HU Credits: 4

Degree/Cycle: 1st degree (Bachelor)

Responsible Department: Gender Studies

Semester: 1st Semester

Teaching Languages: Hebrew

Campus: Mt. Scopus

Course/Module Coordinator: Tammar B. Zilber

Coordinator Email: TZilber@huji.ac.il

Coordinator Office Hours: By appointment

Teaching Staff:
Prof Tammar Zilber

Course/Module description:
In this course we shall examine the gendered world we live in with a critical eye. From the moment of birth when nurses attach a blue label to a baby boy’s crib and a pink label to a baby girl’s crib, to the names we give them, the way we talk to them, the toys we buy them, the way we treat them at school and all the way to their different life courses as they grow up – the social order is organized by gender. In our gendered world identities, emotions, and behaviors are based on the distinction between men and women. These distinctions also allocate privileges and obstacles, and determine relations of domination and exploitation. Gender is relevant to every woman and man, in every aspect of our lives, and in every field of theory and practice, in our private, public, social, and organizational lives – at home, at work, and at school. Although gender is a founding principal of the social order, it is usually unmarked. Femininity, masculinity, and the relationship between them, as well as the world of meanings, practices, and institutions attached to them, are perceived to be obvious and natural. In the course we will study theories and review studies that will allow us to think critically about the gendered social order.

Course/Module aims:
The aim of the course is to cast doubt on the obviousness of the gendered order by introducing key ideas in gender studies and feminism. Gender and feminist studies is a field of theory and practice that originated in the 1960’s and has since then become a central field of inquiry, producing a plethora of research and writing in all disciplines in the humanities and social sciences.
We will use feminist theory and research to critically examine the seemingly obvious gendered social order. We shall demonstrate how social institutions and practices reflect the social construction of femininity, masculinity, and the relationship between them – and also participate in their reproduction in a way that cast men and women in narrow and constricting definitions.

Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
• Identify the main school within feminist thought, and define main ideas and terms.
• Use feminist theories to examine every day experiences, phenomena and problems.
• Analyze aspects of the gendered social order using concepts from gender studies and feminist thought.
• Asses and critique aspects of contemporary culture through the prism of gender studies and feminism.
• Suggest ideas to promote gender equality in society.

Attendance requirements(%):
Though the course does not require physical attendance, it requires continuous work at home

Teaching arrangement and method of instruction: Though the course does not require physical attendance, it requires continuous work, as learning includes watching lectures and working on assignments. The lectures are recorded and will be accessed through the course’s website in the Moodle. The learning process includes watching lectures, answering knowledge assessment quizzes, read scientific papers, hand in writing assignments and activities (some personal and some in groups), and participate in discussions – all through the website. The course units will open up gradually every week, and you will not be able to go forward without finishing the assignments of the previous week.

Course/Module Content:
The course opens with an introduction to gender studies and feminism; after conceptualizing gender as a social construct (rather than a natural essence), we will move to examine gender as an organizing principal of the social order. We will use sociologist Joanne Acker’s (1990) analytical model, that suggested (in the context of organizations) to look at five aspects of the gendered construction of the social order – divisions, images, identity, interaction, and logic. Though the model reduces the complexity of the social order, and though in reality the five dimensions act in tandem, the analytical distinction between them allows us to deepen our understanding of the mechanisms that construct the gendered social order. We will devote a couple lessons to explain and demonstrate each of these aspects. Finally, we will explore intersections of gender with other social constructs such as class and race, and the practical implications of what we studied.
• Introduction: the gendered world, gender as construct.
• Feminism: why and what exactly?
• Gendered divisions: family and work.
• Gendered images.
• Gendered identity: the feminine body and the masculine body.
• Gendered interactions: sexual harassment.
• The gendered logic of the social order.
• Higher education as a gendered system.
• Intersections: beyond just gender.
• From theory to practice: how do we change the gendered world?

Required Reading:
Crawford, M., & Fox, A. (2007). “From Sex to Gender and Back Again: Co-optation of a Feminist Language Reform”. Feminism and Psychology, 17(4): 481-486.
ספרן, חנה, (2006). "החלום ושברו או אגדת ההזדמנויות השוות: נשים מהגרות ובנייתה של חברה שוויונית בישראל", תרבות דמוקרטית, כרך 10, מגדר וחברה בישראל, הפקולטה למשפטים, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, רמת-גן, עמ' 395-408.
לביא, סמדר (2010). "פמיניזם מזרחי ושאלת פלסטין", סדק: כתב עת לנכבה שכאן. גיליון 5, עמ' 119-134.
Fletcher, J. K. (1999). “Theoretical Context”. In: Disappearing acts. Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. pp. 25-30.
Fahs, B. (2012). “Breaking Body Hair Boundaries: Classroom Exercises for Challenging Social Constructions of the Body and Sexuality”. Feminism & Psychology, 22(4): 482-506.
Whisnant, Rebecca, "Feminist Perspectives on Rape", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2013 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), Retrieved from: http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2013/entries/feminism-rape.
קמיר, אורית (2002). פמיניזם, זכויות, משפט. תל אביב: הוצאת האוניברסיטה המשודרת. פרק ג': "גישות פמיניסטיות למשפט" עמ' 49-60, פרק י”ב: "כבוד אדם: הטרדה מינית" עמ' 189-205.
רום, מיכל (2013). "אם שמו היה עברי ויפה בעיני הייתי נושאת אותו": אתניות, מיגדר ולאומיות בסוגיית שם המשפחה לאחר הנישואין בישראל. בתוך: זאב שביט, אורנה ששון לוי וגיא בן פורת (עורכים) זהויות, גבולות ומרחבי מיון: ישראל שנות האלפיים. ירושלים: מכון ון-ליר. עמ' 179-217.
הקר, ד., לביא-אג'אי, מ., וקרומר-נבו, מ. (2014). הזמנה לדיון במתודולוגיות מחקר פמיניסטיות. בתוך: מ. קרומר-נבו, מ. לביא-אג'אי וד. הקר (עורכות), מתודולוגיות מחקר פמיניסטיות. תל אביב: מגדרים, הקיבוץ המאוחד. עמ' 7-31.

Additional Reading Material:
see course Moodle

Grading Scheme :

Additional information:
Though the course does not require physical attendance, it requires continuous work, as learning includes watching lectures and working on assignments. The lectures are recorded and will be accessed through the course’s website in the Moodle. The learning process includes watching lectures, answering knowledge assessment quizzes, read scientific papers, hand in writing assignments and activities (some personal and some in groups), and participate in discussions – all through the website. The course units will open up gradually every week, and you will not be able to go forward without finishing the assignments of the previous week.