ANT 324 ANTHROPOLOGY OF SEX AND GENDER

This course explores sexuality and gender from an anthropological perspective, introducing students to concepts, theories, and ethnographic studies of sexuality and gender variance that challenge the Western/Euro-American binary model of sexuality and gender. Since the anthropological record is often used in the social sciences to exemplify the cultural construction of sexuality and gender, this course focuses specifically on this body of literature to compare and contrast cultural models of sexual and gender diversity. The aims of this course are to engage students critically with the cultural “institutionalization” of third or alternative genders and sexualities, the cultural meanings and contexts of occupying a sexual or gender non-conforming social status, and the marginalization and stigmatization of sexual and gender non-conformity.

Credits

4 sh

Distribution

Anthropology Elective

Offered

• Spring
• Fall

Notes

Counts within the WGS minor as an elective as well as PHS

Learning Outcomes

1. To cultivate tolerance for diverse human sexual and gender expressions
2. To conduct an interview with a person who self identifies as LGBTQIA
3. To become conversant with the academic literature on sex and gender variance
4. To integrate original interview data with anthropological scholarship
5. To understand sexuality and gender beyond a simplistic binary