WesMaps - Wesleyan University Catalog 2017-2018       Summer Session       Winter Session       Home       Archive       Search
CS92PROD
Gender and History (FGSS Gateway)

HIST 291
Fall 2017
Section: 01  
Crosslisting: FGSS 269, COL 323
Certificates: Social, Cultural, and Critical Theory, Civic Engagement

What is a female husband? In the 1980s an increasing number of feminist scholars posed questions about the relationship between biological sex and gender roles. The African scholar Ifi Amadiume, who studied the history of female husbands in West Africa, asserted that such relationships between sex and gender needed to be studied in a global context. More than two decades after Amadiume's influential book MALE DAUGHTERS, FEMALE HUSBANDS: GENDER AND SEX IN AN AFRICAN SOCIETY (1987) was published, the scholarship on global gender and sexuality is vibrant and dynamic. These works have shown gender to be central to understanding society at different periods and geographical locations, but it is far from a universally understood category. This seminar will introduce students to the history of gender, sex, and the body from a global and comparative perspective with readings from the history of Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. We will also cover the development of influential theories in the field and how they apply to the writing of history. This course is especially appropriate for prospective history and feminist, gender, and sexuality majors, though all students interested in using gender as a category of historical analysis for their scholarly work in other fields are welcome.
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS HIST
Course Format: DiscussionGrading Mode: Graded
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Major Requirement for: (CIVI-MN)(COL)(CSCT)(FGSS)(HIST-MN)(HIST)(STS)
Past Enrollment Probability: 75% - 89%

Last Updated on MAR-28-2024
Contact wesmaps@wesleyan.edu to submit comments or suggestions. Please include a url, course title, faculty name or other page reference in your email ? Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459