COURSE OUTLINE
Part I. Perspectives
- Images of the Masculine Mystique & Introduction
to the Course (January
19)
Is it getting harder and harder for a young male to figure out how
to be a man? Have you thought about some of the current images of
manhood in America readily found in media? The "gaze" -
what is it? Why study men and masculinities? What can you expect in
this course?
Kimmel & Messner, "Introduction" to Men's lives
(ER)
Steinem, "If men could menstruate" (ER)
Bartel, "When men put on appearances" (skim/review,
ER)
- Masculinities in the Media (January
24)
We are daily inundated with images of masculinity - in films, music,
magazines, and, of course, television. The presentations advise. What
men are supossed to look like, act like, and be like? Is the masculine
mystique singular and hegemonic, or are their conflicting messages?
Connell, Chapter 3 in Masculinities, "The social
organization of masculinity" (ER)
Strate, "Beer commercials: A manual on masculinity"
(ER)
Bordo, The male body, pp. 142-152, 242-253
Film: Tough Guise
- Historical Overview: Contesting Perspectives on Manhood
(January 26-February 9)
The 18th and 19th century expectations for men reflect the closing
of the frontier, shifts from apprenticeships to "factory"
work, relocation to urban tenements from family farms, and adapting
to bureaucracies. What has happened since?
January 26:
Patriarchal masculinity -- defining manhood through control
Rotundo, Chapter 1 in American Manhood, "Community
to individual" (ER)
Kimmel, "The contemporary crisis of masculinity in historical
perspective" (ER)
January 31:
The seeds of dissent - defining manhood by his control and
success
Pleck, "Men's power with women, other men, and society"
(ER)
Ehrenreich, The hearts of men, pp. 1-98
February 2:
The so-called 'revolt' 
Ehrenreich, The hearts of men, pp. 99-182
Bordo, The male body, pp. 107-134
February 7:
Redefining manhood since the 1960s
Jordon & Cowan, 'Warrior narratives in the kindergarten classroom:
Renegotiating the social contract" (ER)
Messner, Chapter 1 in Politics of masculinities, "Men
and masculinities" (ER)
Kimmel, "Masculinity as homophobia: Fear, shame, and silence
in the construction of gender identity" (recommended, ER)
- Testosterone or Culture - Contested Paradigms about Men and
Masculinity: Biological, Social, & Cultural Theorizing (February
9)
Public and scholarly discussions about manhood and masculinity had
a number of different starting points. These paradigms differently
put men into perspective. What are the dominant paradigms? What are
the strengths and weaknesses of each?
Ehrenreich & Tiger, "Who needs men?" (ER)
Hunter & Davis, "Constructing gender" (ER)
Kimmel, Chapter 5 in The gender society, "Inequality
and difference: The social construction of gender relations"
(ER)
West & Zimmerman, "Doing gender" (recommended, ER)
- An Illustration of (Some) Men's Privilege (February
14-16)
The acquired status of being born male assures most men privilege
in comparison to women, and among men, some men have greater access
to the institutional bases insuring privilege. What kind of social
capital do the young, white athletes in Glen Ridge have as a result
of their community's definition of "true manhood"?
February 14:
All-American guys
Lyman, "The fraternal bond as a joking relationship"
(ER)
Lefkowitz, Our guys, pp. 3-209
February 16:
The legal, corporate culture 
Lefkowitz, Our guys, pp. 213-496
- In Sum: The Matrix Involving Many Masculinities (February
21-28)
Recognition of the many masculinities found in American society is
crucial to understanding men's lives and the differences among men.
What aspects of manhood are deeply influenced by a man's social class,
race, age, ethnic origin, religion, and geographical residence?
February 21:
The matrix of masculinities surrounding race
Fine, et al., (In)secure times: Constructing white working-class
masculinities in the late 20th century" (ER)
Marable, "The black male: Searching beyond stereotypes"
(ER)
Majors & Billson, Chapter 1 in Cool pose: The dilemmas
of black manhood in America, "Cool pose" (ER)
Chen, "Lives at the center of the periphery …: Chinese
American masculinities" (ER)
Cheng, "Marginalized masculinities and hegemonic masculinity"
(skim/review ER)
Film Night: Kiss of the Spider Woman, Monday,
February 13, 7 pm
February 23:
Masculinities and sexualities
Kimmel, Chapter 10 in The gender society, "Gendered
sexualities" (ER)
Bordo, "Pills and power tools" (ER)
Herek, "Psychological heterosexualism and anti-gay violence"
(ER)
February 28:
Workplace masculinities and "the big wheel" and age
Pierce, "Rambo litigators" (ER)
Nonn, "Hitting bottom: Homelessness, poverty, and masculinity"
(ER)
Rubin, "When you get laid off, it's like you lose a part
of yourself" (ER)
Emslie, Hunt, & O'Brien, "Masculinities in older men"
(ER)
- Midterm exam
(March 2)
Part II. Commonalities Across Men's Lives
- The Cultures of "Go for it" & "Given 'em
Hell": Masculinities & Violence (March
14)
Does contemporary American culture retain a historical underpinning
that tolerates men's violence? privileges men to be violent? What
do journalists and sociologists mean when they argue that sexual assault
and boys' and men's violence are the products of a "sick"
culture?
Messerschmidt, "Adolescent masculinity challenges and sexual
violence" (ER)
Kimmel, Chapter 11 in The gender society, "The gender
of violence" (ER)
Kaufman, "The construction of masculinity and the triad of
men's violence" (ER)
- Manhood and Sports: A Means to Become and Be a Man
(March 16)
Has the social institution of sport become men's domain for assuring
the (re)construction of masculinity? Is sport aggressive play? Has
sport become the ladder for minority men's success? How is employment
a defining experience?
Messner, "Boyhood, organized sports and the construction
of masculinities" (ER)
Sabo & Panepinto, "Football ritual and the social reproduction
of masculinity" (ER)
Parker, "Sporting masculinities: Gender relations and the
body" (recommended, ER)
- Men's Health: The Effects of Gender (March
21)
Has the social institution of sport become men's domain for assuring
the (re)construction of masculinity? Is sport aggressive play? Has
sport become the ladder for minority men's success? How is employment
a defining experience?
Sabo, "Masculinities and men's health" (ER)
Courtenay, "Constructions of masculinity and their influence
on men's well-being" (ER)
Real, "Men's hidden depression" (ER)
- Embodied Masculinity: Bodies, their Meanings (March
23-30)
How has the presentation of men's body, especially its size, evolved
the past 50 years? Is the masculine mystique captured less by work
performance today and more by men's presentation of their bodies?
Can one be a man without a penis? Does size matter? Are boys and men
encouraged to engage in health risk-taking behavior and to deny vulnerabilities?
March 21:
The body: Private parts
Connell, Chapter 2 in Masculinities, "Men's bodies"
(ER)
Lehman, "In an imperfect world, men with small penises are
unforgiven" (ER)
Bordo, The male body, pp. 15-83
March 23:
Men on display 
Bordo, The male body, pp. 168-225
Watson, Chapter 4 in Health, culture, and identity, "The
male body in everyday life" (ER)
March 30:
The (re)construction of gendered bodies
Film: You Don't Know Dick
Gerschick & Miller, "Coming to terms: Masculinity and
physical disability" (ER)
Loe, "Fixing broken masculinity: Viagra as technology for
the production of gender and sexuality" (ER)
- Men's Relationships with Other Men (April
4-6)
Are men's relationships close? How do we know? What characterizes
the way men interact with other men, know their relationship is not
just friendly relations but friendship?
April 4:
Friendly relations & types of friendships
Kimmel, except from Chapter 9 in The gendered society,
"Gendered intimacies" (ER)
Swain, "Covert intimacy: Closeness in men's friendships"
(ER)
Walker, "I'm not friends the way she's friends" (ER)
Simmons, "The truth about male friendships" (recommended,
ER)
April 6:
Friendships 
Duneier: Slim's table, pp. 3-117, 157-168; skim Chapters
8-9
- Men's Relationships with Women and Children (April
11-18)
Do men interact with women differently than they ways they engage
other men? What characterizes the way men and women interact with
one other?
April 11:
Relations with women: Before and after marriage
Swain, "Men's friendships with women" (ER)
Rubin, "Approach-avoidance dance" (recommended, ER)
Risman & Johnson-Summerford, "Doing it fairly: A study
of postgender marriages" (ER)
Easter Break
(April 13-17)
April 18:
Fatherhood
Cooper, "Being the 'go-to-guy': Fatherhood, masculinity,
and the organization of work" (ER)
Marsiglio & Pleck, "Fatherhood and masculinities"
(ER)
Silverstein & Auerbach, "Deconstructing the essential
father" (recommended, ER)
Part III. Polemics and the Politics of Masculinities
- Polemics: Recognition or Backlash (April
20-27)
Does the public recognize the power of the hegemonic masculinity that
men (and women) too often feel obliged to live up to everyday? Should
ordinary men be viewed as conscious manipulators of the power bestowed
to them as males at birth, or are they unwitting participants in an
odd play without a single director?
April 20:
Men's lives: A review - Utility men
Faludi, Stiffed, Chapters 2-5
April 25:
Men's lives: A review - Evil empires
Faludi, Stiffed, Chapters 6-8
April 27:
Men's lives: A review -- Destinations
Faludi, Stiffed, Chapters 11-12
- The Politics of Contemporary Masculinities (May
2)
What do the Promise Keepers, the mythopoetic movement, and the Father's
Rights movement have in common?
Messner, Chpater 6 in Politics of masculinities, "Backlash
or social justice" (ER)
- Final Exam,
Monday, May 8, 8:30am
Return to
top
|
