I have been keeping up my notes for my project in my notebook and not in anything digital, so I can add things to my notes as soon as I have a thought. I had some good ideas on Monday in Transnational Feminism and tonight in Theoretical Approaches to Sexuality. I feel like the project is coming together a bit and I am beginning to understand the direction I am wanting to go regarding it.
Planned Readings for SOCY 6895
For anyone who is curious, below is my planned list of readings for my Tutorial in Sociology on the topic of Masculinity.
Kimmel, M. S. 2007. Men’s lives. 7th ed. Boston, MA: Pearson Allyn and Bacon.
(selected chapters)
- 44 – The morality/manhood paradox : masculinity, sport and the media
- 48 – Culture, gender, and violence : "We are not women"
- 50 – Athlete aggression on the rink and off the ice : athlete violence and aggression in hockey and interpersonal relationships
- 52 – Neo-macho man : pop culture and post 9/11 politics
- 47 – Men are much harder : gendering viewing of nude images
- 5 – (In) secure times : constructing white working-class masculinities in the late 20th century
- 53 – Change among the gatekeepers : men, masculinities, and gender equality in the global arena
- 11 – "Dude, You’re a Fag": Adolescent Masculinity and the Fag Discourse
Crawley, Sara L. 2010. “Visible Bodies, Vicarious Masculinity, and ‘The Gender Revolution’”. Gender & Society 25: 107-113.
Vaccaro, Christian. 2011. “Male Bodies in Manhood Acts: The Role of Body-Talk and Embodied Practice in Signifying Culturally Dominant Notions of Manhood”. Sociological Compass 5: 65-76.
Chimot, Caroline and Catherine Louveau. 2010. “Becoming a man while playing a female sport: The construction of masculine identity in boys doing rhythmic gymnastics”. 2010 45: 436 International Review for the Sociology of Sport 45: 436-456.
Hinojosa, R. 2010. “Doing Hegemony: Military Men, and Constructing a Hegemonic Masculinity”. Journal of Men’s Studies, 18(2), 179-194.
Yeung, King-To, Mindy Stombler and Reneé Wharton. 2006. “Making Men in Gay Fraternities : Resisting and Reproducing Multiple Dimensions of Hegemonic Masculinity”. Gender & Society 20, 5-31.
Conseur, Amanda, Jan M. Hathcote and Soyoung Kim. 2008. “Consumer Masculinity Behavior Among College Students and Its Relationship to Self Esteem and Media Significance”. Sex Roles, 58:549–555.
Hauge, Mona-Iren, and Hanne Haavind. 2011. “Boys’ bodies and the constitution of adolescent masculinities”. Sport, Education and Society 16, 1-16.
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I’m Out
Today was pretty interesting in Theoretical Approaches to Sexuality. About half way through the class time Dr. Stephenson conducted a bit of a “class introduction”. We went through the names of everyone and why they were in the class on the first day of class, but today instead we had a group coming out. I must admit that the idea made me a little uncomfortable at first. The general idea was that we were to go around the room and everyone was supposed to announce their sexual identity. Having never been much for the idea of labels or even with being particular open. I don’t have a need to lie about my sexuality, but I’ve never really felt the need to announce it either.
Anyway, we went around the room and expressed how we sexually identify ourselves. After we were all basically sworn to uphold the idea that whatever was said in the room was entirely confidential, Dr. Stephenson started. Unfortunately for me, I was the one sitting closest to Dr. Stephenson, so I had to go 2nd, being the first student to announce my sexuality. I was a little uncomfortable at first, announcing “I’m a gay male” just seemed awkward, but the more I spoke, the more I saw that my classmates were receptive to me and what I was saying about my personal life.
It was very interesting being directly asked in an academic setting to reveal something like that. In some ways it seems like it was inappropriate for her to ask us to do that, but then it also seems important. The class is Theoretical Approaches to Sexuality, so it is a relevant piece of information for such a discussion-based class. While at the time I couldn’t see the relevance, it is starting to make sense to me. By having us this early on, the week before we begin diving into actual theories of sexuality, there is a slight awkwardness released and an openness established that I am thinking may help the class be more productive by being able to freely express our opinions and perspectives on sexuality. I know that I feel that I have nothing to hide anymore in that class.
Question About Sexuality
From my friend Jared:
“Odo, while being technically asexual, took on an male persona. When he encountered his first member of his own species, it took on the form of a female, utilizing an appearance similar to the one that Odo presented, so as to make Odo feel more comfortable as well as a sense of belonging.
Thinking about it, do you think that they’re implying that sexuality is a learned trait?”
This question actually relates to the topic tonight in Lesbian and Gay Studies, and to the topic last week in Theo. Appr. to Sexuality. There are two major schools of thought on sexuality. The essentialists that believe that sexuality is inborn and is fixed. The social constructionists believe that sexuality occurs as a result of sociological factors and that through culture and socialization sexuality is formed. There is also a third school of thought that most people don’t talk about, the sociobiologists, guess what they believe? The sexuality is developed sociologically, on top of a very solid biological foundation.
Regarding the specific case of Odo, not being human, Terran or even solid, it seems reasonable that sexuality would develop differently. First of all, I do believe that all changelings (or do they prefer to be called shapeshifters these days?) and other metamorphic life-forms take on an either asexual or hermaphroditic existence. As for Odo himself, I believe that being that he took on Dr. Mora’s physical appearance he did designate himself to be a male when among the solids, however, I do not believe that his sexual feelings were directly powered by any type of male/female attraction. Odo is very obviously attracted to a certain type of person, mostly the strong feminine types. I do not believe this to be a result of his need for female companionship at all, but instead a certain personality type he is attracted to as a result of growing up in isolation. Perhaps he is heterosexual after the abuses he suffered in the laboratory or by the patriarchal Cardasians.
As for the intentions of the Star Trek franchise, it has always been that there is an openness to various ideas in their productions. I personally think that yes, they are portraying sexuality as being a “learned”, or more correctly, a socialized trait that is conveyed through experience with a culture.
Adapting to Critical Theory
I am two weeks into my “theoretical approaches to sexuality” course, and I find myself troubled by the base layer of theory being used in the course. Critical Theory is central to the course’s material. To me, Critical Theory is a little too much like metaphysics for the social sciences. I accept the basic premise that there can be no such thing as academic Truth and that there is only a culturally and temporality relevant perception of Truth. From what I understand of the history of the theory itself, it was created out of squabbling between academic departments over who is “right”. I find the fact that it required the creation of post-modern critical theory to allow interdisciplinary studies to come into existence to be absolutely disgusting. Perhaps I am just a bid jaded by the fact that I come from an academic background of philosophy, art, computer science, psychology and sociology. Art, computer science and the collective remainder do not interact or overlap in their areas of study, so perhaps I didn’t notice from that. As for philosophy, psychology and sociology, I find the disciplines to interact peacefully and not have many conflicts over teachings. There is the concern of “Social Psychology” and “Psychological Sociology” (sometimes “Social Behavior”), but that is merely a minor issue of what to focus on.
The key component of post-modern critical theory seems to be the rejection of a unitary theory of the whole. I am totally OK with that aspect, I think we (collective academic we) can all agree that there is no single theory that covers everything or that is acceptable to everyone. I also accept that any “truth” in academics is merely a consensus of enough heads in the subject area. My problems with critical theory begin with the fact that we loose valuable information as a society or culture as a result of abandoning those Truths of consensus. I believe that throwing out all existing theories as a result of their non-compliance with the anti-bias rules of postmodernism is irresponsible. Our current “Knowledge” and understanding has been created from the movements that began during the Enlightenment. While it has been a long time since the beginning of the age of reason, those values are still in use and are still important to our understanding of the world around us. Abandoning those ideas pre-maturely seems like something that could throw society into another dark age. One of the key questions I have seen in postmodernist writings is “how do we write about the world now?”. There have been plenty of writings on the topic, but it is mostly critical theory being used to analyze itself, essentially getting us nowhere. I do believe that human modes of inquiry must evolve, but I do not feel that we have evolved enough academically or even reasonably to begin to move toward the type of intellectual inquiry that critical theory asks us to use.
Still, the class is being taught using that method of inquiry and I must go along with it. I shall keep an open mind as I always do in an academic environment. I just feel that time could be better spent exploring the depths of sexuality and not just establishing this new field of inquiry. As pointed out by Dr. Jane Flax, there are numerous modes of inquiry already in existence that can be used to compliment each other to develop a tangible understanding of sexuality and gender issues.
Settling in to Graduate School
I have never been indecisive about my class schedule until this semester. Even as a freshman my class schedule seemed to be pretty well guided, but this semester, things have changed so much from my initial registration.
Theoretical Approaches to Sexuality and Introduction to Lesbian and Gay Studies has been a constant on my schedule. Those two have not changed at all.
The other spaces have shifted around. I went from Philosophy of Social Justice and Research Methods to Counseling Ethics and Tutorial in Sociology. Finally I am in Tutorial in Sociology and Transnational Feminism. Course descriptions are provided below.
For the Tutorial in Sociology I am working on the topic of “masculinity”. I started off being a little nervous about the tutorial course because initially I could not get any information about the course from the assigned instructor and then I found documents that contradicted what I was being told. I am becoming a little more relaxed with it now that I have met the instructor that I am doing the course with. I now know what is expected and know that I can do it.
Initially I started this semester knowing that I would have 1 class with Chris, Lesbian and Gay Studies. It is a class that is of interest to both of us, for obvious reasons. At least for me it is sort of like having an overview class of a missing part of my cultural history, as well as giving some insight into the movements for social justice. Now, after a week of classes, Chris found displeasure in one of his other courses, and is joining me in Transnational Feminism (it is a cross-listed grad/undergrad course). I am looking forward to having someone to discuss the course with, but I’m not looking forward to the fact that when he writes his final paper, it doesn’t have to be nearly as long as my final paper.
Theoretical Approaches to Sexuality [WGST6601]
Katherine S. Stephenson
An interdisciplinary examination of the history of sexuality and contemporary theories of sexuality and the body. Topics covered include historical aspects of sexuality; representations of sexuality; politics of sexuality; critiques of psycho-analytic approaches to sexuality; feminist engagement with biological constructions of sexuality; and queer theory. — 3 hours
Active
Introduction to Lesbian and Gay Studies [WGST2050]
Theresa L. Rhodes
An overview of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues from historical, sociological, psychological, and cultural perspectives. This introductory course examines a broad range of contemporary gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues in various contexts including bio-medical, sociological, political, racial and sexual. The purpose of the course is to introduce the students to key concepts, terms, and issues related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. Additionally, the class will include historical influences over the past fifty years that have shaped the present day culture within the LGBT communities. — 3 hours
Active
Tutorial in Sociology [SOCY6895]
Stephanie M. Smith
Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Directed reading and/or research; development of expertise in substantive area. May be repeated for credit. (Fall, Spring, Summer) — 3 hours
Active
Transnational Feminism [WGST5050]
Robin James
Transnational feminisms address questions of gender and sexuality as they pertain to or emerge in contexts that cross, transgress, and problematize “national” borders and the idea of the “nation” itself. It is a discipline that examines how women’s lives, and the functioning of gender and sexuality, shape and are shaped by “globalization.” While this “globalization” is often the “invisible hand” of a neocolonial, neoliberal, Eurocentric capitalist hegemony, it also includes bottom-up feminist, queer, and postcolonial practices that resist and subvert this hegemony. Transnational feminism both makes this invisible hand visible, and gives it a kick in its erstwhile ass. In contrast to “global” liberal feminisms, which ultimately fail to de-center Western notions of gender, sexuality, politics, etc., transnational feminisms examine the intersections of “local” knowledges, practices, and values, with this more “global” Western hegemony. Transnational feminisms are attentive to the heterogeneity of women and queers both across and within nations. — 3 hours
Active
Textbooks for the Semester
I had gotten very used to having the option of renting textbooks at Fayetteville. It was a very nice system. I pay a flat fee every semester for my texts and they are shipped to me. Now that I am fully back at UNC-Charlotte I am reminded of the horrors of buying textbooks. There seem like so many options and there are so many logistics to consider when buying textbooks.
My original goal for the semester was to buy only digital books, from either the Kindle store, or from CourseSmart. At least three of the required texts for my courses are not available in either format. Luckily, I will likely only keep either CSLG or RSCH 6101, but not both, so that does make it a little easier, but still, that’s 2 physical books to keep up with in addition to my laptop and other materials that I need in my bag (such as notebooks, since most of my classes are physical). On the positive side, there is a course that doesn’t have any textbooks and another course for which I have the option of selecting my own textbooks. Also on a positive note, my textbooks for all courses requiring them will still be less than $275, which is far less than the $400 I became accustomed to spending when I was an undergraduate at UNC-Charlotte.
The Dilemma of Class Selection
I believe preparing for this upcoming fall semester has been the most difficult course selection I have ever had to make. I have been torn between a lot of different class options, all of them promising some joyous new intellectual avenue, but I only have space for a few.
I know for certain that I am taking 2 courses in my program. WGST 6601 “Theoretical Approaches to Sexuality”, and WGST 2050 “Introduction to Gay and Lesbian Studies”. 2050 doesn’t directly correspond to a requirement in my program and is in fact an undergraduate course, but it is a course that interests me and Chris is willing to take with me. Beyond these courses, everything else is up in the air because of the fact that my program does not offer a lot of courses each semester, and with my area of gender studies being masculinity, the course selection is even crappier.
I am pretty certain that I am also going to be involved in SOCY 6895 “Tutorial in Sociology”, which is a directed research and readings course that will allow me to have a certain degree of flexibility in selecting a research topic that interests me and working on developing a certain level of expertise in it. The course is offered by the department of sociology, but I intend to work on a topic that is related to gender studies and tackle it from a sociological perspective. I am enrolled in the 1 credit hour tutorial, so it has a negligible effect on my schedule, while still exposing me to the department and its policies, as well as hopefully making a good impression on the faculty.
The next course space is the one that is a bit flexible. It was my intention to have a course representing each of my potential programs for next year. I intend to apply to the Masters in Sociology and the Masters in Counseling programs. The counseling program offers a certain limited set of courses to students not officially admitted. I am trying to work inside the confines of those limitations. At the moment I have two options. First, an online course, RSCH 6101 “Educational Research Methods” and then second, a seated course, CSLG 6101 “Ethical and Professional Issues in Counseling”. The online course seems like it would be a good alternative to having classes three nights per week, in addition to having to work on my tutorial project. Online classes can be a lot of work, but usually they have due dates sometime between Friday and Monday, making it not compete for resources with my other classes. Other things that come to mind are the restrictions that another physical class puts on me. That’s another 3 hours that I will have to be in a classroom at a set time, when I would love to keep things more flexible. However, CLSG 6101 is more in the department than the RSCH class, which is merely utilized by counseling, it is taught by the department of educational leadership.
There are other courses that I would love to take, but have no room in my schedule for. PHIL 6050 “Topics in Phil: Social Justice” could have potentially applied to my program, but the course would have been a ton of reading and a level of thinking that I don’t think I am quite prepared for yet. PHIL 6240 “Research Ethics in the Biomedical and Behavioral Sciences” seems like it could have been an interesting course, but it has a lot in common with CSLG 6101, and would not actually apply to my program. The other course I wanted to try, but didn’t see working out was ITCS 5010 “Topics in CS: Computational Photography”. The course title got my attention and the description made me initially register for it, but after careful consideration of the type of work involved in the course, it seems to be something that is very technical and probably not good for my first semester as a graduate student.
I am trying to keep my initial schedule between 9 and 11 credit hours. I know in undergrad I could do 18-21 hours without blinking, but these courses will mostly be in person, meaning they will take up more time and are less flexible and less forgiving. Also, these courses will likely be much more challenging. I want to be challenged, but I don’t presently feel like I can safely do 12-15 credit hours of graduate work, since I don’t know what I am getting myself into yet. In November when spring registration opens I will have a better idea of what the courses are like and what my capabilities are. I may find it easy enough to do 12-15 hours (in which case, I will do my best to seek dual-degree status in SOCY and CSLG), but at the moment I am not that optimistic.
I didn’t enjoy my undergraduate life too much, I spent most of it being shy and not really getting involved in the campus. For some reason now I am very enthusiastic, looking forward to meeting people in my classes and I want to be involved on campus. Doing this will also take time that I would normally have for focusing entirely on class work.
Fall 2011 Courses
I have delayed posting about my fall 2011 courses due to my program of study being somewhat indeterminate until recently. The schedule itself is still somewhat flexible, due to the fact that I have not yet consulted with my advisor about the final plan for my program.
The graduate level courses I plan to take are the following:
Philosophy and Social Justice [PHIL6050]
Prerequisite: Permission of the department. In-depth treatment of selected problems and issues in philosophy. May be repeated for additional credit as topics vary.
Covers theories of justice from Plato to Rawls and non-violent strategies in the civil rights movement, the women’s movement, the gay rights movement, and the issues relating to immigration and poverty/homelessness. Beyond using established historical and contemporary philosophical texts on these issues, the class has several guest speakers. — 3 hours
Research Methods [RSCH6101]
Identification of logical, conceptual, and empirical research problems; application of methods and procedures, including conducting library research, interpreting research findings, and preparing reviews of related literature. (Fall, Spring, Summer) — 3 hours
Theoretical Approaches to Sexuality [WGST6601]
An interdisciplinary examination of the history of sexuality and contemporary theories of sexuality and the body. Topics covered include historical aspects of sexuality; representations of sexuality; politics of sexuality; critiques of psycho-analytic approaches to sexuality; feminist engagement with biological constructions of sexuality; and queer theory. — 3 hours
PHIL 6050 in its standard catalog definition does not count toward my program, but I intend to seek approval to use it in my degree program from the program director because the course focuses on two areas that are covered by my program, and contains concepts that could be beneficial to be knowledgeable of if I were to use a directed topics course to close out my program.
RSCH6101 I know will not apply to my active program no matter what, but applies to other programs that I intend to go into in the future (primarily MA Counseling). Having the course already completed will benefit my application for the programs, as well as help me have some requirement already met. Taking this course also helps meet the requirements for being a full-time graduate student.
WGST6601 is a core course in my current program. The course represents the primary reason I am in my present program.
GITI: Example of Dependency UI
A major assignment might look something like this with its components in place:
The individual assignments themselves are barely different from a stand-alone assignment (as they should be), except that they point to the larger assignment. For now the reference to the major assignment is by number, but I intend to use a database query to retrieve the assignment name in the future.
