You cannot afford to think of being here to receive an education; you will do much better to think of yourselves as being here to claim one. Adrienne Rich
Sociology of Bodies
Soc 3973/WGS 3973
Spring 2008
T, TH 11:00-12:15
CH 254
Dr. Lara Foley E-mail: lara-foley@utulsa.edu
Office: Chapman 210 Office Hours: T, TH 9:00-9:30, 1:30-2:30 or by appointment
Phone: 631-2050 Website: http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~lara-foley/
The University of Tulsa Mission
The University of Tulsa is a private, independent, doctoral-degree-granting institution whose mission reflects these core values: excellence in scholarship, dedication to free inquiry, integrity of character, and commitment to humanity.
The University achieves its mission by educating men and women of diverse backgrounds and cultures to:
Course Description
In this course we will examine the social and cultural forces that shape human bodies and bodily experiences, paying particular attention to the various ways we use our bodies to perform various identities (gender, race, class, sexual, age, etc.). We will also look at the ways our bodies are subject to regulation, surveillance and control in multiple domains of life (sex, reproduction, medical treatment, leisure, sport, work, etc.) and the ways that people use their bodies to resist cultural mandates about how bodies are supposed to look or behave.
Required Texts
Crawley, Sara, Lara Foley and Constance Shehan. 2008. Gendering Bodies. New York: Rowman and Littlefield. [We will begin this book right away].
DeMello, Margo. 2000. Bodies of Inscription: A Cultural History of the Modern Tattoo Community. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. [We will start this book January 24]
Luibheid, Eithne. 2002. Entry Denied: Controlling Sexuality at the Border. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. [We will start this book February 7]
Crister, Greg. 2003. Fat Land: How America Became the Fattest People in the World. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin Company. [We will start this book in late February or early March]
Thomas, Pattie (with Carl Wilkerson). 2005. Taking Up Space: How Eating Well & Exercising Regularly Changed My Life. Nashville, TN: Pearlsong Press. [We will start this book in late March]
Important Information
1. Everyone has the right to their own opinion, but should also remember that others also have the right to a classroom free from hostility, ridicule, or embarrassment, and an atmosphere conducive to learning. Discrimination, harassment, or intimidation will not be tolerated. Every student is expected to participate in a responsible and mature manner that enhances education. Any conduct that disrupts the learning process may lead to disciplinary action.
2. See the Student Handbook for the University of Tulsas policies on plagiarism and academic misconduct. You are responsible for understanding what plagiarism is and avoiding it. If you have questions, please ask me.
3. Students with disabilities should contact the Center for Student Academic Support to self-identify their need in order to facilitate their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Center for Student Academic Support is in Lorton Hall, Rm 210. Website: http://www.utulsa.edu/academicsupport/ Phone: 631-2315.
4. All students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with and take advantage of services provided by the Center for Student Academic Support such as tutoring, academic counseling, and developing study skills. The center for Student Academic Support provides confidential consultations to any student with academic concerns as well as to students with disabilities.
5. Students are also encouraged to familiarize themselves with and take advantage of the free counseling services available through the Counseling and Psychological Services Center. Counselors are available to help with a wide range of issues from coping with stress and sleep difficulties to substance abuse and loss and grief. Website: http://www.utulsa.edu/CPSC/
Course Requirements and Evaluation Criteria
Journals 30%
Short paper 30% (5% draft, 10% peer review, 15% final draft)
Presentation 15%
Final Exam 25%
Journals
This assignment challenges you to see and hear course concepts in your everyday life outside the classroom. Pay attention to television shows and commercials, newspaper stories, billboards, conversations you overhear. Think of these things as data and analyze them using the tools we will be covering in class. Students should write a minimum of two journal entries per week. Journal entries should be typed and compiled in a paper folder with pockets (or tabs). Date your entry. Briefly explain the data (show, ad, conversation). Explain the connection between what youve observed in the world and the concepts being discussed in class. Discuss how your data confirms, extends, contradicts or complicates what you are learning in class. I will collect journals twice during the semester (will announce the class period before I collect them).
Short papers
Option 1: Analyze the ways you use your body to perform identities, ways that your body is monitored, and ways you resist body norms. Integrate relevant course readings to support, clarify, and deepen your analysis.
Option 2: Observe a group of people in a public place (at the mall, at the gym, in the dining hall) and take note of how they use their bodies to perform identities, ways people hold each other accountable to body norms, and ways people resist body norms. Integrate relevant course readings to support, clarify, and deepen your analysis.
Papers should be 6-8 pages (typed, double-spaced). You will turn in a first draft that will be exchanged with a classmate for feedback. You will use feedback from your classmate and from the professor to revise and turn in a final draft of the paper. Part of your grade will be based on the peer review you provide for your classmate.
Presentation
Each student will pick a book from a list provided by the professor. The student will prepare a short presentation (10-15 minutes) for the class briefly summarizing the book and commenting on the relationship of the book to concepts discussed in class.
Final Exam
Each students final exam will be based on the book that is presented.
A: Outstanding, superior, the best of the best. Written work is presented at the college level, using Standard English, with the very minimum of spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors. Shows clear grasp of concepts and demonstrates ability to synthesize material from both inside and outside the classroom. Meets deadlines. Goes beyond description to analysis. A papers are both creative and logical. A presentations are thorough, clear and articulate with outstanding content and visual aids.
B: Very Good. Clearly above average. Written work is presented at the college level, but might have an occasional confusing spot, sentence or spelling mistake, and a somewhat less developed or less creative analysis. Presentations are very good, but might have a few content or style problems.
C: Good. Average. These papers might reveal that the writer probably understands the concepts, but the quality of writing is confusing or underdeveloped so that these essays would not teach concepts to an uneducated audience. These are essays that summarize the readings with no attempt at analysis. Presentations have decent content but may be difficult to follow or have several style problems.
D/F: Below expectations. Below what one would normally expect from a student at the college level. Writing marred by mechanical problems. Papers will fail if the level of writing is so confusing, underdeveloped, or error ridden that the reader cannot tell what the writer knows or means. Presentations do not make sense.
Reading Schedule*
Sociology of Bodies and Selves
Tuesday, January 15
Thursday, January 17
· Gendering Bodies Chapter 1
Body Performances
Tuesday, January 22
· Gendering Bodies Chapter 2
Tuesday, January 29
· Gendering Bodies Chapter 3
Thursday, January 31
· Gendering Bodies - Chapter 4
Tuesday, February 5
· Gendering Bodies Chapter 5
Thursday, February 7:
· Bodies of Inscription Intro, Chapters 1, 2
Tuesday, February 12
· Bodies of Inscription 3, 4
Thursday, February 14
· Bodies of Inscription Chapters 5, 6
Tuesday, February 19-
· TBA
Thursday, February 21 -
· Reading and Writing Day Class Canceled
Tuesday, February 26
· Reading and Writing Day Class Canceled
Thursday, February 28 -
· Entry Denied, Chapters 1-2
Tuesday, March 4
· Guest Speaker Dolores Huerta meet in BAH 214
Thursday, March 6
· Entry Denied, Chapters 3-4
Tuesday, March 11
· Entry Denied, Chapters 5-6
Thursday, March 13
· Fat Land Intro, Chapters 1, 2, 3
Tuesday, March 18 SPRING BREAK
Tuesday, March 20 SPRING BREAK
Tuesday, March 25
· Fat Land Chapters 4, 5F
· First draft of paper due
Thursday, March 27
· Fat Land Chapter 6, 7
Tuesday, April 1
· Taking Up Space pp. 32-117
· Peer review due
Thursday, April 3
· Taking Up Space 117-192
Presentations
Tuesday, April 8
· Taking Up Space 192-306
· Final draft of paper due
Thursday, April 10 presentations
Tuesday, April 15 - presentations
Thursday, April 17 presentations
Tuesday, April 22 - presentations
Thursday, April 24 - presentations
Final Exams due Mon., May 5 by 5:00 in Chapman 210
*I reserve the right to make changes to the reading schedule as needed.
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