ANTH B287

Sex, Gender and Culture

Spring 2014, Bryn Mawr College
Taylor Hall D

Instructor: Dr. Casey J. Miller E-mail: cjmiller@brynmawr.edu

Office: Dalton 202 Office Phone: 610.526.5181
Office Hours: Monday 12–1, Tuesday 11–12, and by appointment

Course Description:

The cultural and biological categories of sex, gender, and sexuality shape our lives in profound
and intimate ways, defining how we know and inhabit our bodies, how we relate to and interact
with other people in our societies, even how we understand what it means to be human. Yet
although all cultures studied by anthropologists distinguish between male and female and
organize social relationships and symbolic systems in terms of gender and sexuality, no two
societies make these distinctions in quite the same way. Furthermore, gendered and sexual norms
and practices within a single culture or society are not static conceptions but rather exist in a
constant state of flux, often related to or reflecting larger patterns or processes of cultural and
social change and transformation.

This course will introduce students to different ways of experiencing, practicing, imagining, and
organizing gender and sexuality in a variety of social and cultural contexts, including specific
communities in parts of Melanesia, Africa, the Middle East, Brazil, and North America.
Evaluating how social scientific theories and understandings of gender and sexuality have
changed during the twentieth century, this course will equip students to view gender and
sexuality not merely as “natural” or inherent traits but instead as complex and contested fields of
expression and representation that are bound up in broader relations of power including notions
of race, ethnicity, religion, and class. Throughout the course an emphasis will be placed on
exploring other cultures and societies as a way of better understanding and critiquing our own.

Required Texts:

Marjorie Shostak, Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman. Harvard, 2000.
Lila Abu-Lughod, Writing Women’s Worlds: Bedouin Stories. California, 2008.
Gilbert Herdt, The Sambia: Ritual, Sexuality, and Change in Papua New Guinea. Thomson
and Wadsworth, 2005.
Don Kulick, Travesti: Sex, Gender, and Culture among Brazilian Transgendered Prostitutes.
Chicago, 1998.
Kath Weston, Families We Choose: Lesbians, Gays, Kinship. Columbia, 1997.

All required texts are available for purchase at the college bookstore or any major online
bookseller. Books will also be made available at Canaday Library on reserve and/or online.
Additional course readings will be posted on the course Moodle site. Please bring copies of all
assigned readings with you to the appropriate class.

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Course Requirements and Evaluation:

20% One-Page Essays (4 at 5% each)

25% Midterm Essay (7–8 pages)
First Draft 10%
Revised Draft 15%
25% Final Essay (8–10 pages)
20% Class Participation
10% Pop Quizzes

Course Policies and Expectations:

One-Page Essays: For this class you will write four One-Page Essays over the course of the
semester. Each essay will be based on one or more of the assigned readings for Sections 2–10 of
the course. You may choose which of the sections you wish to write about, although you must
turn in your first One-Page Essay no later than the end of Section 4. One-Page Essays are due by
the first class of the following section (for example, if you choose to write on a reading in
Section 3 your essay will be due no later than the first class of Section 4). Each essay must have
an original thesis and make use of evidence (data, quotes, examples, etc.) drawn from the
readings. Each essay must fit onto one side of a standard letter-sized sheet of paper, but you may
use any font size or spacing you wish (as long as your essay is legible!). You may revise each of
your One-Page Essays one time and receive the higher of the two grades.

Midterm and Final Essays: Midterm and Final Essay topics will be distributed in class and
posted on the course Moodle page several weeks before each assignment is due. You will be
required to hand in a revised version of your Midterm Essay and will be graded on both your
First Draft and your Final Draft. Revisions will not be allowed for the Final Essay. Students are
encouraged to discuss essay topics, ideas, theses, outlines, etc. with the instructor before each
assignment is due.

Participation and Attendance: Class participation is an important component (20%) of your

overall grade. Please come to each class on time, having completed any reading and/or writing
assignments that are due, and ready to participate fully in class discussions and activities. Bring
hard copies of any assigned readings, along with prepared notes, questions, and comments, and
be ready to share your ideas with others. To be prepared for class, you should be comfortable
with the assigned reading and be able to discuss its merits and drawbacks, i.e. have a firm grasp
of what the author’s thesis is, know the basic outline of the piece’s argument, have assessed the
strengths and weaknesses of the evidence and analysis brought to bear, and come with questions,
concerns, or uncertainties.

Students who repeatedly come to class unprepared to participate will be marked absent. Students
who are significantly or recurrently late will be also considered absent. If you must miss a class
for any reason, please notify the instructor in advance (i.e. more than 24 hours before the class
you will miss) providing a reason for your absence. Students are allowed three absences over the
semester; every absence after your third will result in a reduction of your final grade in the

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course by one third a letter (i.e. a B+ grade will be lowered to a B) and your dean will be
notified. Seven or more absences over the semester will result in a failing grade for the course.

Pop Quizzes: Participation and preparation will also be gauged through "pop" in-class writing
responses, in which you will be asked to make critical reflections on the assigned readings.

Late and/or Missing Work: Written assignments are due in class on the day they are listed on the
syllabus, unless otherwise noted. Assignments will generally not be accepted over e-mail.
Extensions will not be granted unless there are extenuating circumstances and in any case require
more than 24 hours advance notice (i.e. extensions will not be granted the night before an
assignment is due for any reason). Papers will be marked down a grade for each day they are late
(i.e. a B+ paper turned in a day late will receive a B).

Please note that you must complete and hand in all required assignments in order to receive a
passing grade in this class.

Withdrawal and Incomplete Policy: Please consult the Bryn Mawr Academic Calendar for the
add/drop deadlines. An incomplete will only be granted in the event of an emergence and in
consultation with your dean.

The Writing Center: In addition to receiving feedback on their writing from the instructor and
their peers, students are encouraged to make use of the resources available to them through the
Bryn Mawr College Writing Center, where a staff of trained tutors offer individual sessions to
help students with their writing assignments, including rough drafts and final essays.

The Writing Center is located on the first floor of Canaday Library. It is open Monday–Thursday
from 2–6 and 7–10 p.m. and on Sunday from 2–8 p.m. Appointments may be made online at
www.brynmawr.edu/writingcenter.

Honor Code: Maintaining one’s individual academic integrity is a crucial component of the Bryn
Mawr College Honor Code (http://sga.blogs.brynmawr.edu/honor-board/honor-code). As
specified in the Honor Code’s policies on academic work, “Sources of information and of ideas
and opinions not the student’s own must be clearly indicated; the source of direct quotations
must be acknowledged. Failure to do so constitutes plagiarism.” We will go over the proper use
and documentation of sources in written work in class; however, every student bears the primary
responsibility for understanding the nature and importance of academic honesty, and any
instances of plagiarism will not be tolerated. If a student has any questions or concerns at any
time about source documentation and plagiarism, they should contact the instructor immediately.

Access and Accommodations: Students who think they may need accommodations in this course
because of the impact of a learning difference are encouraged to meet with me privately early in
the semester. Students should also contact Deb Alder, Coordinator of Access Services, at 610-
526-7351 or dalder@brynmawr.edu, as soon as possible, to verify their eligibility for reasonable
accommodations. Early contact will help to avoid unnecessary inconvenience and delays.

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Class schedule:

Section 1. Introduction to key terms: sex, gender, sexuality, and anthropology.

Friday, January 24
Course overview and self-introductions.

Section 2. Nature or nurture? Unraveling biology, culture, sex, and gender. Case study:
Margaret Mead goes to New Guinea.

Monday, January 27
Caroline Brettell and Carolyn Sargent, “Biology, Gender, and Human Evolution.” In Brettell
and Sargent, eds. Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective (2001), pp. 1–7.
Anne Fausto-Sterling, “Dueling Dualisms.” In Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the
Construction of Sexuality (2000), pp. 1–20 only [you may skim the rest of this fine
reading if you wish to do so].
Margaret Mead, Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies (1963[1935]),
Preface and Introduction: pp. xxv–xl.
Assign readings and presentation groups for Wednesday, January 29.

Wednesday, January 29
Margaret Mead, Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies (1963[1935]), assigned
passages: either pp. 3–37 [Arapesh] or pp. 157–200 [Mundugumor] or pp. 221–246
[Tchambuli] only.
Group presentations on the Arapesh, Mundugumor, and Tchambuli.

Section 3. The anthropology of women: is male dominance universal?

Friday, January 31
Gayle Rubin, “The Traffic of Women: Notes on the ‘Political Economy’ of Sex.” In Rayna
R. Reiter, ed. Toward an Anthropology of Women (1975), pp. 157–183, 198–210 [skim
pages 184–198 if you wish]

Monday, February 3
Michelle Rosaldo, “Woman, Culture and Society: A Theoretical Overview.” In Rosaldo and
Lamphere, eds. Woman, Culture and Society (1974), pp. 17–42.
Sherry Ortner, “Is Female to Male as Nature Is to Culture?” In Rosaldo and Lamphere, eds.
Woman, Culture and Society (1974), pp. 67–87.

Section 4. Gender and division of labor in egalitarian societies. Case study: the !Kung

Wednesday, February 5
Kathleen Gough, “The Position of Women,” in Rayna R. Reiter, ed. Toward an
Anthropology of Women (1975), pp. 69–73.
Marjorie Shostak, Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman (1981), Introduction: pp. 1–
39.

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Friday, February 7
Marjorie Shostak, Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman (1981), Chs. 1–3: pp. 41–92.

Monday, February 10
Marjorie Shostak, Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman (1981), Chs. 4–7: pp. 95–
157.

Wednesday, February 12
Marjorie Shostak, Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman (1981), Chs. 8–10: pp. 159–
211.
Begin film: N’ai: The Story of a !Kung Woman (1980, 59 min.)

Friday, February 14
Marjorie Shostak, Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman (1981), Chs. 11–13: pp.
213–270.
Finish film: N’ai: The Story of a !Kung Woman (1980, 59 min.)

Monday, February 17
Marjorie Shostak, Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman (1981), Chs. 14–Epilogue:
pp. 273–332.
Eleanor Leacock, “Women’s Status in Egalitarian Society: Implications for
Social Evolution,” Current Anthropology 19 (1978), pp. 247–255.

Section 5. Feminist, postmodern, and experimental ethnographies of women in the Middle

East. Case study: Bedouin women’s stories.

Wednesday, February 19 Your first One-Page Essay must be handed in by today

Lila Abu-Lughod, Writing Women’s Worlds: Bedouin Stories (1993), Preface and
Introduction: pp. xi–42.

Friday, February 21
Lila Abu-Lughod, Writing Women’s Worlds: Bedouin Stories (1993), Ch. 1: pp. 45–85
Sherry Ortner, “The Problem of ‘Women’ as an Analytic Category” in Making Gender: The
Politics and Erotics of Culture (1996): pp. 116–138.

Monday, February 24
Lila Abu-Lughod, Writing Women’s Worlds: Bedouin Stories (1993), Chs. 2–3: pp. 87–165

Wednesday, February 26
Lila Abu-Lughod, Writing Women’s Worlds: Bedouin Stories (1993), Ch. 4: pp. 167–202.

Friday, February 28
Lila Abu-Lughod, Writing Women’s Worlds: Bedouin Stories (1993), Ch. 5: pp. 205–242.

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Monday, March 3
Chandra T. Mohanty, “Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourse.”
In , C. Mohanty et al, eds. Third World Women and the Politics of Feminism (1991), pp.
51–80.
Catch up on Writing Women’s Worlds if you are behind.

Section 6. Gender, power, agency and resistance.

Wednesday, March 5
Lila Abu-Lughod, “The Romance of Resistance: Tracing Transformations of Power through
Bedouin Women.” American Ethnologist (1990) 17(1), pp. 41–55.

Friday, March 7 Midterm Essays Due

Saba Mahmood, “Feminist Theory, Embodiment, and the Docile Agent: Some Reflections on
the Egyptian Islamic Revival,” Cultural Anthropology (2001) 16(2), pp. 202–236.

Section 7. Men and masculinities. Case study: the Sambia.

Monday, March 17 Midterm Essays Returned

Gilbert Herdt, The Sambia: Ritual, Sexuality and Change in Papua New Guinea (2006),
Preface–Ch. 2: pp. xi–41.

Wednesday, March 19
Matthew C. Gutmann, “Trafficking in Men: the Anthropology of Masculinity,”
Annual Review of Anthropology (1997) 26, pp. 385–409.
David Gilmore, “The Manhood Puzzle.” In Manhood in the Making: Concepts of Masculinity
(1990), pp. 9–29.

Friday, March 21
Anne Fausto-Sterling, “How to Build a Man.” In Lancaster and di Leonardo, eds.,
The Gender/Sexuality Reader (1997), pp. 244–248.
Gilbert Herdt, The Sambia: Ritual, Sexuality and Change in Papua New Guinea (2006), Ch.
3: pp. 42–54.

Monday, March 24
Gilbert Herdt, The Sambia: Ritual, Sexuality and Change in Papua New Guinea (2006), Ch.
4: pp. 55–122.

Wednesday, March 26
Gilbert Herdt, The Sambia: Ritual, Sexuality and Change in Papua New Guinea (2006), Chs.
5–6: pp. 123–153.
Begin film: Guardians of the Flutes: The Secrets of Male Initiation (1996, 55 min.)

Friday, March 28
Gilbert Herdt, The Sambia: Ritual, Sexuality and Change in Papua New Guinea (2006), Chs.
7: pp. 154–166.

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 Finish film: Guardians of the Flutes: The Secrets of Male Initiation (1996, 55 min.)
Catch up on The Sambia if you are behind.

Section 8. Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and same-sex sexualities; transgenders, transsexuality,

and intersexuality. Case study: the Travesti.

Monday, March 31 Revised Midterm Essays Due

Don Kulick, Travesti: Sex, Gender and Culture among Brazilian Transgendered Prostitutes
(1998), Introduction–Ch. 1: pp. 1–43.
Kath Weston, “Lesbian/Gay Studies in the House of Anthropology.” In Kath Weston, Long
Slow Burn: Sexuality and Social Science (1998), pp. 147–176.

Wednesday, April 2
Don Kulick, Travesti: Sex, Gender and Culture among Brazilian Transgendered Prostitutes
(1998), Ch. 2: pp. 44–95.
Film: You Don’t Know Dick (1997, 58 min.)

Friday, April 4
Don Kulick, Travesti: Sex, Gender and Culture among Brazilian Transgendered Prostitutes
(1998), Ch. 3: pp. 96–133.

Monday, April 7
Don Kulick, Travesti: Sex, Gender and Culture among Brazilian Transgendered Prostitutes
(1998), Ch. 4: pp. 134–190.

Wednesday, April 9
Don Kulick, Travesti: Sex, Gender and Culture among Brazilian Transgendered Prostitutes
(1998), Ch. 5: pp. 191–238.

Friday, April 11
Sabine Lang, “Lesbians, Men-Women, and Two-Spirits: Homosexuality and Gender in
Native American Cultures.” In Evelyn Blackwood and Saskia Wieringa, eds. Female
Desires: Same-Sex Relations and Transgender Practices across Cultures (1999), pp. 91–
116.
Serena Nanda, “Life on the Margins: A Hijra’s Story.” In Diane Mines and Sarah Lamb, eds.
Everyday Life in South Asia (2002), pp. 159–166.

Section 9. Gay and lesbian kinship. Case study: North American families of choice.

Monday, April 14
Kath Weston, Families We Choose: Lesbians, Gays, Kinship (1990), Preface–Ch. 2: pp. xi–
41.
Nancy E. Levine, “Alternative Kinship, Marriage, and Reproduction.” Annual Review of
Anthropology 37 (2008), pp. 375–389.

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Wednesday, April 16
Kath Weston, Families We Choose: Lesbians, Gays, Kinship (1990), Ch. 3: pp. 43–75.

Friday, April 18
Kath Weston, Families We Choose: Lesbians, Gays, Kinship (1990), Ch. 4: pp. 77–102.

Monday, April 21
Kath Weston, Families We Choose: Lesbians, Gays, Kinship (1990), Chs. 5–6: pp. 103–164.
Begin film: TBA

Wednesday, April 23
Kath Weston, Families We Choose: Lesbians, Gays, Kinship (1990), Chs. 7–8: pp. 165–213.
Finish film: TBA

Friday, April 25
Catch up on Families We Choose if you are behind.
Corinne P. Hayden, “Gender, Genetics, and Generation: Reformulating Biology in Lesbian
Kinship.” In Jennifer Robertson, ed. Same-sex Cultures and Sexualities: An
Anthropological Reader (2004), pp. 116–137.
Linda Stone. “Gay Marriage and Anthropology.” Anthropology News (2004) 45(5), p. 10.

Section 10. Gender, sexuality, and globalization.

Monday, April 28
Barbara Ehrenreich and Arlie Hochschild, “Introduction.” In Global Woman: Nannies,
Maids, and Sex Workers in the New Economy (2002), pp. 1–13.
Carla Freeman, “Is Local:Global as Feminine:Masculine? Rethinking the Gender of
Globalization.” Signs (2001) 26(4), pp. 1007–1037.

Wednesday, April 30
Dennis Altman, “Rupture or Continuity? The Internationalization of Gay Identities.” In John
C. Hawley, ed. Post-Colonial, Queer: Theoretical Intersections (2001), pp. 19–41.
Donald L. Donham, “Freeing South Africa: The ‘Modernization’ of Male-Male Sexuality in
Soweto.” In Jonathan Inda and Renato Rosaldo, eds. The Anthropology of Globalization
(2002), pp. 410–427.

Section 11. Concluding discussion.

Friday, May 2
Henrietta Moore, “Whatever Happened to Women and Men? Gender and Other Crises in
Anthropology.” In Anthropological Theory Today (1999), pp. 151–171.

Final Essays are due in my office mailbox (Dalton 202) by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, May 9

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