WS101/WS102

Gender and Sexuality: An Interdisciplinary Introduction

 

 

Nature vs. nurture?

Is it biology or social construction?

designed by anthony lee

Discussions of gender and sexuality or the sources of masculinity and femininity often become polarized. In this class, we discard the either/or dichotomy to explore gender and sexuality from the perspectives of natural science, social science, and the humanities. We will ask how our biological bodies, social and cultural experiences, AND imaginative constructions effect our understanding of what it means to be men and women.

WS 101 focuses on the origins, diversity, and expression of gendered and sexed individuals. Topics include the evolutionary origin of sexes; evolution, development, and social construction of sex differences; sexual differences, similarities and diversity in bodies, brains, behavior, and artistic and intellectual expressions.

WS 102 considers communities and institutions. Topics include human reproductive biology; evolutionary, historical and cross-cultural analyses of patriarchy and sexual violence, families and parenting; the social construction of gender and sexual selection in humans; evolutionary medicine; and the relationship of academic research to social activism.

Readings will be diverse, including research reports and scholarly essays in natural and social sciences (biology, anthropology, archaeology, psychology, sociology), scholarly works in the humanities (literature, history, philosophy, religion), and creative works (novels, plays, poetry and films).

This Interdisciplinary Introduction is the gateway sequence for the minor in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Students taking both semesters will receive non-majors Divisional Studies credit for two courses, from two different divisions: NS (without lab), SS and H.

Gender and Sexuality: An Interdisciplinary Introduction

WS 101 – Fall 2011, MWF 9-10 am
WS 102 – Spring 2012 MWF 12-1 pm

Faculty:
Deborah Belle (Psychology) debbelle@bu.edu
Cheryl Knott (Anthropology) knott@bu.edu
Suzanne O’Brien (History) sgobrien@bu.edu
Carrie Preston (English) cjpresto@bu.edu
Keith Vincent (MLCL) kvincent@bu.edu
Karen Warkentin (Biology) kwarken@bu.edu