SOC/WMN STD 447: SOCIOLOGY OF GENDER
Fall 2007, University of Michigan
Dr. PJ McGann
M, W 11:30-1pm, LSA # 3254
Office hours: see CTools
pjmcgann@umich.edu
Phone: 734-764-6321
LSA Bldg, 500 So. State #3212
“Talking about gender for most people is the equivalent of fish talking about water. Gender is so much the routine
ground of everyday activities that questioning its taken-for-granted assumptions and presuppositions is like thinking
about whether the sun will come up” (Judith Lorber 1994: 13).
“…gender is a constitutive element of social relationships based on perceived differences between the sexes, and
gender is a primary way of signifying relationships of power” (Joan Scott 1986: 1067).
“It’s OK to bend your gender – it won’t break!” (anonymous button)
REQUIRED TEXTS
Kessler, Suzanne J. and Wendy McKenna. 1978. Gender: An Ethnomethodological Approach.
Chicago: University of Chicago. {listed as “K&M” in the reading schedule}
Thorne, Barrie. 1993. Gender Play. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers. {“Thorne” in the schedule}
Coursepack: available at Excel (1117 University, above Ulrich) {denoted by * in the schedule}
Books are available at Shaman Drum. Books and CP are also on library reserve.
EXPECTATIONS and POLICIES
PREPARATION and PARTICIPATION: I expect that you will complete your readings
before class, and come to class ready to participate in an informed manner. The tone and
dynamic of our class are in part up to students; discussion proceeds more easily and in more
useful fashion (and is more enjoyable) when students come to class prepared. Informed
participation includes making connections between our discussions, readings, and relevant
current events; listening to others and responding to their comments; taking an active part in
class exercises; asking questions about readings and lectures; and not monopolizing the
conversation. (Sometimes good participation means keeping quiet and making room for
someone else to speak.) It is the student’s responsibility to keep abreast of course happenings.
Schedule and/or assignment changes will be posted on CTools. If you miss class you are still
responsible for the materials covered and deadlines announced or changed. I will not
summarize lectures, readings, or discussions via email, but I am very happy to discuss readings,
lectures, and the like during office hours! 
GRADING: Grades will be based on a combination of student work in three areas:
(1) 2 exams: Mid-term = 25%, Final = 30%;
(2) 2 short papers (dates and guidelines to be handled out in class): 20% & 25% each
(3) participation: though not a formal requirement given the size of the class, informed
participation in discussions and class exercises adds tremendously to the success of
the course. As such, extraordinary participation performance may be rewarded at
my discretion (up to 5% of your grade).
DECORUM: As with any serious scholarly endeavor, the point of our inquiry is critical
understanding -- not advocacy of personal positions. Our views will diverge, to be sure. We are
Gender, U-M Fall 2007: 2
free to disagree with each other, even intensely, so long as we do so respectfully. Ground
comments about news events, personal experiences, and the like in course materials. Please
present your position(s) clearly and support them with evidence. Please do not interrupt one
another (or me). Refrain from talking with others during lectures or while others are speaking.
Make an effort to learn one another’s names; direct comments to each other directly, rather than
thru me as a communication conduit. I expect all of us to be reflexive about our positions and
feelings, opening them to the same degree of scrutiny that we apply to others’. Please let me
know immediately if classroom dynamics compromise your learning and/or if I can facilitate
your participation in some way.
THAT WHICH SHOULD GO WITHOUT SAYING: If you eat or drink in the classroom,
you MUST clean up after yourself and dispose of your trash! Keep in mind that you are in not
the only person in class. As such, please refrain from behavior that is disruptive, distracting,
and/or disrespectful of others. This means:
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Please silence all cell phones and pagers. Persons whose electronic devices sound off in
class will be asked to leave.
Do not talk with others during lectures or while others are speaking.
No reading, sleeping, or working on other materials during class. Students engaged in
such activities will be asked to leave.
Please do not pack up your belongings before the end of class!
DUE DATES: All assignments are due at the start of class on the due dates given (with a 5
min. grace period). Electronic copies of assignments will not be accepted. Unexcused late
work is docked 5 percentage points for each day, or portion of a day, that it is late (e.g. a
.88 or B+ paper late one day becomes .83, a B-). Car trouble, over-sleeping, traffic court,
vacation, illness without a physician’s excuse, work for other classes, computer or printer
malfunction, early departure or late return from break, employment, and the like are NOT valid
excuses!
LATE WORK HAND-IN PROCEDURE: Late work should be handed to me directly. If
for some reason you are unable to place your work in my hands, you must follow the late hand in
procedure; if you don’t follow this procedure you may not receive credit for your work! The
only alternative to handing your work to me in person is to place your time- and datestamped work in my locked mailbox (before placing your work in my locked mailbox ask
someone in the main sociology office sign your paper with the date and hand-in time). If you
fail to follow this procedure the date and time I discover your paper will be the date and time of
the hand in. No exceptions.
MAKE-UP EXAMS: Make-up exams will only be given with a documented, written, valid
excuse (e.g. physician-certified illness, death in the family, hospitalization, UM-sponsored
travel/activities). Car trouble, over-sleeping, traffic court, vacation, illness without a
physician’s excuse, work for other classes, computer or printer malfunction, early departure or
late return from break, employment, and the like are NOT valid excuses! Early or late exams
will not be arranged in order to accommodate student travel.
Gender, U-M Fall 2007: 3
In the event of a missed exam the student must do two things:
(a) contact me within 24 hours of the absence – even if that means leaving a phone
message at an awkward hour. When you contact me you must provide a phone
number and email address where you can be reached so we can arrange the make-up.
It is the student’s responsibility to contact me and arrange for the make-up exam.
(b) provide valid, written documentation of your absence within 48 hours of the missed
exam (except in cases of on-going hospitalization).
* If you are sick enough to miss the exam you are sick enough to require medical attention!
Thus, if you miss an exam due to illness you MUST seek medical care that day
or you will not be granted a make-up. *
ATHLETES: Except in the case of play-offs, student athletes who will miss an exam must
provide written documentation of the impending absence at least THREE weeks in advance. It is
the responsibility of the student athlete to arrange for the athletic department to contact me at
least two weeks in advance of the scheduled exam to arrange for the make-up or proctored exam.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: Academic dishonesty of any sort will not be tolerated, and will
result in an automatic grade of F for the course. By registering for this class you agree to this
policy and accept responsibility for educating yourself regarding UM codes of student conduct.
Academic misconduct includes intentional and inadvertent cheating, plagiarism, and
unacceptable collaboration. Collaboration is unacceptable when a student works with another or
others on a project, then submits a written report which is represented explicitly or implicitly as
the student’s own work. Using answers, solutions, or ideas that are the result of collaboration
without citing the fact of collaboration is unacceptable. All students are expressly instructed to
do their own, non-collaborative work for this class. This does not mean that you cannot help one
another, read one another’s work, and/or work on ideas together. It DOES mean that you must
produce your own outlines, prose and papers. Be advised that faculty are obliged to report all
incidents of academic misconduct to the Dean of Students. Proven cases of misconduct become
a part of the student’s permanent academic record. Please review the LSA Undergraduate
Student Serviced Reference Manual for more information:
<http://www.lsa.umich.edu/lsa/student_services/manual/student.html>
SPECIAL NEEDS: Students with documented special needs who require, for example, extra
time or other accommodations on examinations, must notify me in writing within the first two
weeks of the course so that we can make appropriate arrangements.
FINAL EXAM: As per LS&A policy, the final exam will be given on the date assigned by the
University: Monday 17 December, 1:30-3:30pm, in our regular classroom. EARLY FINAL
EXAMS WILL NOT BE GRANTED. The final is partly cumulative (mostly basic concepts) but
mostly focuses on materials presented in the 2nd half of the course.
READING SCHEDULE
Topics in class may vary a bit depending on the pacing of lectures, discussion, and the interests
of the class. However, students should keep up with the reading schedule as noted below,
whether or not it corresponds exactly with in-class happenings. I reserve the right to change the
Gender, U-M Fall 2007: 4
syllabus as needed to fit student needs. You are responsible for these changes whether or not
you are in class when they are announced. All schedule changes will be posted on CTools.
READINGS SHOULD BE COMPLETED BEFORE COMING TO CLASS!
READING SCHEDULE
KEY:
* = CP reading, e.g. Hill Collins*
K&M = Kessler and McKenna
$ = journal article available electronically thru library holdings (not reserves!)
CTools readings are PDFs available on our course website
GETTING ACQUAINTED
W 9.5
Introductions, syllabus, mummies, etc.
Readings:
Fausto-Sterling, “Dueling dualisms: male or female?”(CTools)
M 9.10
Readings:
Basic concepts
Connell 2002, “The question of gender” (CTools); K&M ch. 1
W 9.12
Readings:
Basic concepts, cont’d.
K&M ch. 1; Lorber 1994a “Night to his day.” (CTools)
GENDER AS BIOLOGY?
M 9.17
In the beginning there was…
Readings:
K&M ch. 3
W 9.19
Readings:
Gender, biology & ideology
Lorber 1994b “Believing is seeing.” (CTools)
GENDER AS PROCESS
M 9.24
Gender in cultural perspective
Readings:
Mead (CTools), K&M ch. 6
W 9.26
Readings:
Doing gender
$ West & Zimmerman. 1987. “Doing gender.” Gender & Society 1, 2: 125-51.
GENDER AS/IN INTERACTION
M 10.1
Becoming gendered
Readings:
Thorne ch. 1-4
Paper Assignment #1 out
W 10.3
Readings:
Creating and patrolling gender(ed) boundaries
Thorne ch. 5; $Messner. 2000. “Barbie girls versus sea monsters.” Gender &
Society 14, 6: 765-84.
Gender, U-M Fall 2007: 5
GENDER STYLES AND THE GENDER ORDER
M 10.8
Reproducing gender
Readings:
Thorne ch. 6-7
W 10.10
Readings:
Gender styles
Connell, 1987*;$McGuffey & Rich. 1999. “Playing in the gender transgression
zone.” Gender & Society 13, 5: 608-27.
M 10.15
FALL STUDY BREAK
W 10.17
Readings:
Gender styles in action
Thorne ch.8; $Chen. 1999. “Lives at the Center of the periphery…” Gender &
Society 13, 5: 584-607
“INTERSECTIONAL” APPROACH TO RACE, CLASS, & GENDER
M 10.22
The matrix of privilege and inequality
Readings:
Hill Collins*, McIntosh*
** PAPER 1 DUE IN CLASS **
W 10.24
Readings:
The intersectional approach in action, 1
Espiritu*, Beck*
M 10.29
Readings:
The intersectional approach in action, 2
Frankenberg*, Staples*
W 10.31
EXAM 1 (please arrive early and bring pencils and erasers!)
GENDERED SOCIAL CONTROL
M 11.5
Gender as discipline
Readings:
Bartky* (this piece may be challenging; allow extra time!)
W 11.7
Readings:
Producing gendered bodies
Kaw*, Messner*
** Paper # 2 Assignment Out **
SPORT: THE NATURALIZATION OF GENDER
M 11.12
Sport as arena for the (re)production of gender
Readings:
Dworkin & Messner*, Cahn*, Fine*
W 11.14
Readings:
Is there ‘play’ in the (sporting) gender order?
$Theberge. 1997. “It’s part of the game.” Gender & Society 11, 1: 69-87;
McGann 1999a (CTools)
BEYOND THE BINARIES?
M 11.19
Third genders and other mis/fits
Readings:
K&M ch. 2, Blackwood*, Nanda*
Gender, U-M Fall 2007: 6
W 11.21
TBA
M 11.26
Readings:
Trans: FTM
Rubin*, Green*
W 11.28
Readings:
Trans: MTF
K&M ch. 5, and skim K&M appendix
BACK TO BIOLOGY (!?!)
M 12.3
Intersexuality: the basics
Readings:
Fausto-Sterling 1993*, Fausto-Sterling 2000a*, “That sexe which prevaileth.”
Film: Intersex (32996-H)
W 12.5
Readings:
Intersexuality in context
Dreger*, Fausto-Sterling 2000b*, “Of gender and genitals.”
** PAPER #2 DUE IN CLASS **
W 12.10
Readings:
The surgical fix (of what??)
Nussbaum*, Coventry*, Chase 2002 (CTools)
FINAL EXAM: Monday 17 DECEMBER, 1:30-3:30pm (in our regular classroom)
EARLY FINAL EXAMS WILL NOT BE GIVEN