AANB11065U Gender Matters - NB: The course is closed for further registration

Volume 2015/2016
Content

Gender is a key category of analysis in anthropology, and it informs and problematizes important bodies of knowledge within the discipline. This course introduces students to the anthropological study of gender from the perspectives of cross-cultural ethnography. Drawing on ethnographic reflections from the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia and the United States, the course will examine how anthropologists represent the complex relationship between feminist politics, biology and culture. We will explore the evolution of masculine, feminine, and transgendered identities in multiple cultural settings; and critically examine how hierarchy and social differentiation, including race, class, age, nation, war, medicine and globalization, reconfigures gendered experiences. Through studying a varied range of topics such as LGBT identity politics, female genital cutting, sex work, violence and conflict, love marriages, etc. we will challenge stereotypes and assumptions about the everyday construction of manhood and womanhood. This course will eventually enable students to develop anthropological insights into the ways in which gender and sexuality are reproduced, negotiated and challenged in different social and spatial contexts.

Learning Outcome

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

  1. Obtain a familiarity with key writers and theories in the study of gender and sexuality

  2. Comprehend the ethical dilemmas faced by anthropologists conducting fieldwork on genders

  3. Understand how anthropological knowledge about gender adds insight into ethnographic case studies

  4. Critically assess the relationship between gender and contemporary social problems

  5. Discuss how gender identities intersect with the politics of dominance and differentiation such as ethnicity, class, etc.

  6. Show how anthropology contests myths and stereotypes about gender and sexuality

Detailed bibliography and other online and film resources will be made available at the start of semester II.

BSc and Open Education students: 500 pages obligatory literature.
MSc students: 500 pages obligatory literature + 200 pages of literature chosen by students

Literature chosen by students must be relevant to the course’s subject matter.

Course literature will be available in Absalon on the course website

  • Category
  • Hours
  • Exam
  • 35
  • Lectures
  • 28
  • Preparation
  • 112
  • Study Groups
  • 35
  • Total
  • 210
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written examination
Essay.
Length: Min. 21.600 - max. 26.400 keystrokes for an individual essay. For group exams plus an additional min. 6.750 - max. 8.250 keystrokes per extra group member.

The essay assignments can be written individually or in groups of max. 4 people. Read more about the rules for group examinations in the
curriculum.

The examination essay must address a relevant topic from the course and must include literature from the course syllabus.
The examination essay must address a relevant topic from the course and must include literature from the course syllabus.
Aid
All aids allowed
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
There is appointed a second internal assessor to assist with the assessment when the first assessor finds this necessary.
Re-exam

1. re-exam:

A new essay with a revised problem statement must be submitted at the announced date. The students are automatically registered for the 1. re-exam. Please note that the re-exam is an essay even for courses, where the ordinary exam is a portfolio exam.

2. re-exam:

A new essay with a revised problem statement must be submitted at the announced date next semester. The students must sign up for the 2. re-exam.

Criteria for exam assesment

See description of learning outcome. Formalities for Written Works must be fulfilled, read more: MSc Students/ BA students (in Danish)/ exchange, credit and Open University students