• Syllabus
  • Course In Brief
  • Required Text
  • Assignments
  • Exams and Policies
  • About the Author
• Lessons
• About This Course

Syllabus

The main objective of this course is to give you a foundation for understanding sex roles in our society. In many ways, men and women in our society are perceived as different—often, they are seen as opposites of one another. Perceiving males and females as opposite or different can affect the quality of life for both men and women—and potentially limit a person's expression of his or her unique selfhood. Interestingly, as we will see, the reported actual differences between males and females are very slight, particularly in the early years. To understand why men and women are perceived as different, and how that is related to inequality between males and females, we will look at leading perspectives on sex differences: the biological perspective, the socialization or learning perspective, and the sociological or structural perspective. We will focus most of our time on the latter two perspectives (Part II and III of the course outline).

Before we can look at these perspectives, it is necessary to start with an overview of some basic concepts such as roles and stereotyping and how they operate. We will also look closely at what we mean by sex differences and the extent to which there are reported differences between males and females (Part I)

Required Texts

Text: Kimmel, Michael S. The Gendered Society. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.

E-readings. In addition to the text above, you will be assigned articles selected from a variety of sources that will complement and enhance your text readings.

Together this book and selected readings give you an excellent overview of the many issues that are dealt with in sex role research. The Kimmel book is written in standard textbook form and covers a lot of material. My expectation is that you will read it as a textbook—comprehending information, taking notes, outlining important concepts and findings, and reviewing the chapters. The articles are a selection of thoughtful, well-written pieces on multicultural gender experiences. Again, comprehension is expected but since you are dealing with separate articles (rather than a textbook), pay special attention to the major themes, ideas, and events in each individual article. Although we will not be able to cover all the readings in Kimmel, I encourage you, when you have time, to read the remaining chapters on your own. Similarly, while you are involved in the course (and beyond), pay attention to the many things you read/hear/see that pertain to sex role relationships in our society. I think you might be surprised by how our everyday lives are affected by sex/gender issues. The newspapers and magazines we read, the movies we see, and the television we watch often deal with sex/gender issues, as do our families, work, school, and political relations. Use this class to further your own ability to see and understand how your world operates and the ways that you can influence that world.

Lesson Components

At the beginning of each lesson, you will find a series of objectives that identify the material you should have mastered by the time you finish the lesson. The lesson introductions highlight information that is crucial, and the reading assignments cover both your text and selected articles. You are to read all the material that is assigned. The self-assessment section consists of essay and objective questions. You should answer the essay questions because some of them will appear on the essay papers and midcourse and final exams. Answer the objective questions directly online; you will receive the correct answers electronically. Do not turn in this self-assessment section for grading; it is purely for your own use.

There are six writing assignments in the course: three observational papers (after lessons 1, 4, and 7), and three essay papers (after lessons 3, 5, and 8). Each assignment is worth 10% of your course grade, for a total of 60%.

Writing Assignments

Essay papers. For the essay papers, you will choose from a selection of the self-assessment essay questions that appear at the end of each lesson. Please submit your essays following the instructions for e-mail submissions. Send your essay as a Word document attachment.

Observational papers. Because sex/gender roles are such an integral part of our lives, I think it is important (and very interesting!) to see for yourself how our society is organized around sex roles. You will observe various situations/behaviors, etc. in our society and then write about your observations. For example, your first observational paper will involve watching two non-consecutive hours of television and reporting on the commercials that you see. We discuss in the introduction to lesson 1 what we mean by stereotyping, and you will watch to determine how and to what extent commercials are sex stereotyped. In the observational papers you will write not about what you think is out in the world, but what you directly see. You will base your paper only on the information you collect.

The first step in writing your paper is to collect information and write it down. Then look at your notes to see what patterns emerge and draw conclusions. Then write your paper. To receive full credit, you must submit your observational notes with your paper (they do not have to be typewritten; your instructor wants to see how you did your observations). To summarize, you should l) make your observations, 2) write down in detail these observations so that you can study them, and 3) write the paper. In an informal way, these papers give you an idea of how research about sex roles is conducted. Your observational papers will be submitted through regular mail.

Writing Assignment Guidelines. Please follow the guidelines below in preparing and submitting your observational papers and essays.

• Your essay assignments will be submitted electronically; your observational papers will be sent through regular mail. Please follow the instructions included for each writing assignment.
• All writing assignments (except the notes for the observational paper) should be double-spaced.
• Be sure to include an Independent Study cover sheet with every assignment you submit.
• Do not submit writing assignment 2 until writing assignment 1 has been returned to you. Thereafter you may submit assignments without waiting for previous ones to be returned to you, but do not submit more than one in any seven-day period.
• Each observational paper should be 3–4 (4 maximum) pages long. Each essay paper should be 2–3 (3 maximum) pages long.

Examinations and Grading

There are two examinations, a midterm and a final. Both exams will be supervised, and notes, books, etc. may not be used. The midterm exam covers lessons 1 through 5, and the final exam covers lessons 6 through 8. Each exam will consist of forty multiple choice and/or true/false questions (each worth two points for a total of eighty points) and two essay questions (one each from your two texts, each worth ten points for a total of twenty points). You must pass the final exam to pass the course.

Your final grade in the course will be determined by these two examinations and six papers. They are weighted as follows:

The grading scale is standard: 90 and above = A; 80–89 = B; 70–79 = C; 60–69 = D; and 59 and below, F.

Academic Misconduct

This course is based on the principle of academic integrity. According to the 1995–96 Student Datebook/Handbook, published by the University of Kansas Student Affairs,

Academic integrity is a central value in the great human enterprise of education. It is vital to the development of genuine learning in the individual. It is essential to the production, distribution, and application of reliable knowledge in a civilized society.

It rests on two principles: First, that academic work is represented truthfully as to its source and its accuracy. Second, that academic results are obtained by fair and authorized means.

"Academic misconduct" occurs when either of these guiding principles in knowingly violated. (University Senate Rule 2.6.1)

Any form of academic misconduct will not be permitted in this course. The following are examples of academic misconduct, excerpted from the Student Datebook/Handbook, 1995–96, University of Kansas Student Affairs:

Cheating—Giving, using, or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, notes, study aids, or other devices in any academic exercise, including unauthorized communication of information.

Fabrication and Falsification—Unauthorized alteration or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise.

Plagiarism—Knowingly presenting the work of another as one's own (i.e., without proper acknowledgment of the source).

Facilitating Academic Misconduct—Giving or attempting to help another commit an act of academic misconduct.

Tampering with Materials, Grades, or Records—Interfering with, altering, or attempting to alter university records, grades, or other documents without authorization from an appropriate university official for the purpose of changing, falsifying, or removing the original information found in such records.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is presenting someone else's words or work as your own. Plagiarism applies to material taken from a book, article, or the Internet, or to material taken from another person without properly citing your sources. Paraphrasing another writer, substituting words, or rearranging sentences from the work of another also constitutes plagiarism. Plagiarism is easily detected with databases and search engines.

Plagiarism is academic misconduct and is a violation of rules and regulations of the University of Kansas. Penalties for academic misconduct range from failure of the assignment to expulsion from the University. In this course, plagiarism on an assignment will result in an F for that assignment, and any additional plagiarism will result in failure of the course and possible further penalties. Plagiarism on an examination will result in failure of the course, regardless of the current status of your grade. If plagiarism is discovered after you complete the course, your instructor may reexamine your work and will notify you of the proposed penalty. If you disagree with a charge of academic misconduct, you may request a review by Continuing Education.

The KU Writing Center provides guidance on academic integrity, incorporating and properly citing reference sources, and how to avoid plagiarism.

About the Author

Sandra L. Albrecht is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Kansas. Her areas of teaching and research interest are the sociology of work and gender. Presently, she is studying women in the labor movement and the impact of our changing economy on women's work.

Course in Brief