EXP 1116 - Gender Myths and Realities

Credits: 3

The focus for this Explorations course is the role that ideasand myths about gender play in shaping our experiences. What is gender, and where do our ideas about gender come from? How does gender shape our experiences - the way the world sees us and the way we engage with the world? More important, what is the truth when it comes to gender - how much of what we think is a fact is shaped more by biases or myths than realities? And what is the impact of gender myths on who has power and access to opportunities and who does not? In this course, we will explore what it means to live one’s life as a gendered being, how ideas about gender are formed and gain power in society, how they are produced by and reinforce systems of inequality, and how they are at the root of debates in the political, social, and economic realms. We will further look at the ways in which notions of race, class, sexuality, nation, and ability intersect with ideas about gender and with the “rules” society constructs based on gender about what we can do, say, wear, choose as a career - our possibilities - how we are represented in media and how we think about each other.