F1609 Gender Studies (Cultures of the World core)

Course Description
Gender studies are an interdisciplinary field of research focused on the way that the meanings of being men and women are constructed through every day-life practices, discourses and representations, cultural objects and institutional practices.
The course, however, will be mainly focused on the sociological dimension of gender studies, in which gender is investigated both as an organizing principle of society and a product of society itself.   
On the one hand, the class will discuss how gender expectations affect the lives of boys/men and girl/women in different times and spaces, as well as the organization of social institutions such as family, school, the labor market; and on the other, we will address how gender is socially constructed and the implications these processes have for men and for women.
Identifying which gender patterns and meanings are more constraining than others (and who takes advantage of this) entails investigating society and culture from the point of view of the unequal distribution of power between men and women and within different groups of men and women. As a consequence, the course will encourage students to think critically about how gender differences translate into gender inequalities.
Special attention will be given to the interpretation of the symbolic dimension of gender. From this point of view, the course will address how norms of masculinities and femininities – intersected with class, race and sexual identity – are represented in public discourses and mass-media. Examples will refer to the Italian context as well as to other Western and Eastern contexts.

Students will be encouraged to collectively analyze and discuss the readings through a framework provided at the beginning of the course.   
Much of the reading will be focused on theory and research findings. Nevertheless, each area of gender studies takes its cue from real life. As a consequence, students will be asked to give examples of “real-life situations” related to their national contexts and experience.

Learning outcomes of the course:
•    To gain knowledge and a critical sense of gender inequality today;
•    To learn to read, analyze and discuss theoretical and research texts on the course topics;
•    To be introduced to direct observation as method of enquiry.
•    To learn to analyze public debates, cultural products, mass-media communication  and policies by applying the knowledge acquired during the lessons.