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CS92PROD
Gender and History (FGSS Gateway)

FGSS 269
Fall 2013
Section: 01  
Crosslisting: HIST 179, COL 323
Certificates: Social, Cultural, and Critical Theory

What is sex and gender in history? What defined maleness and femaleness in the past? Was there conceptual space for any other sexes? This history seminar for first- and second-year students explores what these terms meant in the Western tradition from the Greeks through the 17th century. It looks at current concepts and at the ways premodern scientists and theologians defined sex differences and sexualities. How were sexuality and sexual difference understood, and how did notions of gender shape broader ideas about the nature of human beings, their behavior, and their relationships? After surveying how masculinity and femininity emerged as ideas in the classical, Judeo-Christian, and Islamic worlds, we will focus on the gender system of the early modern period (1500-1750). What were the gender norms prescribed for this society? How were sex and gender identities negotiated in the actual lived experience of early modern people? We will examine the tensions within patriarchy through the lens of historical sources both descriptive and prescriptive.
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS HIST
Course Format: DiscussionGrading Mode: Student Option
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Major Requirement for: (COL)(FGSS)(STS)
Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available

Last Updated on MAR-29-2024
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