SOCY 326

I. Course Title: Men and Women in Society

II. Course Number: SOCY 326

III. Credit Hours: 3 credits

IV. Prerequisites: SOCY 110 or SOCY 121.

V. Course Description:

This course examines differential access to positions of public power and authority for women and men, structural determinants of major social institutions in shaping gender roles and effects of gender roles on institutions.

Note(s): Cultural or Behavioral Analysis designated course. A student may not receive credit for SOCY 226 and SOCY 326. This course may be used to meet requirements for the minor in Women’s and Gender Studies.

VI. Detailed Description of Content of the Course:

I. Social Theories of Sex Roles

A. Ethnomethodology
B. Reality Constructionists
C. Structural-Functionalists
D. Symbolic Interactionists
E. Women As a "Minority Group"
F. Women as "Deviant"

II. Current Sociological Research in Sex Roles

A. Comparative Mobility Patterns--Differential Criteria For Measurement and Evaluation, Including Methodological Problems
B. Education and Inequality--Structural Elements of the Education System and Differential Access to Education
C. The World of Work--Ghettoization of the Labor Force
D. Women In Politics--Differential Access to Legitimate Power Structures
E. Women, the Law, and Public Policy

III. Masculine Biases in the Normative Structures of Major Institutions

A. The Church as Patriarchy
B. The Arts--Men as Creators, Women as Patrons
C. The Social Sciences--The Androcentric Bias In Research and Theory Construction
D. Medicine and Health Care Services--The Female Physiology as Derivative

IV. Future Trends and Developing Alternative Structures

A. Structural-Functionalists--Influence vs. Authority
B. Conflict Theorists--Power and Minority Groups
C. Current Data on Women's Access to Power
D. Androgynous Social Structures

VI. Detailed Description of Conduct of Course:

This course is conducted as a lecture-style course with as much discussion as is permitted by the size of the enrollment.

VII. Goals and Objectives of the Course:

Students will examine the sources and influences of sex roles for both females and males.

VIII. Assessment Measures:

Evaluation of student progress is made by tests and quizzes, papers and short assignments, and contributions to class discussions.

Other Course Information: Students taking the course for graduate credit must submit a term paper of 18-25 pages, with a minimum of 15 professional citations; in addition, an oral presentation of the research must be made to the class.

Review and Approval

DATE ACTION REVIEWED

January, 2004 Reviewed Peggy A. Shifflett

March, 2009

March 01, 2021