2019-2020 Academic Catalog

Apr 23, 2024

2019-2020 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

WGS 202 - Masculinities in American History and Culture

Students in this course will explore the histories of multiple masculinities in the United States from the nineteenth century up through the present day. As a CGRAS course, students will critique masculinity’s constitutive power through the lenses of identity, resistance, and hegemony. This course is therefore based on three premises. First, we begin with the notion that masculinity is a social construction. Students will focus on the major cultural, political and economic trends that have created, influenced, and undermined various masculine identities over time. The notion that masculinity is inseparable from women’s history informs the second premise of this course. Students, by comparing the history of manhood to the history of womanhood, will dismantle the misconception that masculinity is the essentialized component of the gender system. Thirdly, intersectional analysis comprises the academic core of the course. Race, sexuality, class, and ability are not only critical to formations of masculinities, they structure the historiography of the field. Topics of study include, but are not limited to, the histories of racial and ethnic manhood, physical fitness and weightlifting, civil rights activism, bareknuckle boxing, LGTBQ issues, “bro”cultures, male feminists, war & militarism, and family matters.

may be repeated for credit (twice).

Course Designation/Attribute: DI, VP

Anticipated Terms Offered: periodically