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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "GDR/SOSC 200"
COURSE NAME: "Introduction to Gender Studies"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Fall 2025
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Marie Moise
EMAIL: [email protected]
 HOURS: MW 6:00 PM 7:15 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS:
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Gender Studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines gender and sexuality. This course offers an introduction to historical and current debates taking place within gender studies. Students will explore historical and contemporary feminist, masculinity and queer theories, paying close attention to both local and global issues, and learning the tools for critically engaging issues related to gender.
SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
We will consider a wide variety of texts—from personal narratives and historical documents to films and cultural criticism across a range of disciplines. Through the readings, activities and assignments in this course, students will develop tools to critically analyze the ways in which social and cultural forces shape us as gendered individuals in the context of the world in which we live. The class will analyze a range of perspectives and consider how the intersections of gender, sex, biology, race, class, nationality, power, politics, and social movements influence our understanding of gender and culture.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:

At the end of the course, students should achieve the following:


  • Demonstrate an introductory understanding of the field of gender studies, and apply interdisciplinary methodologies for understanding and analyzing sex, gender, and sexuality in culture.


  • Develop a critical understanding of feminist, masculinity and queer approaches to the social and cultural construction of gender and sexuality, and their complex intersections with other social, cultural, and biological categories, including but not limited to sex, race, ethnicity, class, nation, sexuality, ability, and age. 


  • Cultivate a language framework for thoughtfully articulating the critical vocabulary in the field of gender studies.


  • Develop critical thinking skills towards a deepened understanding of how social, cultural, and biological categories shape our lives, and our understandings of the world.
TEXTBOOK:
NONE
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
Book TitleAuthorPublisherISBN numberLibrary Call NumberComments
Feminism for the 99%: A ManifestoCinzia Arruzza, Tithi Bhattacharya, and Nancy FraserVerso Books 978-1-78873-442-4  
Care Manifesto. The Politics of InterdipendenceCare CollectiveVerso Books978-1839760969  
Women, Race and ClassAngela Y. DavisVintage Books9780307798497  
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
Midterm paperStudents will be required to answer to questions related to topics discussed in class 20
Final ExamFinal will consist of questions that relate to class discussions and readings 30
Shorter Assignments Connecting Reading to Class (Annotations, etc.) Students will submit weekly reading responses and reflections connected to class. Instructions for each response will be given in class20
Attendance and Participation Students are expected to be fully present and participative during class lectures and discussions.10
Research project Students will research a topic of their choice, agreed upon with the professor. The project will be presented orally in class20

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.
-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS AND EXAMINATION POLICY
You cannot make-up a major exam (midterm or final) without the permission of the Dean’s Office. The Dean’s Office will grant such permission only when the absence was caused by a serious impediment, such as a documented illness, hospitalization or death in the immediate family (in which you must attend the funeral) or other situations of similar gravity. Absences due to other meaningful conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel difficulties, student misunderstandings or personal convenience, will not be excused. Students who will be absent from a major exam must notify the Dean’s Office prior to that exam. Absences from class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally be excused. Individual students who will have to miss class to observe a religious holiday should notify the instructor by the end of the Add/Drop period to make prior arrangements for making up any work that will be missed. The final exam period runs until ____________
ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.
STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.
SCHEDULE

Selected readings will be taken from these and other sources:

Gender Studies

-      Fixmer-Oraiz, N., & Wood, J. T. (2019). Gendered Lives (13th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage. Hard Copy at Frohring Library (note there are two books with this title!)

 -      Kimmel, Michael and Amy Aronson (2017). The Gendered Society Reader, 6th Edition, Oxford University Press. Hard Copy at Frohring Library

-      Kang, Miliann (2012). Introduction to Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies. University of Massachusetts – Amherst . Open Source and Online

-      Rajunove and Duane, Nonbinary, Columbia University Press, 2019. Frohring Library has a digital copy.

Articles

-  Arruzza C., Bhattacharya T. and Fraser N. (2019): Feminism for the 99%: A Manifesto: Verso.

- Beauvoir, S. D. (2015). Feminist writings. University of Illinois Press. Sections: Ch. 4, 10 - Short Feminist Texts Frohring Library. And Iseult Gillespie: The meaning of life according to Simone de Beauvoir | TED Talk

-      Butler, J. (Dec., 1988) "Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory" .Theatre Journal, Vol. 40, No. 4, pp. 519-531. Frohring Library.

-       Butler, J. (2024), Whose Afraid of Gender? Allen Lane. Frohring Library.

- Care Collective (2021) Care Manifesto. The Politics of Interdipendence, Verso Books 

-      Crenshaw, K. "Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex:A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics", in Feminism and Politics, edited by Anne Phillips, Oxford University Press, 1998. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.jcu.idm.oclc.org/lib/johncabot/detail.action?docID=1173598. Frohring Library.

- Davis, Angela Y. (1981), Women, Race and Class, Vintage Books.

-      hooks, bell. (2015). Feminism is for Everybody. Routledge. And bell hooks on interlocking systems of domination

-      Mohanty, C. "Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses" , in Boundaries, Vol. 12, no. 3 - Vol. 13, no. 1, On Humanism and the University I: The Discourse of Humanism. Duke University Press, 1984, Frohring Library.

-     Rodrigues, Laís. “Decolonial Feminism: María Lugones’ influences and contributions”. Revista Estudos Feministas, Florianópolis, v. 30, n. 1, e84278, 2022. Frohring Library.

-     Srinivasan, R. T. (2020). ``Can the Subaltern Speak″ to My Students? Feminist Formations, 32(1), 58–74. Frohring Library

-     Wolfe, Cary. "Introduction," and Haraway, Donna J.."A Cyborg Manifesto" in Manifestly Haraway, University of Minnesota Press, 2016. Frohring Library.


 

 

Week 1: Introduction: What is Gender? What is Gender Studies?

 

Week 2: Feminist Movements: A Global Historical Overview

 

Week 3: Power relations and the Sexed/Gendered Body.

 

Week 4: Gender, Race and Class. What is Intersectionality.

 

Week 5:  Gay Liberation and Queer Theory

 

Week 6: Masculinities

 

Week 7: Review and Midterm Exam 

 

 

Week 8: Feminist Epistemologies

 

 

Week 9: Language, and the Construction of Gender and Sexuality

 

Week 10: Urban Ethnography 

 

Week 11: Gender and Violence

 

 Week 12: Gendered Pedagogies

 

Week 13:  Feminist movements today 


Week 14: Catch up, conclusions, review for final exam.