Culture, Gender and Power in East Asia

Anth 178

Fall 2017

Tuesday/Thursday 5:00-6:20

Instructor: Elanah Uretsky Office: Brown 322

Office phone: 781-736-8741 Office Hours: Wednesday 2-4 or by appointment

e-mail:

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Course Description: Conceptions of gender structure the situation of men and women in all societies. In East Asia these conceptions are largely influenced by the historical legacy of Confucianism that created a hierarchical organization of social relations based on sex/gender, age, and social status. This course will take that historical influence into account to examine how power is distributed amongst men and women in East Asia. The course approaches these power relations from a critical anthropologic perspective to look comparatively at how these changes are occurring in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam by analyzing the dialectics between tradition and modernity. We will examine changes and continuities in the patterns of gender roles and power relations in East Asian historical and sexual contexts. Discussions will range from conceptualizations of gender in East Asia to how gender, sexuality, and the state interact with one another. We will also discuss how gender and sexuality in East Asia affect conceptions of work. This will include a discussion of the how sex can be part of work for men as well as women and the key role that sex work plays in distributing power in East Asia.

Course Learning Objectives: At the end of this course students will be able to:

  • Learn an anthropological approach to understanding the complex dimensions of gender power

relations and human sexuality in East Asia from a cross-cultural, historical perspective

  • Critically analyze stereotypic generalizations about the relationship between culture and

human sexual behaviors

  • Comparatively evaluate various theoretical approaches to the relationship between culture, gender, and sexuality
  • Better understand the dynamics of culture change in gender power relations and human sexual

behaviors in terms of causal factors and societal consequences;

  • Further develop problem solving and decision making capacities in their own lives as

gendered sexual selves by applying basic concepts and historical examples learned in this class.

Success in this four- credit course is based on the expectation that students will spend a minimum of 9 hours of study time per week in preparation for class (readings, papers, online discussions, preparation for exams, field trips, etc.).

Course Assignments:

  1. Attendance and participation 15%
  2. Discussion questions/Discussion leader30%
  3. Film reviews20%
  4. Final paper35%

Attendance and participation: Given the intensive nature of this course, it is imperative that you come to class prepared to discuss the readings and the discussion questions posed by your classmates (see below). If you know in advance that you will need to miss a class, please let me know. It is better to attend class unprepared than to skip a class meeting.

Class discussion and your ability to benefit from the course will be greatly enhanced by your level of preparedness to engage in discussion and debate. Consequently, I strongly encourage you to bring your notes and reflections on the course readings to discussduring the class. These can include: underlined sections that you were unable to fully understand, and/or underlined sections of the readings you would like to discuss orraise questions about.

Discussion Questions and Discussion Leader: Each student in the course will be required to summarize the readings two times during the semester, pose questions for class discussion on the reading, and lead discussion of the sessions (more on this at the end of the syllabus). Please submit your discussion questions before 1 pm the day before the class meets (i.e. Monday or Wednesday) by posting them directly to the discussion board of the course website. I will be happy to read and comment on drafts of your questions if you submit them to me by Friday 1 pm for a Tuesday class, or Tuesday 1 pm for a Thursday class. In addition to offering discussion questions to the class you will also be expected to lead discussion during the two sessions you choose. As part of this assignment the student leading discussion should come to class with:

  1. A one-page summary of the main points of the readings for the session, including a discussion of the author’s theoretical framework and methodology, and your own critique of the author’s argument.
  2. Links to other supplemental readings/examples/material, etc. related to the week’s readings
  3. The discussion questions designed for that class

I will also assign a rapporteur for each class. The rapporteur will be responsible for summing up the most salient points of our discussion at the end of class and then writing them up for distribution. This will not be graded but purely meant to ensure that everyone in the class is on the same page.

Film reviews: We will view three films during the course of the semester. Each student will be required to write a 2-3 page summary of two of the three films and relate their reactions to those films to the readings and other course content. Film reviews should be submitted one to two weeks following the screening of the film

Final paper (DUE DECEMBER 14TH): This will be a semester-long project, which will include the following components: interview guide (10% of the paper grade), 2-3pg ethnographic interview report (20% of the paper grade), final 10-12 page paper (70% of the final paper grade - 12 point font with one-inch margins). In addition, a short project proposal will be due October 3rdand a draft of the entire paper will be due in class on November 30th . Neither one of these will be graded but you are expected to submit both and share with your classmates for feedback. Proposals and drafts will alsogreatly enhance the quality of the final paper so students are strongly encouraged to submit them on time.

Papers should be written on a topic of your choosing related to the general content of gender and power in East Asia (you should use the course topics as a guide for designing your paper topic but I am also happy to discuss other options with you). Research for the paper will take the form of an ethnographic research project that will require you to do an interview (or interviews) and conduct participant observation. You can interview students, faculty, or staff around campus on your topic. To do this, please prepare an interview guide ahead of time and submit to me for feedback. You can also conduct participant observation around campus or at other locations that you feel are salient to your topic. We will discuss methods for conducting this type of research in class. You may also contact organizations in the area that you feel are important to your research topic but please check with me first before contacting them. With the permission of the informant, you will tape record the interview, transcribe the interview, and use the information to supplement your library research on a focused topic. Free mobile apps are available for voice recording. I can also make available a number of digital voice recorders for recording your interviews.

Short Project Proposal DUE: October 3rd

  1. 2-3 Overall research questions and/or thesis/hypothesis
  2. Annotated bibliography summarizing 8-10 bibliographic references in 3-4 sentences. References can be drawn from:
  3. peer-reviewed journal articles
  4. Books
  5. Book chapter
  6. Grey literature
  7. Popular media
  8. Websites (with URL)
  1. 2-3 paragraph discussion of your project

Interview Guide – DUE: October 24th

  1. Choice of interview subject – name, contact information, why this person will be a good informant for your project, date and time interview is scheduled. Use form included in this syllabus.
  1. Detailed interview questions (8-12 main questions with possible follow-up probes) – consider the topics you will need to address in your paper when designing your interview questions.

Ethnographic Interview Report – DUE: November 14th - 4

INTERVIEW INFORMATION SHEET

Your name______

Informant name______

Informant job title______

Informant address______

Informant telephone______

Informant email address______

How informant was identified______

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Dates informant contacted and summary of information from each preliminary conversation

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Date of actual interview______

How interview was conducted (e.g in person, skype, telephone) ______

Time interview started______

Time interview ended______

Special notes on interview______

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Computer and Cell Phone Use

In order to focus your full attention on the class and on each other, laptops are not allowed during class time. Flat tablets (such as Ipads) are an exception, but may be used only to pull up the readings and not for typing. The use of cell phones is of course prohibited.

Disabilities

If you are a student with a documented disability on record at Brandeis University and wish to have a reasonable accommodation made for you in this class, please come and see me.

Academic Integrity

In all of your written assignments, please make sure to cite properly any sources that you consulted, whether or not you use direct quotes. You may not simply lift text from any source and incorporate it into your own work, nor can you just change a few words here and there and claim it as your own, even if you do cite the source. You must thoroughly and carefully paraphrase any information that you include. We will go over proper citation style in class.

You are expected to be familiar with and to follow the University’s policies on academic integrity and plagiarism (see Faculty may refer any suspected instances of alleged dishonesty to the Office of Student Development and Conduct. Instances of academic dishonesty may result in sanctions, including but not limited to failing grades being issued, educational programs, and other consequences.

COURSE OUTLINE AND READING ASSIGNMENTS

Week 1

8/31 (Thurs)Introduction to the course

Palmer, James. “The Bro Code: Booze, Sex, and the Fine Art of Dealmaking in China” China File February 4.2015

Alexandra Harney. “The Herbivore’s Dilemma,” Slate magazine, June 15, 2009.

Week 2

9/5 (Tues)Theoretical Foundations

Connell, Robert. 1990. “The State, Gender, and Sexual Politics: Theory and Appraisal.” Theory and Society 19(5):507-544.

Defining Male and Female in East Asia

9/7 (Thurs)FILM: David Henry Huang. 1993. M Butterfly (Directed by: David Cronenberg).

Week 3

9/12 (Tues)Furth, Charlotte. 1988. “Androgynous Males and Deficient Females: Biology and Gender Boundaries in Sixteenth- and Seventeenth – Century China.” Late Imperial China 9(2):1-31.

Kondo, Dorinne. 1997. About Face: Performing Race in Fashion and Theater. New York: Routledge. Chapter Two: “M. Butterfly: Orientalism, Gender, and a Critique of Essentialist Identity,” pp. 31-54.

Ueno, Chizuko. 1997. Saito Chiyo, Interview and “What is Japanese Feminism?” (pp. 145-170) and Ueno Chizuko, Interview and “Are the Japanese Feminine? Some Problems of Japanese Feminism in its Cultural Context.” In Sandra Buckley (ed.) Broken Silence: Voices of Japanese Feminism. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, pp. 297-301.

9/14 (Thurs) Hinsch, Bret. 1992. Passions of the Cut Sleeve: The Male Homosexual Tradition in China. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. “Introduction,” pp. 1-14 and Appendix.

Sommer, Matthew. 1997. “The Penetrated Male in Late Imperial China: Judicial Construction and Social Stigma.” Modern China 23(2): 140-180.

Week 4

9/19 (Tues)Robertson, Jennifer. 1998. “Staging Androgyny.” In Takarazuka: Sexual Politics and Popular Culture in Modern Japan. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, pp. 47-88.

Nakamura, Karen and Hisako Matsuo. 2003. “Female Masculinity and Fantasy Spaces: Transcending genders in the Takarazuka Theater and Japanese Popular Culture.” In James E. Roberson and Nobue Suzuki (eds.) Men and Masculinities in Contemporary Japan. London:RoutledgeCurzon, pp. 59-76.

Optional Reading: Mann, Susan. 2011. Gender and Sexuality in Modern Chinese History. New York: Cambridge University Press. Chapter 7: Same-sex Relationships and Gendered Perfomance, pp. 137-153.

9/21 (Thurs)ROSH HASHANAH – NO UNIVERSITY EXERCISES

Week 5 Sex, Gender, and Political Order

9/26 (Tues)Sommer, Matthew. 2000. Sex, Law, and Society in Late Imperial China. Stanfrod, CA: Stanford University Press. Chapter 2: A Vision of Sexual Order, pp. 30-65.

Ebrey, Patricia. 1993. The Inner Quarters: Marriage and the Lives of Chinese Women in the Song Period. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Chapter 1: Separating the Sexes, pp. 2-43.

Mann, Susan. 2011. Gender and Sexuality in Modern Chinese History. New York: Cambridge University Press. Chapter 1: Family and the State: The Separation of the Sexes, pp. 27-49.

Optional Reading: Mann, Susan. 2011. Gender and Sexuality in Modern Chinese History. New York: Cambridge University Press. Chapter 3: Sexuality and gender relations in politics and law, pp. 66-79.

Enabling and Disabling Mobility

9/28 (Thurs)Getting ahead economically

Sommer, Matthew. 2015. Polyandry and Wife-Selling in Qing Dynasty China: Survival Strategies and Judicial Interventions. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Chapter 1: Getting a Husband to Support a Husband, pp. 23-54.

Hoang, Kimberly Kay. 2015. Dealing in Desire: Asian Ascendancy, Western Decline, and the Hidden Currencies of Global Sex Work. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Chapter 7: Sex Workers’ Economic Trajectories, pp. 154-172

Week 6

10/3 (Tues)(NOTE: This is a designated Brandeis Thursday)

BRIEF PROJECT PROPOSAL DUE

Mobilizing the economy

Hoang, Kimberly Kay. 2015. Dealing in Desire: Asian Ascendancy, Western Decline, and the Hidden Currencies of Global Sex Work. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Chapter 4: Entrepreneurial Mommies, pp. 78-103.

Phinney, Harriet. 2009. “’Eaten One’s Fill and All Stirred Up’: Doi Moi and the Reconfiguration of Masculine Sexual Risk and Men’s Extramarital Sex in Vietnam.” In Jennifer Hirsch, et al. The Secret: Love, Marriage, and HIV. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press, pp. 108-135.

Uretsky, Elanah. 2016. Occupational Hazards: Sex, Business, and HIV in Post-Mao China. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Chapter 1: The State, Work, and Men’s Health, pp. 31-53.

10/5 (Thurs)SUKKOT – NO UNIVERSITY EXERCISES

Week 7

10/10 (Tues)Limiting Mobility

Otis, Eileen. 2012. Markets and Bodies: Women, Service Work, and the Making of Inequality in China. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Introduction, pp. 1-35.

Parreñas, Rhacel Salazar. 2011. Illicit Flirtations: Labor, Migration, and Sex Trafficking in Tokyo. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Introduction,: The Indentured Mobility of Migrant Hostesses, pp. 1-24.

10/11 (Wed) NOTE: THIS IS A DESIGNATED BRANDEIS THURSDAY. NO CLASS THURSDAY OCTOBER 12 DUE TO SHMINI AZERET HOLIDAY

FILM: Trading Women (David Feingold)

The Modern Asian Man

10/17 (Tues)Uretsky, Elanah. 2016. Occupational Hazards: Sex, Business, and HIV in Post-Mao China. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Chapter 4: “Constructing the ‘Nanzihan’: Hegemonic Masculinity in Urban China, pp. 54-85.

Allison, Anne. 1994. Nightwork: Sexuality, Pleasure, and Corporate Masculinity in a Tokyo Hostess Club. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Chapter 5: The Meaning and Place of Work: The Sarariiman, pp. 91-101;Chapter 8: Male Play with Money, Women, and Sex, pp. 124-142; Chapter 9: Male Bonding, pp. 151-167.

Roberson, James. 2003. Men and Masculinity in Contemporary Japan: Beyond the Salaryman Doxa. New York: RoutledgeCurzon. “Introduction,” pp. 1-19.

10/19 (Thurs)Cheng, Sea-Ling. 2000. “Assuming Manhood: Prostitution and Patriotic Passions in Korea. East Asia 18(4):40-78.

Xiao, Suowei. 2011. “The ''Second-Wife'' Phenomenon and the Relational Construction of Class-Coded Masculinities in Contemporary China.” 14(5):607-627.

The Influence of State Bureaucracy

Week 9INTERVIEW GUIDE DUE

10/24 (Tues) State Conceptions of Gender

Yang, Mayfair. 1999. “From Gender Erasure to Gender Difference: State Feminism, Consumer Sexuality, and Women’s Public Sphere in China.” In Mayfair Mei-hui Yang (ed.) Spaces of Their Own: Women’s Public Sphere in Transnational China. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, pp. 35-67.

Li Xiaojiang. 1999. “With what Discourse do we Reflect on Chinese Women?: Thoughts on Transnational Feminism in China.” In In Mayfair Mei-hui Yang (ed.) Spaces of Their Own: Women’s Public Sphere in Transnational China. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, pp. 261-277.

Hershatter, Gail. 2005. “Virtue at Work: Rural Shanxi Women Remember the 1950’s.” In Bryna Goodman and Wendy Larson (eds.), Gender in Motion: Divisions of Labor and Cultural Change in Late Imperial and Modern China. New York: Rowman and Littlefield, pp. 309-328.

10/26 (Thurs)FILM: Through Chinese Women’s Eyes (Mayfair Yang)

Week 10

10/31 (Tues) Wong, Yuk-Lin Renita. 1997. “Dispersing the ‘public’ and the ‘private’. Gender and the State in the birth planning policy of China.” Gender and Society 11(4):509-525.

Uretsky, Elanah. 2016. Occupational Hazards: Sex, Business, and HIV in Post-Mao China. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Chapter 3: New China, New Life …. Sex Included: Negotiating Private Lives and Public Discourse in Post-Mao Urban China.

11/2 (Thurs)Greenhalgh, Susan. 2001. “Fresh Winds from Beijing: Chinese Feminists Speak Out on the One-Child Policy.” Signs 26(3):847-886.

White, Tyrene. 1994. “The Origins of China’s Birth Planning Policy.” In Christina Gilmartin, Gail Hershatter, Lisa Rofel, and Tyrene White (eds.), Engendering China: Women, Culture, and the State. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, pp. 250-278.

Week 11

11/7 (Tues)LeBlanc, Robin. 1999. Bicycle Citizens: The Political World of the Japanese Housewife. Berkeley, CA:University of California Press. Chapters 4-6, Conclusion.

11/9 (Thurs)Louie, Miriam Ching Yoon. 1995. “Minjiang Feminism: Korean Women’s Movement for Gender and Class Liberation.” Women’s Studies International Forum.

Yoong, Bang Soon. 2001. “Democratization and Gender Politics in South Korea.” In Rita Mae Kelly (ed.) Gender, Globalization, and Democratization. Lanham, MD: Roman and Littlefield, pp. 171-194.

Moon, Seungsook. 2002. “Carving Out Space: Civil Society and the Women's Movement in South Korea” The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 61, No. 2, pp. 473-500

Week 12

11/14 (Tues)

Remick, Elizabeth. 2003. “Prostitution, Taxes and Local State-Building in Republican China.” Modern China 29(1):38-70.

Bishop, Ryan and Lillian Robinson. 1998. Night Market: Sexual Cultures and the Thai Economic Miracle. New York: Routledge., pp. 92-111.

Lie, John. 1997. “The State as Pimp: Prostitution and the Patriarchal State in Japan in the 1940’s.” Sociological Quarterly 38(2):251-264.

Marriage and Motherhood