RACE, CLASS AND GENDER
SOCI 325, SPRING 08
MWF 1 PM
Judith Barker
Muller 111 x1212
Office Hours: MWF 12:00-12:30 and 2:00-3:00; Tuesdays 1:00-2:30 and by appointment. My
email is barker@ithaca.edu.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
We will explore the idea and reality of the intersection of race, class, gender, and sexual identity.
A central focus will be developing an understanding of how systems of oppression reinforce each
other, how they intersect to create an overall matrix of domination. We will explore these ideas
through a combination of academic books, novels, and films. Central to this class is the idea that
there is no construction of race separate from gender, no construction of class separate from race,
no construction of sexual identity separate from gender, etc. To that end we will not study four
different systems of oppression, rather we will explore, how our lives are shaped by various
combinations of these four “master statuses.”
READINGS
Weber, Lynn Understanding Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality: A Conceptual Framework.
Campbell, Bebe Moore Brothers and Sisters.
Feinberg, Leslie Stone Butch Blues.
There will also be various required readings in a reading packet.
ASSIGNMENTS
STUDENTS MUST FOLLOW GUIDELINES FOR ASSIGNMENTS, GRADING IS
BASED ON THE GUIDELINES. ALL GUIDELINES ARE INCLUDED IN THIS SYLLABUS.
1) 6 Typed outlines of the main ideas and points in, or questions generated from, the
assigned chapters in Understanding Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality: A Conceptual
Framework. These will be due on Fridays and not accepted late. Additional guidelines are
included at the end of the syllabus.
2) 3 Typed outlines of required readings in the reading packet.. These will be due on
Fridays and not accepted late.
2) A 5 page essay, analyzing the intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality in Stone
Butch Blues. Due in class on 2/29
3)A 7-10 page essay, analyzing the intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality in
Brothers and Sisters. Due in class on 4/14
4) A 3-5 page final essay on the intersection and social change. Due in class on 5/5.
STUDENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR READING THE SYLLABUS AND BEING AWARE
OF ALL DUE DATES.
GRADING
1.
9 typed outlines------------------------03 points each, for a total of 27% or points.
2.
Essay on Stone Butch Blues--------20% or points.
3.
Essay on Brothers and Sisters-----40% or points.
4.
Final essay-----------------------------10% or points.
5.
Participation------03% or points.
ATTENDANCE
You are allowed two unexcused absences from class; additional absences WILL EITHER, lower
your final average and grade, OR result in you being removed from the course. If you come to
class late twice, by five minutes or more, that will equal one absence. I will not tolerate students
who are tardy on a regular basis.
COURSE OUTLINE
Week 1
1\23-1/25
INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE: WHAT IS THE INTERSECTION?
Have Read: Weber, Conceptual Framework Introduction and Chapter 1
Week 2
1\28–2/1
WHAT IS THE INTERSECTION: CONTINUED
Have Read: Weber, Conceptual Framework Chapter 2
Due in Class on Friday, outline of introduction and Chapter 1.
Week 3
2\4-2\8
THE FIVE THEMES
Have Read: Weber, Conceptual Framework Chapter 3
Due in Class on Friday, outline of Chapter 3.
Week 4
2\11-2\15
HISTORICAL/GEOGRAPHICAL /GLOBAL/ SOCIAL/ CONSTRUCTION
Have Read: Weber, Conceptual Framework Chapter 4
Due in Class on Friday, outline of Chapter 4.
Week 5
2\18-2\22
STONE BUTCH BLUES
Have Read: Stone Butch Blues by Friday.
Week 6
2\25–2/29
MACRO AND MICRO POWER RELATIONS
Have Read: Weber, Conceptual Framework Chapter 5
Due in Class on Friday, outline of Chapter 5.
Due in Class on Friday, Essay on Stone Butch Blues
Week 7
3\3-3\7
EDUCATION AND THE AMERICAN DREAM
Have Read: Weber, Conceptual Framework Chapter 6 and 7
Due in Class on Friday, outline of Chapters 6 and 7.
SPRING BREAK 3\8-16
Week 8
3/17-3/21
ILLUSTRATING THE INTERSECTION WITH REPRODUCTION AND
POVERTY
Have Read: “Rethinking Official Measures of Poverty”
Due in Class on Friday, outline the assigned reading above
Week 9
3/24-3/28
ILLUSTRATING THE INTERSECTION WITH KATRINA, CHASTITY, AND
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION.
Have Read: “What’s in a Name?”
Due in Class on Friday, outline the assigned reading above
Week 10
3/31-4/4
MASCULINITY AND OPPRESSION: BROTHERS AND SISTERS
Have Read: First half of Brothers and Sisters
Week 11
4\7-4\11
REINSCRIBING OPPRESSION: BROTHERS AND SISTERS
Have Read: Second Half of Brothers and Sisters
Week 12
4\14-4\18
SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND THE INTERSECTION
Have Read: The short reading packet on social change, handed out in class.
Due in Class on Friday, the assigned reading above
Due in Class on Monday, essay on Brothers and Sisters
Week 13
4\21-4\25
USING THE INTERSECTION TO CREATE SOCIAL CHANGE AND JUSTICE
Have Read: Weber, Conceptual Framework Chapter 10
Due in Class on Friday, outline of Chapter 10.
Week 14
4\28-5/2
REFLECTIONS FROM STUDENT ESSAYS
Week 15
5/5
SUMMING UP
Due in Class on 5/5, the Final Essay.
GUIDELINES FOR WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS
GENERAL
All written assignments must be on 8 ½ by 11 inch paper, written using a “normal” font,
with one inch margins all the way around. The papers must be double-spaced with no extra
spacing between the paragraphs. Any directly quoted sections that are more than three typed lines
must have a 1½ margin on left and right and be single spaced. Papers that ignore these guidelines
and/or are unedited will be returned for formatting and editing.
Organize your thoughts into a coherent form. Make it obvious to the reader of your essay
where you are going in your paper and how you propose to get there.
I expect quotes and less formal references to the readings to demonstrate your argument or
theme. Papers that do not demonstrate a knowledge of the readings will be returned ungraded.
1.
THE NINE TYPED OUTLINES
The Outlines should be about two single-spaced pages in length and typed.. It is essential
in this assignment for students to demonstrate that they have done the reading and done some
thinking about the ideas and facts presented. The main point is to demonstrate that you HAVE
done the reading and to not have to spend too much time on this assignment. Since the main
point of this assignment is to ensure that reading is done AS DUE, so that we can have informed
class discussions, these outlines WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED LATE. I will, however, give each
student one “free pass”–meaning one outline can be handed in up to one week late. Due dates are
included in the COURSE OUTLINE.
A GENERAL NOTE ABOUT THE THREE ESSAYS ON THE INTERSECTION.
I know from past experience that learning to think in the non-dualistic way necessary for
an intersection analysis is difficult for people who have been seriously trained to see the world in
a dualistic frame of reference. Most of us may not be too dumb to walk and chew gum at the same
time, but most of us find it very difficult to create an integrated analysis of these four forms of
oppression. Lynn Weber is the only author I know of who attempts the integrated perspective. I
assume that you will improve through the course of these 3 essays. Grading will be based on the
assumption that you are engaged in an ongoing process of learning to create this type of analysis.
As long as your ability to create an integrated analysis keeps improving, your final grade will
reflect that.
2.
STONE BUTCH BLUES , PAPER DUE IN CLASS ON 2/29
The overall point should be to explain to me how you perceive that this novel illustrates
the intersection of race, class, gender and sexuality.
What conclusions can you draw from this novel about the connections between
heterosexuality and male dominance? How is the response to Jess based on a threat to male
dominance and how is she a threat to male dominance?
What are the connections between gender and sexual orientation suggested by this novel?
Jess rejects her female gender role, is this a result of her sexual orientation or is her sexual
orientation a result of her rejection of female gender role?
Also, explain to me how this novel illustrates the ways in which our society enforces
compulsory heterosexuality through it's response to gay people.
I assume that all three questions will be answered by focusing on the life of Jess, the main
character. And that the three questions may be interwoven into an overall analysis, as long as you
address all three issues.
Clearly this novel is focused on gender and sexual identity. However, Jess IS white and
working class. How are class and race interwoven into her experiences of gender and sexual
identity?
I do not want a description of the novel I want an analysis (or interpretation) of what you
think the author was trying to illustrate. I do expect some quotes from the book, but mostly I
want your response to the book with references which show me that you read the book and
thought about it.
You must use a Sociological rather than a psychological analysis as this is after all a Sociology
class.
3.
BROTHERS AND SISTERS, DUE IN CLASS ON 4/14
I sometimes think that this novel was intentionally written to illustrate the intersection of
race, class, and gender. While that is the clear focus, do try to also draw some conclusions about
sexual identity, which is largely ignored in the novel. The overall point should be to explain to me
how this novel illustrates the interconnections between racism, sexism and classism.
One of the following questions should guide your discussion:
How do each of the three main characters illustrate the intersection?
How do racism, sexism, and classism intersect in each of their lives.
How do racism, sexism and classism affect the relationships between Humphrey and
Mallory and Esther?
Each of the above questions is only a slightly different way of focusing on the intersection, as
illustrated in the novel. Chose whichever question you find the most useful as a guideline for
your analysis. You must focus your paper on the three main characters: Esther, Mallory, and
Humphrey.
You must also include an analysis of how they each reinscribe the oppression in their lives
through loyalty to their privilege.**** Examples, how does Humphrey's sexism reinforce the
racism directed at him, how does Mallory's and Esther's classism reinforce the sexism they
experience in their lives, etc. Pay careful attention to their internal thoughts.
I do not want a description of the novel I want an analysis (or interpretation) of what you
think the author was trying to illustrate. I do expect some quotes from the book, but mostly I
want your response to the book with references which show me that you read the book and
thought about it.
You must use a Sociological rather than a psychological analysis as this is after all a Sociology
class.
4. A final essay, 3-5 pages in length, in which you present an analysis of how to use the
intersection to create social change. What is real social change? What is Social Justice? You do
not need to do any additional reading. Simply reflect on what you have learned throughout the
semester and especially the last half where we have been focused on social change. We will be
discussing your reflections during the last 4 classes.