Syllabus for The Masculine Mystique (Fall 2017)

Soc 188-05: THE MASCULINE MYSTIQUE Tufts University | Department of Sociology | Fall 2017 Tuesdays 1:20-4:20* | 204 Eaton Hall Assistant Professor Freeden Blume Oeur | [email protected] 118 Eaton Hall | http://sites.tufts.edu/freedenblumeoeur/ Office Hours: Wednesdays 10:30-12 (drop-in), Thursdays 2-3:30 (drop-in), and by appointment It seemed to me that men weren’t really the enemy—they were fellow victims, suffering from an outmoded masculine mystique that made them feel unnecessarily inadequate when there were no bears to kill. –Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique (1963) Welcome. This seminar uses Friedan’s observation of a masculine mystique to explore manhood: as a historical, social construct and site of power and violence; as a facet of identity and system of oppression; as style, myth, and representation; as something perpetually in “crisis” and in need of recuperation; as a process that helps and harms; as a set of ideals, practices, and traditions which compel people to hunt and kill; and as system that cuts across race, ethnicity, sexuality, social class, nation, geography and place, age, and other lines of difference. In the first third of the course, we’ll explore more historical and dominant configurations of masculinity, as well as examine important theoretical frameworks. The remainder of the course will give you an opportunity to apply these frameworks to specific topics and case studies, and to work closely with two of your classmates to help lead discussion on a specific topic. This is a * This is the officially scheduled meeting time. We’ll actually meet from 1:30-4:20. I’ll explain more in class. 1 demanding, reading- and writing-intensive upper-level seminar which requires active participation. It builds on important theories, concepts, and ideas from other sociology courses, including Introduction to Sociology and Sociological Theory. As such, you’re strongly encouraged to bring in what you’ve learned from other sociology courses, and other related courses. Most important, you’re asked to bring your own experiences, observations, critiques, memories, questions, pleasures, and lamentations regarding masculinity to bear on the assigned material. Course Objectives. In this course, you will: § Gain in-depth understanding of how masculinity operates, how it changes and how it does not, and how it’s expressed along multiple and interacting lines of difference, including race, sexuality, age, and nation. § Engage, interpret, critique, and synthesize explanations of masculinity. § Link concepts from this course to those from other Sociology courses, including Introduction to Sociology and Sociological Theory. § Apply and deepen your understanding of masculinity in various assignments. § Sharpen your ability to ask important questions regarding masculinity and answer them with a range of theoretically-informed responses. Studying. Use these to help guide your studying: § How does the author define masculinity? What are the advantages and disadvantages of that definition? § Where have I heard this before: in other readings, my own life, the media, etc.? § How does the reading link to ideas, concepts, theories from other classes? This seminar builds on these concepts from the courses Introduction to Sociology, Sociological Theory, and Sex and Gender: power, discourse, subjectivity, domination, hegemony, performativity, capital, habitus, labor, exploitation, solidarity, emotional labor, labor… and more. Respect. Please engage respectfully with me and your classmates. Beyond basic matters of civility (e.g. raising your hand, not interrupting others when they’re speaking), this means respectful intellectual engagement: considering others’ (and opposing) perspectives in addition to offering yours, and directly engaging others’ comments (which involves listening carefully to what others have to say, so that you can build on, praise, critique, etc. those comments). Contacting Freeden. Feel free to email me, but check first to see if the answer to your question is on this syllabus. If you know you’ll miss or be late to class, please send me an email. Course Organization. I’ll occasionally give short lectures, but this seminar will be largely discussion based, with opportunities for partner and group work, quiet writing assignments, and presentations. 2 Required Course Materials. One course reader is available for purchase at Gnomon Copy Center at 348 Boston Avenue, beginning at a date, to be announced, soon after the semester starts. I’ll provide copies of the readings for class on September 12. There are two required books for the course. § Rios, Victor. 2011. Human Targets. Schools, Police, and the Criminalization of Latino Youth. Berkeley: University of California Press. (Available at the bookstore and on reserve at Tisch Library.) § Whitman, Walt. Walt Whitman’s Guide to Manly Health & Training. California: Ten Speed Press. (You’ll receive a free copy at the first class.) If securing these required texts poses a financial burden, please see me in person and we’ll work something out. Assignments. § [30%] Participation and Attendance. There is no strict attendance policy other than to say that participation is impossible if you don’t attend, which will hurt your grade. With that being said, attendance for this class is absolutely vital. While this portion of the grade is only worth 25% of your overall grade, two assignments will also require your active participation in class: the weekly memos and the group presentation. The class’s success depends on active participation from all of you. § [10%] Memos. For four classes before the presentations begin, you’ll prepare a 1 page reflection on the assigned readings. You’ll share these in groups of 3 and provide written comments on each group member’s memo. These reflections will then be used to generate class wide discussion. These memos will be scanned and uploaded to Trunk to build our class’s collective knowledge base. You’re then welcomed to review these memos for later assignments, and cite them. § [10%] Paper #1. A 5-page paper due on Friday, October 6, on a topic to be determined later. § [20%] Group Presentation and Paper #2. In groups of 3, you’ll lead discussion for one week of class (worth 10% of this grade) after the first paper, prepare a handout for that week’s readings, and then write a 5-page paper due one week after your presentation (worth 10% of this grade). Examples of past presentations will be uploaded onto Trunk. More details to come. § [30%] Paper #3. A final 15 pp. paper, on a topic of your choice, due one week after the last class meeting (5pm on Tuesday, December 12). Grading Scale. A+ (98-100), A (94-97), A- (90-93), B+ (87-89), B (84-86), B- (80-83), C+ (77-79), C (74-76) . . . Paper Extension Policy. You have a 48-hour grace period that you can use, if you’d like, however you wish across all 3 papers for the class. So, you could take 1 extra day to work on 2 different papers; or 2 extra days on 1 paper, all without penalty. After you’ve exhausted your 48 hours, you won’t be granted an extension and your paper will be subjected to the normal penalty (2/3 of grade docked per day the paper’s late). To take 3 advantage of the grace period, you must let me know via email before that particular paper is due. This policy pertains only to the papers and not to the memos. Annotating. This is the process of engaging actively with a text by marking it up. Use whatever annotation system works best for you. A helpful online annotation guide is available at: § http://guides.hcl.harvard.edu/sixreadinghabits. Academic Honesty. Our course will abide strictly by the guidelines laid out in the Tufts Statement of Academic Integrity, available at: § http://ase.tufts.edu/biology/bguide/classes/tahonesty.htm. A comprehensive review of university policies is available at: § http://uss.tufts.edu/studentaffairs/publicationsandwebsites/AcademicIntegrity.pdf. This requires you to cite appropriately, understand what constitutes plagiarism, and consult me before submitting a paper in this class and another class. Possible violations of the policies outlined in the Statement of Academic Honesty will be reported to the Office of the Dean of Students. Basic Needs Security. I urge you to contact Dean Robert Mack with the Office of Student Success and Advising, your academic dean, or another campus official you trust, if you’re having difficulties obtaining secure and stable housing, and sufficient food to eat, and especially if these difficulties are interfering with your academic performance. Please also feel free to reach out to me if I can help secure resources or put you in touch with others who can help. Student Accessibility. Please reach out to me if you require any accommodations. Emergencies and Illnesses. As a general rule, contact me if something comes up and you expect to miss class. Sports games, missed alarm clocks, and the like are not legitimate reasons for missing class. If you’re sick, fill out the short-term illness notification on SIS. For extended absences (missing two or more consecutive classes), you must also provide medical documentation through the Health Center. In these instances, I’ll consider giving you the option of completing make-up work for the course. For these and other major concerns, I encourage you to reach out your academic dean and to have him or her contact me. Accommodations. Please see me in person right away if you require any academic or other accommodations. Electronics. While you’re free to use your laptop if you prefer to type up your class notes, I expect that you will not use class time to browse the internet, unless you’re doing so for class purposes. Electronics are distracting. As for phones, unless you tell 4 me before class that there’s an emergency and you need to respond to a call, please keep them out of sight during class. I also recommend you keep them in a bag. If it’s in your pocket, you might be tempted to sneak your phone out during class. Trunk. This will have everything pertinent to the course including announcements and course materials. Make sure you can access it, and that you’re set up to receive emails and other announcements from me via Trunk. § https://trunk.tufts.edu/xsl-portal. Office Hours. Students who make use of office hours tend to do better in class. Feel free to stop by with a classmate. The time will be more productive if you come prepared with specific concerns and questions. Office hours held before an assignment is due may require an online sign-up. You can also contact me to schedule a time to meet if you can’t make my drop-in hours. Writing. There are many excellent writing resources available. As a general rule, I won’t read drafts of written assignments. However, I’m happy to discuss outlines or written brainstorming in office hours, if you send me these in advance. Check out Purdue University’s excellent Online Writing Lab (OWL), which covers all dimensions of writing. It has a great overview of ASA formatting and style, which you should use for papers in this class. § http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/. Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein have excellent suggestions for writers. Check out their templates for basic rhetorical devices in writing: § http://www.csub.edu/eap-riap/theysay.pdf. Writing Tutoring. Take advantage of the writing tutoring available through the Academic Resource Center: § http://uss.tufts.edu/arc/writingtutoring. Citing and Referencing. Use the American Sociological Association’s style guide for all your papers: § http://www.asanet.org/documents/teaching/pdfs/Quick_Tips_for_ASA_Style.pdf. 5 Schedule. A full bibliography with all the course readings will be uploaded to Trunk before the first paper. WELCOME 9/5 § Introduction to the course. § Review syllabus and course expectations. § Bederman, Manliness & Civilization. o Ch. 1, “Remaking Manhood through Race and ‘Civilization’” (selections). § Walt Whitman, Guide to Manly Health & Training (selections). THE DISCOURSE OF CIVILIZATION: RACE & MANHOOD 9/12 § Gail Bederman, Manliness & Civilization. o Ch. 1, “Remaking Manhood through Race and ‘Civilization’” (selections). o Ch. 5, “Theodore Roosevelt” (all). o Ch. 3, “‘Teaching Our Sons to Do What We Have Been Teaching the Savages to Avoid’” (all). § (Bring Whitman, Guide to Manly Health & Training to class.) Memo #1 due electronically by noon. NEW FRONTIERS: HEGEMONIC & HYBRID MASCULINITIES 9/19 § Steven Watts, JFK and the Masculine Mystique. o Ch. 7, “Vigor and Virility.” § R.W. Connell, “The Social Organization of Masculinity” (selections). § Michael Messner, “The Masculinity of the Governator.” § (Bring Whitman, Guide to Manly Health & Training; and all the Bederman readings to class.) Video clips that accompany Messner’s article: § Conan the Barbarian, “The Gladiator”: 6 o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_42qmKBSC3g. § Terminator 2, final scene: o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFIewqi-8Go. § Kindergarten Cop, “You Belong to Me,” “Hitting Back”: o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnLhMGzgfSM. Memo #2 due electronically by noon. “A LITTLE DAB’LL DO YA!” GROOMING MANHOOD 9/26 § Kristen Barber, Styling Masculinity. o Preface (selections). o Introduction. o Ch. 1, “Men and Beauty.” o Ch. 2, “Rocks Glasses and Color Camo.” o Ch. 3, “Heterosexual Aesthetic Labor.” § Whitman, Guide to Manly Health & Training. o Ch. 4, “Grooming and Dress.” Memo #3 due electronically by noon. DID JUMBO IDENTIFY AS A BULL? ARCHIVING MASCULINITY AT TUFTS 10/3 No reading. Good luck on your first paper. Class held with Pam Hopkins at the Digital Collections and Archives in the basement of Tisch Library. **Paper #1 due at 5pm on Friday, October 6 GUYLAND: FROM BOYS TO ALMOST MEN 10/10 § Michael Kimmel, Guyland. o Ch. 1, “Welcome to Guyland.” 7 o Ch. 2, “‘What’s the Rush?’” o Ch. 3, “‘Bros Before Hos’” o Ch. 5, “The Rites of Almost Men” o Ch. 9, “Hooking Up” o Ch. 10, “Predatory Sex and Party Rape.” § (Optional) Video about Guyland, narrated by Kimmel. o http://tufts.kanopystreaming.com/video/guyland-where-boys-becomemen Content notice: this reading discusses sexual assault. Memo #4 due electronically by noon. TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL: POOR YOUNG MEN IN URBAN & RURAL SCHOOLS 10/17 § Edward Morris, Learning the Hard Way. o Introduction. o Ch. 2, “Respect and Respectability.” o Ch. 4, “Too Cool for School.” o Ch. 5, “Rednecks and Rutters.” o Ch. 6, “Clownin’ and Riffin.’” Group Presentation #1. HUMAN TARGETS: CRIMINALIZING LATINO BOYS 10/24 § Victor Rios, Human Targets (all). Group Presentation #2. THE BLUEST EYES IN TEXAS: TRANSGENDER MASCULINITY IN BOYS DON’T CRY 10/31 § Boys Don’t Cry, dir. Kimberly Peirce (video available on Trunk). § Jack Halberstam, “The Transgender Gaze in Boys Don’t Cry.” 8 § Elizabeth Schewe, “Highway and Home.” *Content notice: This film features scenes depicting sexual assault and a murder. Group Presentation #3. **No class on Tuesday, November 7 (Friday’s schedule this day). PERFORMING MASCULINITY: MEN & MASCULINITY AT THE TUFTS ART GALLERY 11/14 § Readings TBA. There are special requirements for this week’s presenters. Class held at the Tufts Art Gallery with Liz Canter. Group Presentation #4. WOMEN & MASCULINITY / FEMALE MASCULINITIES 11/21 § Jane Ward, “Gender Labor.” § Emily Kazyak, “Midwest or Lesbian?” § Megan Sinnott, “Korean-Pop, Tom Gay Kings, Les Queens, and the Capitalist Transformation of Sex/Gender Categories in Thailand.” Group Presentation #5. SOME MEN: PRO-FEMINISM & MEN 11/28 § Michael Messner, Max Greenberg, and Tal Peretz, Some Men. o Ch. 1, “‘This is Men’s Work.’” o Ch. 4, “Plugging In.”’ o Ch. 5, “Earning Your Ally Badge.” § (Possibly additional readings.) **Guest speaker: Max Greenberg. 9 Group Presentation #6. END-OF-SEMESTER CELEBRATION 12/5 § § § § Wrap-up. Open discussion topics. Share final paper topics, workshop ideas. Lunch. **Final paper due by 5pm on Tuesday, December 12. 10