In this course, we will:

• Examine the concepts of sex and gender.
• Critically assess a variety of theories about gender paying particular attention to social constructionist, symbolic interactionist, and feminist approaches.
• Develop our understanding of the cultural mythologies informing notions of masculinity and femininity
• Explore and assess the ways in which gender is articulated in specific relational contexts.
• Examine a variety of strategies for challenging, resisting, subverting, and transforming conventional conceptions of gender and sexuality.
• Identify and evaluate our personal beliefs about gender and how they affect our lives.
• Develop critical and creative thinking skills.

You can expect that a course about gender will push some of your buttons. We explore very personal ideas and feelings regarding gender. You must be intellectually and emotionally prepared to delve into these issues. Please enter this class with care for your own beliefs and feelings, and the beliefs and feelings of others.

Additionally, in our efforts to thoroughly consider gender, we might read material and/or engage in class discussions exploring theories and concepts you find offensive. This is particularly true when we talk about sexuality, pornography, and domestic violence. In anticipation, let me offer two comments. First, the development of critical thinking skills requires a willingness to explore new ideas with an open mind. Second, if something really offends, you have the option to leave class and we can discuss a make-up assignment.

Finally, I welcome your comments about course material and classroom interactions. Please make use of my email and office hours.

• hooks, bell. (2000) Feminism is for Everybody. Cambridge, MA: South End Press.
• Wood, Julia T. (2004) Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender, and Culture. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

• For instructions for “Getting Started” on Blackboard, please go to: http://www.unh.edu/blackboard/gettingstarted.html
• To find the “Blackboard Portal” and log in, please go to: http://blackboard.unh.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp
  

Course grades will be determined as follows:

Quizzes will be given to assess your understanding of course readings and will include true/false and short answer items. Quizzes will be unannounced. Expect approximately five quizzes during the semester. I will drop your lowest quiz grade.

Over the course of the semester, each student will keep a course journal. Use your journal to write about ideas and feelings you have regarding course material. Please feel free to use your journal to explore perspectives you don=t feel comfortable discussing in class.

Journal entries will give you the opportunity to react to the concepts and theories about gender discussed in class meetings and course readings. In addition, you should use your journal to consider issues you might encounter regarding gender and communication in popular culture (films, magazines, television shows, newspapers, music, toys, children’s books, cartoons, the Internet, etc.) and in daily interactions at home, work, and school. I will post a list of possible journal topics on Blackboard.

Your journal may take a variety of forms. I am open to any form you may choose. For example, you might consider structuring journal entries based on a series of statements: What I did. What I learned. How I can use it. You might also use a journal entry to discuss a particular quote about gender and communication you find compelling. You might write an analytical essay, a story, or a poem. Entries may also be based on your discussion of visual material from the realms of art and advertising. You might also use your artistic talents to create images that address course material. Finally, I encourage you to think of your journal as a scrapbook that might include written and visual materials from popular culture. I don't expect you to cover each of the readings from class, but I do expect you will react to 50% of them.

Please use a notebook or other bound book for your journal. Journals may be handwritten. Journal entries are informal though grammar, spelling, punctuation, and organization do count in the grading process. I am most interested in the seriousness and depth of your engagement with course material. In particular, I am looking for you to critically and creatively apply course material to your experiences and the world around you in ways that are insightful and productive. As you consider writing on a particular topic, you might ask yourself why you believe the topic is an important one to address.

You should write at least one journal entry per week. That entry should be at least 250-300 words in length. You must directly address course readings in at least 50% of these entries. In addition, I will give you assigned journal topics to write about at various points during the semester. These will be IN ADDITION TO your weekly entries and should also be 250-300 words in length.

We will discuss the journaling process in class to clarify any questions or concerns that might arise. I will collect and grade journals three times during the semester.

The mid-term exam will include multiple choice, true/false, short answer, and essay questions. The exam will be based on class discussions and course readings.

The final exam will be a comprehensive, in-class short answer and essay exam. I will distribute essay questions one week prior to the final. You will be allowed to bring in notes, articles, books and other resources to the exam. All essays MUST be written in class.

Learning is an active process in which we all participate. Viewing learning as an active process implies several significant distinctions between many traditional classroom interactions and what I hope this course will become for us. First, an active process suggests the importance of understanding and experiencing ideas as they relate to our own lives, rather than just remembering a list of facts. This course will provide us plenty of material upon which to reflect as we consider the role of gender in our lives.

Second, a process continually evolves with no clear beginning or end. Hence, this course will become a dialogue among all of us as we reflect upon the material presented and its relevance to our experiences. Such a conversation includes responsibilities to which we must all agree. Clearly, our initial responsibility includes being in class regularly. But merely being in class is not enough. Being prepared for class is also necessary. A quick reading of the assigned material will do little to prepare for class.

An additional important responsibility involves a willingness to be open. Each of us will consider the thoughts and ideas of others both in the readings and in class discussions. If there are twenty of us in this course, then there might be at least twenty different perspectives. No one experience or standpoint is more valuable than any other. You may not agree with the views expressed by others in the course, but we must all agree to respect each individual's right to have and share her/his own opinions. Hearing and listening to the perspectives of others should do nothing more than create greater understanding of the diversity of experience in contemporary society.

Finally, self-disclosure is not a prerequisite for this class. You are not expected to share intimate details of your life. But if you feel comfortable doing so, you can expect your classmates (and me) to respect your privacy. Any personal information shared during this class will remain private.

Simply stated, THIS IS YOUR CLASS so your participation is essential! The more voices heard the better. But don=t forget, quality matters. Every so often, I will give you short creative assignments that will be completed either in class or at home. These assignments will be graded on a pass/fail basis and will count toward your participation grade.

Grades are earned based on the following scale:

A (94 and above): Extraordinary
A- (90-93): Exceptional
B+ (87-89): Superior
B (84-86): Great
B- (80-83): Very Good
C+ (77-79): Good
C (74-76): Average/Satisfactory
C- (70-73): Below Average
D+ (67-69): Inferior
D (64-66): Unsatisfactory
D- (60-63): Very Unsatisfactory
F (59 and below): Unacceptable and Failing