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Spring 2007 Classes
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SP.401 Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies
A subject drawing on multiple disciplines--such as, literature, history, economics,
psychology, philosophy, political science, anthropology, and the arts--to examine
cultural assumptions about gender, and explore their causes, and effects. The subject
aims to increase awareness of the history and experiences of women, and of the ways
gender interacts with race, class, nationality, and other social identities. Students
will be introduced to recent scholarship on gender and its implications for traditional
disciplines.
K. Surkan
SP.409 Women and Global Activism in Art, Media and Politics
An interdisciplinary subject that examines questions of feminism, international women’s issues, and globalization through the study of novels, films, critical essays, painting and music. Considers how women redefine the notions of community and nation, how development affects their lives, and how access to the internet and to the production industry impacts women’s lives. Primary topics of interest include transformations of traditional values, social change, gender role distribution, identity formation, migration flows, globalization and development, popular culture, urban life, cyber-culture, activism, and human rights. Enrollment limited to 25 when Writing Tutor is assigned to the class. Otherwise, 18.
A. Sur
SP.457J/21A.338J Gender, Power, & International Development
Examines some of the root causes of inequality world-wide and the different consequences that poverty, economic transformations, and development policies often have for women and men. Through an exploration of daily life in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Melanesia, students examine the underlying political, economic, social, and gender dynamics that make "development" an ongoing, world-wide problem.
C. Walley
SP.454J Identity and Difference
Subject examines several theoretical perspectives on human identity and focuses on processes of creating categories of acceptable and deviant identities; how identities are formed, how behaviors are labelled, and how people enter deviant roles and worlds; and responses to differences and strategies for coping with these responses. Subject material describes how identity and difference are inescapably linked. Enrollment limited.
H. Paxson
SP.455J Gender, Sexuality, and Society
An introduction to the anthropological study of human sexuality, gender constructs, and the sociocultural systems that these are embedded in. Examines current critiques of Western philosophical and psychological traditions, and cross-cultural variability and universals of gender and sexuality. Enrollment limited.
H. Paxson
SP.461J/21F.022J International Women's Voices
Introduces students to a variety of fictional works by contemporary women writers. Subject's international perspective emphasizes the extent to which each author's work reflects her distinct cultural heritage and to what extent, if any, we can identify a female voice that transcends national boundaries. A variety of interpretive perspectives, including sociohistorical, psychoanalytic, and feminist criticism is used to examine the texts. Authors include: Mariama Bâ, Isabel Allende, Anita Desai, Maxine Hong Kingston, Toni Morrison, Doris Lessing, Alifa Riyaat, Yang Jiang, Nawal Al-Saadawi, and Sawako Ariyoshi. Taught in English.
M. Resnick
SP.484J The Anthropology of Computing
Subject examines computers anthropologically, as highly meaningful tools and artifacts revealing the social and cultural orders that produce them. Classic texts in computer science are read along with works analyzing links between machines and culture. Explores early computation theory and capitalist manufacturing; cybernetics and WWII operations research; artificial intelligence and gendered subjectivity; the hacking aesthetic, commodification, and creation of the personal computer; the growth of the Internet as a military, academic, and commercial project; the politics of identity in cyberspace; and the emergence of "adaptive" and "evolutionary" computation.
P. D. Loring
SP.518 Race and Identity in American Literature: Keepin' it Real Fake
This course explores the ways in which various American artists view race and class as
performed or performable identities. Discussions will focus on some of the following
questions: What does it mean to act black, white, privileged, or underprivileged? What do
these artists suggest are the implications of performing (indeed playing at/with) racial
identity and class status? How and why are race and class status often conflated in these
performances? Possible readings include Herman Melville’s “Benito Cereno,” Charles
W. Chesnutt’s The Marrow of Tradition, Nella Larsen’s “Passing,” John Howard
Griffin’s Black Like Me, and Suzan-Lori Parks’s The America Play. Possible film
viewings include, Douglas Sirk’s “Imitation of Life,” short takes from John
Leguizamo’s one-man-show “Mambo Mouth” and Dave Chappelle’s television comedy
show, Fred Schepisi’s film “Six Degrees of Separation,” and finally Eddie
Murphy’s “Mr. White” skit from his stint on “Saturday Night Live.” *This course
DOES count toward fulfillment of the Black Studies concentration requirement and the
Women's Studies degrees.
S. Alexandre
SP.574J Contemporary US Women of Color: Writing and Reading Short Stories
Students read short stories by Native American, Latina, African-American, and Asian-American women writers and write their own stories and descriptive sketches. Writing assignments and discussions focus on these themes: reclaiming, reconstructing, and preserving culture; cultural heritage as a source of power and resistance; storytelling as a means of celebration and survival; shifting, contending, and multiple identities; the costs and advantages of breaking silence; and tensions between assimilation and maintaining cultural practices.
H. Lee
SP.575J Writing About Race
The issue of race and racial identity have preoccupied many writers throughout the history of the US. Students read Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, Louise Erdrich, William Faulkner, Maxine Hong Kingston, Sandra Cisneros, and Judson Mitcham, and consider the story of race in its peculiarly American dimensions. The reading, along with the writing of members of the class, is the focus of class discussions. Oral presentations on subjects of individual interest are also part of the class activities. Students explore race and ethnicity in personal essays, pieces of cultural criticism or analysis, or (with permission of instructor) fiction. All written work is read and responded to in class workshops and subsequently revised. Enrollment limited.
R. Faery
SP.591J Traditions in American Concert Dance: Gender and Autobiography
Explores forms, content, and contexts of world traditions in dance that played a crucial role in shaping American concert dance with attention to issues of gender and autobiography. Explores artistic lives of dance artists Katherine Dunham, Alvin Ailey, Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham, and George Balanchine as American dance innovators. Lectures and discussions analyze these artists' works, taking into consideration historical and political contexts. Viewing assignments and attendance of Boston-area dance performances help students identify visual, musical, and kinesthetic underpinnings of choreographic structure.
T. DeFrantz
SP.600J Citizenship and Pluralism
Examines the challenges raised by religious and cultural pluralism for democracies and how they might be addressed. Topics include different justifications for different forms of group-differentiated rights, including exemptions and special representation rights for minority groups; whether group rights conflict with ensuring liberty and equality for all; and what holds pluralistic societies together. Readings consist of political theory and legal cases. Open to advanced undergraduates with permission of instructor.
S. Song
SP.607J Gender and the Law in US History
Explores the legal history of the United States as a gendered system. Subject examines how women have shaped the meanings of American citizenship through pursuit of political rights such as suffrage, jury duty, and military service, as well as how the legal system has shaped gender relations for both women and men through regulation of such issues as marriage, divorce, work, reproduction, and the family. Readings draw from primary and secondary materials, focusing on the broad historical relationship between law and society. No legal knowledge is required or assumed.
J. A. Sabino
SP.650J/9.75J The Psychology of Gender and Race
Examines evidence (and lack thereof) regarding when and how an individual's thoughts, feelings, and actions are affected by gender and race. Topics include gender and racial factors in: identity development; cognition and emotion; stereotypes; physical and mental health, sexuality, close relationships, and work. Enrollment limited to 25.
C. Kapungu
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