Lamb, Anth 244a

Brandeis UniversitySpring 2014

ANTH 244a

Gender and Sexuality Seminar

Instructor:Sarah Lamb, Brown 226, phone: x62211, email:

Class:Thursdays, 2:00-4:50, Brown 224 (Jan. 16 – April 24)

Office Hours:Wed. 1:30-2:30, Thurs. 5:00-6:00, or by appointment

Course description:

Gender has to do with the ways people define and experience what it is to be male, female, masculine, feminine, androgynous, gender fluid, trans and/or gender queer. In all societies, people organize social relationships and identities, ideologies and symbolic systems, forms of power and inequality, in terms of gender, but they do so in different ways. Across cultures, two primary genders exist: male and female; and many societies in addition recognize distinct forms of trans, third or alternative gendered identities. Gender is also intimately connected—in distinct and varying ways—to forms of sexuality.

This course delves into both theory and ethnography as lenses into the study of gender and sexuality. In terms of theory: we will examine the historical development of anthropological theories of gender and sexuality, and the intersections among anthropology, feminist studies and queer studies. At the same time, we will engage in an in-depth examination of ethnographic data and comparative materials concerning the ways individuals and societies imagine, experience, impose and challenge gender and sexuality systems in a diversity of social-cultural settings, including those in the United States, the Middle East, Africa, New Guinea, Indonesia, Japan and Brazil. Specific topics to be considered include the place of the body and biology in theories and politics of sex and gender; the complex relationship between sexual and gendered identities;cross-cultural perspectives on same-sex sexualities and transgenders; the vexing question of the universality of women's subordination; the ways gendered difference is produced in relation to other structural inequalities; gendered forms of violence; commonalities in understandings of masculinity around the world;discipline and the state: the bio-power and bio-politics of the body, gender and sexuality; post-colonial perspectives on gender and sexuality systems; and activism and possibilities for social change. One tension we will keep in mind throughout the course concerns the ways Western theories can be both useful and problematic in describing non-Western cultures.

The central learning goals of the seminar include to:

  • Learn about the range of ways persons and societies construct gender and sexuality systems in a diversity of societies.
  • Gain knowledge of the historical development of major theories in the anthropological study of gender and sexuality, and of the intersections among anthropological, feminist and queer-studies approaches to gender and sexuality.
  • Develop and enhance critical/analytical thinking, reading and writing skills.
  • Hone skills in oral presentation and collaborative discussion.

Required readings: Most of the course reading materials will come from articles and portions of books. Books are on reserve in the library and may be purchased online. Additional required articles and book chapters will be available through LATTE. Readings will amount to approximately 200 pages per week. Please complete the readings on or before the date listed in the syllabus.

We will be reading substantial portions of the following books. Books will be on reserve in the library, and you are encouraged to purchase your own copies.Some excerpts will also be available on LATTE. Finally, I will make available in the graduate lounge for sharing some extra personal copies of many of the books. The books will be read in approximately this order:

  • Lila Abu-Lughod, Writing Women’s Worlds: Bedouin Stories (California 1993) [Most of the book required]
  • Saba Mahmood, The Politics of Piety: The Islamic Revival and the Feminist Subject (Princeton 2005)[Much of the book required]
  • Esther Newton, Mother Camp: Female Impersonators in America (Chicago 1979) [About 50 pages required; the rest of this short book is recommended]
  • Sarah Hautzinger, Violence in the City of Women: Police and Batterers in Bahia, Brazil (California 2007) [Three long chapters required]
  • Tom Boellstorff, A Coincidence of Desires: Anthropology, Queer Studies, Indonesia (Duke 2007) [Three long chapters required]
  • Naisargi Dave, Queer Activism in India: A Story in the Anthropology of Ethics (Duke 2012) [Most of the book required; some online access available through Brandeis LTS ebrary]
  • Don Kulick, Travesti: Sex, Gender, and Culture among Brazilian Transgendered Prostitutes (Chicago 1998) [Three long chapters book required]
  • David Valentine, Imagining Transgender: An Ethnography of a Category (Duke 2007) [Three chapters required]

Course requirements:

Three short 1-page essays (with any size font, margins and spacing, so likely each equivalent to a 2-3-page double-spaced, regular-font essay) @ 10% each = 30%

Final paper (10-12 pp.) @ 30%

One seminar presentation @ 15%

Class participation @ 25%

One-page essays:Each student will write three one-page essays over the course of the term. Each essay will be based on one or more of the assigned reading materials for sections I-XII of the course. The essays will be due no later than the Monday (by midnight) following the chosen section: Thus, if you choose to write on something in section III (Jan. 30th), your essay will be due no later than the following Monday, Feb. 3rd. The first essay must be submitted no later than Monday, Feb. 10th.

Topic: You will decide what to focus your essay on. The essay should be a serious piece of writing with a thesis, evidence (consisting largely of data, quotes, examples, etc. from the readings, perhaps supplemented if you wish by your own observations of social-cultural phenomena), and analysis. If you wish, you could aim to write something that could be published on a blog or as an op-ed, or else you may choose to craft a condensed, tight, regular academic essay.

Format: Your essay must fit onto one page of an 8.5 x 11 piece of paper –but, you may use any legible font (probably 10, 11 or 12- point), any margin size, and any spacing (single, double, or 1.5).

Grading and revision: If you wish, you may revise the essay(s), and you will receive the higher grade.

It is perfectly fine if you would like to incorporate materials from the one-page essay into your final paper.

The final paper(10-12 pages) could be:

  • 1) an analytical case study of (some aspect of) gender and/or sexuality in a selected society, OR
  • 2) an in-depth look at a theoretical question in the anthropology of gender and sexuality, OR
  • 3) a critical analysis of two of the course ethnographies, drawing on several theoretical pieces, and in which you (at least in a short paragraph at the end) present a vision of where you believe the field of the anthropology of gender and/or sexuality should be heading.
  • In each case, the final paper must make use of theories or data from at least three course readings.
  • A final paper proposal will be due on Thursday, April 10th.

Written work: Paper grades will be lowered by one third or a grade per each day late, unless you have arranged in advance to receive an extension.

Seminar presentation: Each member of the class will be responsible for assisting in leading one seminar discussion, by 1) providing a brief analysis of important points raised by the assigned readings, 2) succinctly placing the assigned readings in a historical context, and 3) framing a set of relevant discussion questions.

Class participation: This includes regular attendance, careful preparation of the readings, and informed contribution to seminar discussions. This is a discussion-based rather than lecture-driven class.

At or before the start of class each class, you will also be asked to submit (on LATTE, or as a hard copy—can be hand-written) one selected brief passage (of about 1-3 sentences) from the assigned reading materials, and just a few informal sentences (no more than one paragraph) explaining what struck you about the passage—Why the passage is insightful, exciting, confusing, irritating, on-point, expressive of the core nuggets of the author’s argument, akin to something else we’ve read, or….?

For each seminar meeting you miss, you will be expected to provide a 4-5 page written analysis of that day’s readings.

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism: You may only submit your own original work in this course; this includes exams, observations, written papers, and other media. Please be careful to cite precisely and properly the sources of all authors and persons you have drawn upon in your written work. Plagiarism (from published or internet sources, or from another student) is a serious violation of academic integrity. Please refer to Section 4 “Maintenance of Academic Integrity” of the Brandeis Rights and Responsibilities booklet:

Accommodations: 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 contact me at the beginning of the term.

* * * * * * * * *

I. Introductions and overviews: Anthropological perspectives on gender, sex and sexuality. Feminist and queer methods and epistemologies: Challenges from across the disciplines. (Jan. 16th)

  • Background reading: Review articles to read now and/or as needed as you move through the class:

Elizabeth Fee, "The Sexual Politics of Victorian Social Anthropology," Feminist Studies(1973),

v.7, pp. 23-39. (LATTE)

Kamala Visweswaran, "Histories of Feminist Ethnography," Annual Review of Anthropology

(1997) 26:591-621. (LATTE)

Matthew C. Gutmann, "Trafficking in Men: the Anthropology of Masculinity," Annual Reviewof

Anthropology (1997) 26:385-409. (LATTE)

Kath Weston, “The Bubble, the Burn, and the Simmer: Locating Sexuality in Social Science.”In Kath Weston, Long Slow Burn: Sexuality and Social Science. NY: Routledge, 1998: pp. 1-28. (LATTE)

Newton, Esther. “Of Yams, Grinders and Gays: The Anthropology of Homosexuality” in

Margaret Mead Made Me Gay: Personal Essays, Public Ideas 229-237 (LATTE)

Kath Weston, “Lesbian/Gay Studies in the House of Anthropology,” Annual Review of Anthropology

(1993) 22: 339-67. (LATTE)

Tom Boellstorff, “Queer Studies in the House of Anthropology,” Annual Review ofAnthropology

(2007) 36:17-35. (LATTE)

  • To read for the first day of class:

Anne Fausto-Sterling, “Dueling Dualisms,” in Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the

Construction of Sexuality (2000): pp. 1-9, p. 11 cartoon, & p. 16 (LATTE)

Gayle Rubin, “Introduction: Sex, Gender, Politics,” in Deviations: A Gayle Rubin Reader, by

Gayle S. Rubin (Duke University Press, 2011): pp. 1-32. (LATTE)

Recommended: Begin reading the first book (ethnography) for the class this week and next;

due Jan. 30th: Lila Abu-Lughod, Writing Women’s Worlds.

II. The origins of feminist anthropology and attempts to explain universal female subordination. (Jan. 23rd)

Gayle Rubin, "The Traffic of Women: Notes on the `Political Economy' of Sex,"

in Toward an Anthropology of Women, Rayna R. Reiter, ed. (Monthly Review Press 1975), pp. 157-210. (LATTE) [Also reprinted in Gayle Rubin’s 2011 Deviations, on reserve and worth owning]

Michelle Rosaldo, "Woman, Culture and Society: A Theoretical Overview," in Woman,

Culture and Society, Rosaldo and Lamphere, eds. (Stanford 1974): pp. 17-42. (LATTE)

Sherry Ortner, "Is Female to Male as Nature Is to Culture?" in Woman, Culture and Society,

Rosaldo and Lamphere, eds. (Stanford 1974): pp. 67-87. (LATTE)

Eleanor Leacock, "Women's Status in Egalitarian Society: Implications for Social Evolution,"

Current Anthropology 19 (1978): pp. 247-255. Read especially the first few pages through bottom 249; you may skim or skip the rest. (LATTE)

Continue reading the first book (ethnography) for the class this week and next; due Jan. 30th:

Lila Abu-Lughod, Writing Women’s Worlds.

III. Critiquing universalizing approaches to women, gender and gender inequality. Local feminisms, post-colonial interventions, intersectionality and particular lives. Case study: Bedouin women’s stories. (Jan. 30th)

Lila Abu-Lughod, Writing Women's Worlds: Bedouin Stories(California 1993): Focus on the Introduction and Chapters 1, 2, 4 and 5 (chapter 3 is recommended).

Concentrate on Writing Women’s Worlds and choose one or two of the following theoretical articles to read as supplements (we may decide to assign 1-2 students to each piece, each reading one and then reporting back the group):

Chandra T. Mohanty, "Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and ColonialDiscourse," in Third World Women and the Politics of Feminism, C. Mohanty et al, eds. (Indiana 1991): pp. 51-80. (LATTE)

Narayan, Uma, “The Project of Feminist Epistemology: Perspectives from a Non-Western

Feminist,”Gender/Body/Knowledge: Feminist Reconstructions of Being and Knowing, ed. Alison Jaggar and Susan Bordo (Rutgers 1989): 256-69. (LATTE)

Kimberle Crenshaw, “Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence

against Women of Color,” Stanford Law Review 43(6), July 1991: 1241-1299. (LATTE)

Sherry Ortner, "The Problem of 'Women' as an Analytic Category" in Making Gender: The Politics and Erotics of Culture (Beacon 1996): pp. 116-138. (LATTE)

Nikki Sullivan, “Queer: A Question of Being or A Question of Doing?,” in A Critical Introduction

to Queer Theory, by Nikki Sullivan (New York University 2003): pp. 37-56. (LATTE)

IV. Power, agency, resistance, and constraint. (Feb. 6th)

Saba Mahmood,The Politics of Piety: The Islamic Revival and the Feminist Subject (Princeton 2005): Preface, Ch. 1, the first pages of Ch. 2 (to get the ethnographic setting: pp. 44-48), in Ch. 3: pp. 106-113 (“Female Sexuality and Social Discord”), in Ch. 4: pp. 118-128, all of Ch. 5 (except save pp. 161-167 on performativity for next week), and in the Epilogue: pp. 195-199.

For your future reference, see also Saba Mahmood’s article: “Feminist Theory, Embodiment, and the Docile Agent: Some Reflections on the Egyptian Islamic Revival,” Cultural Anthropology (2001) 16(2): 202-236.

Lila Abu-Lughod, “The Romance of Resistance: Tracing Transformations of Power through Bedouin Women.” American Ethnologist (1990) 17(1): pp. 41-55.

Donna Goldstein, “Resisting Resistance: Sahlins (Still) Waiting for Foucault,” from Laughter Out

of Place: Race, Class, Violence, and Sexualities in a Rio Shantytown (California 2003): pp. 8-10. (LATTE)

Recommended: Susan Bordo, “The Body and the Reproduction of Femininity: A Feminist Appropriation of Foucault,” in Gender/Body/Knowledge: Feminist Reconstructions of Being and Knowing, Alison M. Jaggar and Susan R. Bordo, eds. (Rutgers 1989): pp. 13-33:especially the first few pages: 13-15.(LATTE)

Monday, February 10th: Last day to submit your first one-page essay (due no later than midnight on LATTE); this essay would be on some material/s in section IV. (Note that you could choose to write your first one-page essay earlier or even be finished with all three essays by this point if you choose to; see notes on the one-page essay assignment above.)

V. Performance theory: The bodily and discursive performance of gender, and the affective and bodily efforts invested in giving gender to and coproducing gender with others. (Feb. 13th)

Don Kulick, “No,” Language & Communication 23 (2003): 139-151: read pp. 139-141 (the introduction); the rest is recommended. (LATTE)

Esther Newton, Mother Camp: Female Impersonators in America (Chicago 1979): Prefaces and Chapters 1-2: pp. xi-xvii and 1-40, and the book’s final section, “The Collective Consciousness”: pp. 125-131. (The rest of the book is recommended.)

Judith Butler, “Critically Queer,” GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies 1 (1993): 17-32. (Concentrate on pp. 21-24, “Gender Performativity and Drag.”) (LATTE)

Kath Weston, "Do Clothes Make the Woman? Gender, Performance Theory, and Lesbian Eroticism," Genders 17 (Fall 1993): pp. 1-17. (LATTE)

Jane Ward, “Gender Labor: Transmen, Femmes, and Collective Work of Transgression.” In Intimate Labors: Cultures, Technologies, and the Politics of Care,Rhacel Parrenas and EileenBoris(Stanford 2010): pp. 78-93. (LATTE)

Recommended: Sherry Ortner, “Making Gender: Toward a Feminist, Minority, Postcolonial, Subaltern, etc. Theory of Practice,” in Making Gender: The Politics and Erotics of Culture, by Sherry Ortner (Beacon 1996): pp. 1-20: Read especially the very nice “Some Brief Conclusions”: pp. 19-20.

Recommended: Rosalind C. Morris, “All Made Up: Performance Theory and the New Anthropology of Sex and Gender,” Annual Review of Anthropology 24(1995): 567-593. (LATTE)

Film excerpts shown in class from “Paris is Burning” (director/producer Jennie Livingston, filmed between 1987-1989 exploring NY drag balls and voguing competitions)

Feb. 17th-21st: Midterm Recess.Recommended: Begin reading Sarah Hautzinger’s Violence in the City of Women, due March 6th and relevant also to Feb. 27thclass on masculinities.

VI. Anthropology of masculinities. (Feb.27th)

Emily Wentzell and Marcia C. Inhorn, “Masculinities: The Male Reproductive Body,”

A Companion to the Anthropology of the Body and Embodiment, ed. Frances E. Mascia-Lees (Blackwell 2011): pp. 307-319. (LATTE)

Matthew Gutmann, “Seed of the Nation: Men’s Sex and Potency in Mexico,” The Gender/Sexuality

Reader, ed. Roger N. Lancaster and Micaela di Leonardo (Routledge 1997): pp. 194-206. (LATTE)

Anne Allison, Nightwork: Sexuality, Pleasure, and Corporate Masculinity in a Tokyo

Hostess Club (Chicago 1994): Part I: “Ethnography of a Hostess Club”--chapters 1-3: pp. 33-76. (LATTE)

Gilbert Herdt, The Sambia: Ritual, Sexuality and Change in Papua New Guinea,2nd ed. (Wadsworth 2006): pp. 21-32. (LATTE)

Judith Halberstam, “An Introduction to Female Masculinity: Masculinity without Men,” from The Masculinity Studies Reader, ed. Rachel Adams and David Savran (Blackwell 2002): pp. 355-373. (LATTE)

Recommended: Tim O’Brien, “The Things They Carried,” from The Things They Carried (Broadway Books 1990): 1-26. (LATTE)

Continue reading Sarah Hautzinger’s Violence in the City of Women (due March 6th).

Reconsider materials from Jane Ward’s piece on gender labor and transmen from Feb. 13th.

Bring to class a representation of masculinity from U.S. public culture.

FILM shown in class: “Guardians of the Flutes: The Secrets of Male Initiation”(Filmmakers Library 1996; relevant also to the next two course sections)

VII and VIII. Gendered violence, meaning and the body. Case studies: rape in the U.S. and Brazil; gendered domestic violence in Brazil; female genital operations in the Sudan, Sierra Leone and Victorian England. (Two weeks: March 6th and 13th)

  • I. March 6th:

Pierre Bourdieu, “Gender and Symbolic Violence.” InNancy Scheper-Hughes and Philippe I. Bourgois, eds., Violence in War and Peace (Blackwell 2004): pp. 339-342. (LATTE)

Sarah Hautzinger, Violence in the City of Women: Police and Batterers in Bahia, Brazil (California 2007): Prologue: pp. xi-xvii, Introduction (including sections on “Gender-Based Violence in Brazil from a Cross-Cultural Perspective” and “Gender-Based Violence: Summary of the Field”): pp. 1-48, Chapter 2 “When Cocks Can’t Crow: Masculinity and Violence”: pp. 93-136, and Conclusion and Epilogue: pp. 257-276.