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Course, academic year 2023/2024
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Gender, Men and Masculinities - JSM520
Title: Gender, Men and Masculinities
Guaranteed by: Department of Sociology (23-KS)
Faculty: Faculty of Social Sciences
Actual: from 2023
Semester: summer
E-Credits: 6
Examination process: summer s.:
Hours per week, examination: summer s.:2/0, Ex [HT]
Capacity: unknown / unknown (unknown)
Min. number of students: unlimited
4EU+: no
Virtual mobility / capacity: no
State of the course: not taught
Language: English
Teaching methods: full-time
Teaching methods: full-time
Note: course can be enrolled in outside the study plan
enabled for web enrollment
Guarantor: Ecem Nazlı Üçok
Examination dates   Schedule   Noticeboard   
Annotation
Last update: Jana Vojanová (13.01.2022)
The course explores the ways society constructs the meaning of masculinity within the
context of different discourses and cultures. This course will seek to answer two fundamental
questions; what does masculinity mean, and why does it exist in so many other forms?
Masculinity, understood as a configuration of practice in everyday life is substantially a social
construction (Connell, 2005). To understand masculinity, we must start by understanding the
gender system in which masculinities are defined. Men’s social practices and masculinity are
socially constructed through the specific historical, cultural contexts of gender orders and their
interactions with various actors.

There are multiple versions of masculinities and forms of ‘being a man’ presented at
different times and in different cultures and within the same society. These versions of
masculinity are accompanied by hierarchical positions in society, power relations, negotiations,
and intersections between femininities and masculinities. According to Connell (2005), all men
benefit from patriarchy, but not all of them have the elements of hegemonic masculinity. Only
a small group of men can carry the features of hegemonic masculinity. Although it’s the most
honored way of being a man, it’s something normative that all other men have to position
themselves according to it. Research into masculinity is a growing concern within Gender
Studies. Men’s studies started to grow from the 1980s with Raewyn Connell’s works about how
masculinity is constructed at various times, places, and experiences. This module provides an
overview of other research on masculinity-related subjects and a phenomenological reflection
upon masculinity in everyday life. It will be interrogating topics such as: what’s hegemonic
masculinity, the intersections of gender, race and social class; gender inequality; fatherhood.
Moreover, it will examine masculinities in different cultures and settings especially with a focus
on Europe, Post-Soviet countries, Scandinavian, and Middle Eastern Masculinities. Particular
attention will be devoted to the study of men and masculinities in the context of transnational,
international migration and intersectionality
Aim of the course
Last update: Jana Vojanová (13.01.2022)
  • Be familiar with the various discussions about masculinities in academy 

  • Explore the intersectionalities that work to construct our notions of masculinities 

  • Articulate the range of ways masculinities are presented, researched and theorized with attention to a sociological analysis 

  • Employ reflective thinking, engage in academic research through sustained academic writing
Course completion requirements
Last update: Jana Vojanová (13.01.2022)

Course Completion Requirements:

1.) Reading of assigned texts for class and participation in class discussions. I expect everyone to be fully prepared and participatory. This means reading all of the assignment material before class.

2.) In-class discussion/ facilitation: Every week, one student needs to develop critical points/ concepts and raise possible questions to the audience for discussions for 30 minutes.

3.) The course requires a completion of a final essay with your research into a pertinent area of interest related to masculinity that we have covered in class. You will deconstruct how masculinity is produced and reproduced in various societal settings. You will decide and propose a paper topic, and will be 5- 8 pages in length.

4.) Attendance (maximum of 2 absences)

The final grade for the class will be determined by:

1.) Class discussion/ facilitation: %25

2.) Participation of weekly discussion: %15

3.) Final Paper: %60

Grading:

100-91: A (Excellent)

81-90: B (Very Good)

71-80: C (Good)

61-70: D (Satisfactory)

51-60: E (Sufficient)

50-0: F (Fail)

 Grading of Essay    

                                  

 %60 of total grade                                                             

Paper structure/ logical and well-reasoned argumentations 

 

15

Relevant information on your researched topic

15

Knowledge of theoretical literature on topic researched

10

Professional terminology

10

Grammatical correctness and academic style

10

Total

60

Deadlines: Final essay:

A student has the right to submit the final essay in two different dates. (May 31, 2022 or June 6, 2022)

Literature
Last update: Jana Vojanová (13.01.2022)

Basic Literature:

Connell R. (2005). Masculinities. Second Edition. Routledge.

Hearn, J. (2015). Men of the World: Genders, Globalizations, Transnational Times. SAGE Publications Ltd.

Hearn, J., Blagojevic, M.D., & Harrison, K. (2013). Rethinking Transnational Men: Beyond, between and within Nations. Routledge.

Pringle, K.G., & Pease, B. (2001). A Man's World? Changing Men's Practices in a Globalized World. Zed Books.

Pini, B., & Pease, B. (2013). Men, Masculinities and Methodologies. Palgrave Macmillan.

Syllabus
Last update: Jana Vojanová (13.01.2022)

Week 1: Introduction to course (Syllabus overview, requirements, getting to know each other)

 

Week 2: ‘Men and Gender’ / Concept of Hegemonic Masculinity

Assigned readings:

Connell, R. W., & Messerschmitt, J. W. (2005). Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept. Gender and Society, 19(6), 829–859.

West, C., & Zimmerman, D. H. (1987). Doing Gender. Gender and Society, 1(2), 125–151.

 

Week 3: Men’s Studies in Europe

Assigned readings:

Christensen, A., & Jensen, S.Q. (2014). Combining hegemonic masculinity and intersectionality. NORMA: International Journal for Masculinity Studies, 9, 60 - 75.

Hearn, J., & Pringle, K. (2009). Violences. In European perspectives on Men and Masculinities: National and transnational approaches (pp. 149–169 ). essay, Palgrave Macmillan.

 

Week 4: Fatherhood and Masculinities

Assigned readings:

Kearney, J. (2000). Fatherhood and masculinities: A comparative study of the ideals and realities of fatherhood and masculinity in Britain and Sweden. Centre for Social Research and Practice.

Wall, G., & Arnold, S. (2007). How Involved Is Involved Fathering? An Exploration of the Contemporary Culture of Fatherhood. Gender and Society, 21(4), 508–527.

 

Week 5: Militarized Masculinities

Assigned readings:

Kay, R. (2016). Military service: Rite of passage or waste of time? The Fallen Heroes of PostSoviet Change. Men in Contemporary Russia. , 57–82.

Sasson-Levy, O. (2011). Research on Gender and the Military in Israel: From a Gendered Organization to Inequality Regimes. Israel Studies Review, 26(2), 73–98.

 

Week 6: Masculinity and Sports

Assigned readings:

Adams, A. (2011). ‘Josh Wears Pink Cleats’: Inclusive Masculinity on the Soccer Field. Journal of Homosexuality, 58, 579 - 596.

Anderson, E. (2008). ‘I Used to Think Women Were Weak’: Orthodox Masculinity, Gender Segregation, and Sport. Sociological Forum, 23(2), 257–280.

Week 7: Gay Masculinities and Homophobia

Assigned readings:

Bucher, J. (2014). ‘But He Can't Be Gay’: The Relationship between Masculinity and Homophobia in Father-Son Relationships. The Journal of Men's Studies, 22, 222 - 237.

Connell, R.W. (1992). A very straight gay: Masculinity, homosexual experience, and the dynamics of gender. American Sociological Review, 57, 735–751.

 

Week 8: Transnational Masculinities and Migration

Assigned readings:

Koskela, K. (2019). Intersecting Experiences: Class, Gender, Ethnicity and Race in the Lives of Highly Skilled Migrants in Finland. Nordic Journal of Migration Research, 9, 311 - 328.

Wojnicka, K., & Nowicka, M. (2021). Understanding migrant masculinities through a spatially intersectional lens. Men and Masculinities.

 

 

Week 9: Racialized and Colonized Masculinities

Assigned readings:

Fanon, F. (1986). The Lived Experience of the Black Man’ . In Black Skin, white masks; (pp. 109–141). essay, Pluto Press.

Kimmel, M., Hearn, J., & Connell, R. (2005). Globalization, Imperialism, and Masculinities. In Handbook of Studies on Men & Masculinities (pp. 71–89). essay, SAGE.

 

Week 10: Gender, Masculinity and Sexuality in Post-Soviet Countries

Assigned readings:

Fiałkowska, K. (2018). Negotiating masculinities: Polish male migrants in the UK – insights from an intersectional perspective. NORMA, 14, 112 - 127.

Vanke, A. (2017). Masculinities, bodies and subjectivities: Working-class men negotiating Russia’s Post-Soviet Gender Order. Masculinity, Labour, and Neoliberalism, 195–218.

 

Week 11: Masculinities in Scandanivia

Assigned readings:

Hearn, J., Nordberg, M., Andersson, K., Balkmar, D., Gottzén, L., Klinth, R., Pringle, K., & Sandberg, L. (2012). Hegemonic Masculinity and Beyond: 40 years of Research in Sweden. Men and Masculinities, 15(1), 31–55.

Holter, Ø. G. (2016). Unraveling the maze: Gender equality and men's practices in Norway. In Men and masculinities around the world: Transforming men's practices (pp. 85–96). essay, Palgrave Macmillan.

 

Week 12: Masculinities in Middle East

Assigned readings:

De Sondy, A. (2011). Prophecy and masculinities: The case of the qur’anic Joseph. CrossCurrents, 61(4), 529–539.

Inhorn, M.C. (2012). The New Arab Man: Emergent Masculinities, Technologies, and Islam in the Middle East. Princeton University Press.

 
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