D = 63-66; D- = 60-62; F is below 60 percent,
Blackboard: The blackboard site for this course has course materials posted. Under Course
Syllabus, you will find the syllabus. Under Course Documents, you will find the articles to read
and the specific assignments by due dates. I will also post supplementary course materials and
power points to help you study.
Disabilities: East Carolina University seeks to comply fully with the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA). Students requesting accommodations based on a disability must be registered with
the Department for Disability Support Services located in Slay 138 ((252) 737-1016
(Voice/TTY)). If you have a disability and need accommodations for testing, it is your
responsibility to notify me in advance so arrangements can be made.
East Carolina University Academic Integrity Policy http://www.ecu.edu/csstudentlife/policyhub/academic_integrity.cfm
Cheating and plagiarism are serious issues at East Carolina University. Please read the academic
integrity policy at the above web site as this will be enforced in this course.
Course Schedule:
DATE:
TOPIC:
READINGS:
Jan. 12-14
The Problem of Women in Anthropology
Introduction to blogging
Read paper guidelines
Begin Mam book
Jan. 19-21
“There is One Law for Women: Silence”
The Case of Sex Trafficking
Quiz/discussion of Mam book
Paper topics due 1/26
Jan. 26-28
The Physical Basis for Sex Differences—How did
Gender Differences Evolve?
Quiz/discussion of Shostak,
chpts. 1-8
Feb. 2-4
Life in Egalitarian Societies:
Continue Shostak (9-15)
Feb. 9-11
Gender Roles and Change among the !Kung
First paper due 2/11 or 2/16
Shostak, 9-Epilogue
Feb. 16-18
Domestic/Public Spheres and the Formation
of Personality
National Anthropology Day, Feb. 18
Underhill, first half
Feb. 23-25
Radical Feminism: Alternative Gender Categories
and Systems of Meaning: How is Gender Identity
formed?
Quiz/discussion of Underhill.
second half
Mar. 1
Mar. 3
Mid-Term Exam
International Day of the Woman
Mar. 8-10
Spring Break
Mar. 15-17
Kinship and the Traffic in Women: Life in
Patrilineal Societies
Discussion of op-ed (due 3/15); revisions to begin
begin Holloway book
Mar. 22-24
Of Vigilence and Virgins: Women, Religion and
the State
Holloway
Mar.29-31
Patriarchy and Women’s Reproductive Health
Final op-eds due 3/31
Quiz/discussion of
Holloway
Apl. 5-7
Can the State Legislate Equality: Women in
Iraq and China
Mosher on BB
Apl.12-14
Capitalism, Modernization and Women’s
Economic Equality
Quiz/discussion on Prieto
Apl. 19
Women, War and Sexual Violence
The Case of Women as Refugees and Victims of War
Reading to be posted
Apl. 21
International Struggles for Women’s Rights
and Human Rights: Is there a difference?
Reading to be posted
Apl. 28
Final Exam; 2-4:30
Facebook page for ECU Women’s Studies Program:
https://www.facebook.com/ECU-Womens-Studies-151639151717/
United Nations Millennium Development Goals (to be met by 2015)
1. Eradicate Hunger and Poverty
2. Achieve Universal Primary Education (ensure that all boys and girls complete a full
course of primary schooling)
3. Promote Gender Equality and Promote Women (eliminate gender disparity in primary
and secondary education, preferably by 2005 and all levels by 2015)
4. Reduce Child Mortality
5. Improve Maternal Health (reduce by three-quarters the maternal mortality rate)
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases
7. Ensure Environmental Stability
8. Develop a Global Partnership for Development
“Adult literacy and universal primary education—especially for girls and women—can reduce
conflict by fueling economic development, helping stabilize population growth, and increasing
civic participation. From basic human rights lessons in primary grades to development of leaders
and professional in colleges and universities, the educational process leads to increased social
capacity, tolerance, and a willingness to seek peaceful rather than violent solutions to conflict.”
When children, especially girls, attend school and adults, especially women, can read and write,
significant progress occurs in the following areas:
Income
Health
Population Growth Rates
Infant and Maternal Mortality Rates
Food and Agriculture
AIDS and Other Infectious Diseases
Immunization and Vaccination Rates
Environmental Responsibility
Democracy
Worldwide, 875 million adults are illiterate (60% of these are women) and 115 million children do
not attend school.
These people are concentrated in the more populous countries including India, China, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Nigeria, Egypt, Indonesia, Brazil, and Mexico.
Graduating to a Pay-Gap: Earnings of Female College Graduates after Graduation:
An AAUW Report
http://www.aauw.org/files/2013/02/graduating-to-a-pay-gap-the-earnings-of-womenand-men-one-year-after-college-graduation.pdf