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SOC 241: Constructions Of Genders And Sexualities

3 credits

Students are introduced to the sociological study of sex, gender and sexuality by exploring how cultural, racial, sexual and class components create systems of classification for sexual/gender identities in the western and non-western world. Students will study how institutions of power are pivotal sites for these identities and expressions.

Distribution Requirement

• Social Sciences

Learning Goals

• Communication Writing

At the end of the semester, students will be able to:♦ Historicize contemporary notions of gender by identifying how gender changes overspace and time.♦ Explain different understandings of the relationships between sex, gender andsexuality.♦ Apply cross-cultural variation in constructions of sex, gender, and sexuality.♦ Illustrate the extent to which dominant notions of gender are culturally specific (Inother words, is gender universal or does it refer to specific social-culturalunderstandings of bodies, gender performances, configurations and relationships ofpower?).♦ Compose weekly assignments of how one can approach the various constructions ofsex, gender and sexuality.♦ Compare the ways in which the medicalization of gender and sexuality, laws andvarious institutions, work to maintain rigid boundaries for these categories.♦ Determine the role of violence as a tool of power and control over those who do notconform to normative gender and sexuality demands.

Sections Offered: Fall 2026

Sections Offered: Summer 2026, Summer I