B6990 - GENDER AND SOCIOLOGY

Learning outcomes

The course introduces students to the main conceptualizations and theoretical approaches to the analysis of gender, its historical evolution, and the development of gender-sensitive policies. At the end of the course, students will acquire knowledge on the main approaches that characterize gender studies in the field of sociology and on their impact on policies. Moreover, students will be able to critically reflect on different dynamics and forms of gender inequality.

Course contents

The course is offered only at the Forlì campus!

 

The course explores the sociological dimensions of gender by analyzing how gender identities, roles and social inequalities are socially constructed, reproduced and challenged in different contexts.

The course will be divided into two parts.

In the first part, which is more theoretical, key concepts and sociological perspectives will be discussed in order to critically analyze gender dynamics in everyday life and within broader social structures and institutions.

Case studies related mainly to the area of health and climate change will be explored.

In the second part of the course, in-depth paths will be proposed related to the role of media and digital technologies in the construction and negotiation of gender identities along two main directions: production, circulation and reception of media narratives (focus on media content and its negotiation by different audiences) and usage practices (focus on the use of digital technologies).

Readings/Bibliography

During the course of the lectures, and in preparation for the final exam, students will be offered a reading pathway that is partly common and partly the student's choice.

Only for attending students, the teacher will make all suggested readings available in a handout available on Virtuale.

The handout for attending students includes:

1) “Readings for all students,” viz:
- Selected chapters by: R. Sassatelli and R. Ghigi (2024) Body and Gender. Polity Press.
- The article: Haraway D. (1988), Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective, in “Feminist Studies,” Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 575-599.

2) In addition to the “Readings fo all students,” each student is required to choose one in-depth path from the following four:

- Theoretical path;
- Climate Change, Anthropocene, and Intersectionality;
- Gender and Media.
- Digital Divide and Gender Bias in A.I.

In accordance with the choice of thematic path, the student is required to read 2 of the papers proposed within each path, which can be found in the folder of the same name on Virtuale.

Non-attending students are invited to study the following bibliography:

1) Sassatelli R., Ghigi R. (2024), Body and Gender, Polity.
2) Krijnen T., Van Bauwel S. (2022), Gender and Media: Representing, Producing, Consuming, Routledge.
3) Wharton A. (2005), The Sociology of Gender, Blackwell. [Only the Introduction]
4) Haraway D. (1988), Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective, in «Feminist Studies», Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 575-599.

Teaching methods

The course is offered only at the Forlì campus!

Teaching is conducted through lectures, flipped classroom activities and seminar activities.

The course favors an approach based on active learning: students are required to participate in classroom discussion, case studies analysis, and cooperative group work.

The professor will make use of multimedia tools in order to provide more stimuli for learning.

Assessment methods

Oral exam on the readings indicated in the bibliography.

The exam is aimed at assessing: knowledge and understanding of the readings, and the ability to synthesize them; the ability to offer a critical interpretation of the concepts and perspectives proposed in the bibliography of the exam; the ability to apply or connect these concepts to existing or original case studies.

Grading will vary from excellent (30 and L) to very good (30) to good (29-27) to fair (26-24) to more than sufficient (23-21) to sufficient (21-18) or insufficient, based on the student's ability to be able to articulate knowledge accurately, comprehensively and reflectively/critically or in a confused, incomplete and approximate manner.

 

The BAES study plan awards 6 ETCS for this course.
In order to reach 6 ECTS, BAES students should attend all lectures and carry out the assessments, plus the final oral exam, as every other student enrolled in the course.
Further information will be provided in class at the beginning of the course.

Students with specific learning difficulties (SpLD) or with disabilities that can affect their ability to attend courses are invited to contact the University service for students with disabilities and SLD at the earliest opportunity -- ideally before the start of the course: https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students. The University service will suggest possible adjustments to the course work and/or exam, which must then be submitted to the course leader so they can assess their feasibility, in line with the learning objectives of the course. Please note that adjustments to the exam must be requested at least two weeks in advance.

Teaching tools

All digital tools used to support teaching will be linked or made available on the course Virtuale platform:

http://virtuale.unibo.it

Office hours

See the website of Valentina Cappi