MIT CLASSES
The
courses below have been offered in past years and have a significant focus on
sexuality, gender identity, or queer theory. Please look for these and other courses in this year's listing of courses.
Edward
B. Turk (Spring '02)
Interpretation and analysis of works by international filmmakers who focus
on male homosexual desire. Primary attention given to ways in which screen
representations of same-sex desire affect narrative form, cinematic style,
and human vision. Films studied in cultural and political contexts. The
course examines a broad range of filmmakers. Non-English-language
films in subtitled versions.
Evelyne
Ender (Fall '01 and Spring '02)
An interdisciplinary subject that draws on literature, history, psychology,
philosophy, anthropology, and feminist theory to: 1) examine our cultural
assumptions about gender, 2) trace the effects of the new scholarship
on traditional disciplines, and 3) increase awareness of the history and
experience of women as half the world's population.
Annabelle Lever (Fall '01)
Analyzes theories of gender and politics, especially ideologies of gender
and their construction; definitions of public and private spheres; gender
issues in citizenship; the development of the welfare state; experiences
of war and revolution; class formation; and the politics of sexuality.
Graduate students are expected to pursue the subject in greater depth
through reading and individual research. Cross-listed as 17.007J, meets
with 17.007.
Emma
Tang (Spring '02)
An interdisciplinary examination of the Asian-American experience with
particular emphasis on gender and race from mid-nineteenth century to
present. Topics include Asian American women's history, Asian American
feminisms, gender and ethnic nationalism, images of Asian American men
and women in film and media, sexuality, and the impact of immigration
on gender roles. Uses extensive primary sources and audiovisual media.
Cross-listed as 21H.153J.
Nicolas
Wey-Gomez (Fall '01)
Examines the experiences and dilemmas of Cubans, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans,
and other established and immigrant US Hispanic/Latino groups by studying
recent writers and filmmakers. Topics include: marginality, transculturation,
and acculturation in works, including some by Julia Alvarez, Gloria Anzaldua,
Sandra Cisneros, Jesus Colon, Oscar Hijuelos, and Richard Rodriguez. Includes
TV series "I Love Lucy" and the film "Mambo Kings." Taught in English.
Henry Jenkins and Justine Cassell (Spring '02)
This seminar is designed to provide close case study examinations of specific
media or media configurations and the larger social, cultural, economic,
political, or technological contexts within which they operate. The class
can be organized around recurring themes in media history, specific genres
or movements, specific media, or specific historical moments. Topic for
Spring 2002: Understanding Children's Culture. Meets with 21L.715 and
CMS.871.
Helen
Lee (Spring '02)
Students read short stories by Native American, Latina, African-American,
and Asian-American women writers and write their own stories and descriptive
sketches. Discussion of the following themes: the reclaiming, reconstruction,
and preservation of culture and ancestry as sources of power and resistance;
storytelling and use of ethnic language as means of survival; use of indigenous
myth and motif; shifting, contending, and multiple identities; and tensions
between nationalist and feminist struggles for self-determination and
self-definition. Cross-listed as 21W.766J.
Jean
Jackson (Spring '02)
An introduction to the anthropological study of human sexuality, gender
constructs, and the sociocultural systems these are embedded in. Examines
current critiques of Western philosophical and psychological traditions,
and cross-cultural variability and universals of gender and sexuality.
Cross-listed as 21A.231J.
Jean
Jackson (Spring '02)
The role of the family in human evolution, and as a symbol in our own
social and political lives. Topics include: sex, marriage, and parenting;
the labor market; class, race, and ethnicity; and the family's probable
future. Cross-listed as 21A.230J.
Eleanor
Wachs (Fall '01)
Compares oral and written folktales primarily from the Arabic-speaking
world, but also from Chinese, African, North American, and European traditions.
Studies the formation and reception of storytelling in different sociocultural
contexts: western and eastern, contemporary and traditional, male and
female. Through lectures, presentations, and videorecordings, students
consider storytelling and associated performance practice in the light
of a variety of theoretical disciplines such as folklore, performance
studies, gender studies, and literary criticism. Cross-listed as 21A.562J.
TBA
(Spring '02)
Subject examines the role of science and medicine in the origins and evolution
of the concepts of race, sex, and gender from the seventeenth century
to the present in the US. A major focus is an examination of how biological,
anthropological, and medical concepts intersect with social, cultural,
and political ideas about racial, sexual, and gender difference. Approach
is historical and comparative across disciplines emphasizing their different
modes of explanation and use of evidence. Cross-listed as STS.046J.
Phoebe
Schnitzer (Fall '01 and Spring '02)
Examines evidence (and lack thereof) of when and how individual thoughts,
feelings, and actions are affected by gender. Topics include: gender development
and stereotypes; gender differences in cognition and emotion; how gender
is related to physical/mental health, sexuality, relationships, and work.
Cross-listed as 9.75J.
Courses
not offered in '01-'02
SP.591J
Traditions in American Concert Dance. Thomas DeFrantz
SP.581J Modern Art and Sexuality. TBA
SP.492J Popular Narrative: Gender and Sexuality
in Popular Culture. Henry Jenkins
SP.602J
Feminist Theory. Sally Haslanger
SP.462J
Sex Roles in Fiction: Europe and Latin America. Margery Resnick
SP.594
Identity Politics in Performance. Brenda Cotto-Escalera
SP.519J
Forms of Desire: Lesbian and Gay Literature, cross-listed as 21L.445J.
James Cain
SP.593
Queer Theater. Thomas DeFrantz
SP.605J
Women and the Legal Process. Margaret Burnham
SP.604J
Race, Gender, and Law. Margaret Burnham
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