SYL497

Gender and the Life Course Sociology 497A/698A/WMST 490D

Leslie A. Morgan, Ph.D.

Offices: Academic IVB, 360 Office Hours: Mondays 3:00-4:00

Administration 412A Almost any time by appointment

Phone : 455-2074

e-mail: LMORGAN@UMBC.EDU

Texts:

1. Arber, Sara and Jay Ginn 1995 Connecting Gender & Ageing: A Sociological Approach. Philadelphia: Open University Press.

2. Reserve Readings--at the Albin O. Kuhn Library (anything NOT in Arber & Ginn)

Course Description

This course examines the complex interactions of two critical social constructs: gender and the life course. Material will examine how these constructs have developed over time, how they vary across cultures and historical periods, and how they interact to construct very different lives for males and females in society. Specific foci of the course are the demographic and biological underpinnings of gender and the life course, age stratification systems, variations of timing of family and other life events by gender, life course transitions, the effects of aging on social power and health, and how gender and life course interact with/are reinforced by social policy. Building in diversity of class and race/ ethnicity in examining variations, the course will employ readings and examples from the major life stages of childhood, adolescence, adulthood and later life.

Course Requirements and Expectations

1. Readings Students will be expected to attend class regularly and participate in discussions. Readings should be completed by class time each week. This syllabus covers required readings for the course. All students must read the items without an asterisk, and additional readings for graduate students are indicated with a . Students will be held responsible for all assigned readings at exam time, unless otherwise specified. Since complete texts on this topic are difficult to find, some of the material is on reserve at the library. Readings for graduate students only are indicated with a **.

2. Weekly Questions/Reactions: Each week at the start of class for which readings were assigned, students will turn in two questions or reactions/comments based on the central issues in the assigned readings. Often there are multiple readings and questions should reflect two different readings. Questions should be of sufficient scope to write a substantial essay on an exam and comments/reactions should raise an important issue or problem that you encountered while reading the piece. Either should focus on the basic issues addressed in the reading. Questions may be used for subsequent exams or to provide feedback on issues which are problematic in the assigned readings. They may be hand written, if legible, with the student's name and the reading from which the question/comment is derived indicated. Skipping this weekly assignment for one of 11 weeks with reading assignments (after week 1) is automatically excused, but skipping 3 or more weeks will result in deductions to the course participation portion of the grade.

3. Class Participation: Both assigned readings and attention to lectures are necessary for comprehending the material and good class performance, since not all material in the readings will be discussed in lectures, and vice versa. Students are expected to attend the entire class each week and participate in class discussions, unless there is some valid reason not to, such as illness or family emergency. Regular absences from class will hurt performance not just in participation, but also hurt performance on examinations and potentially the paper. The participation score (10%, 33 points total) will consist of attendance, turning in the weekly questions/comments on readings, and participating in group discussions.

Missing class is also discouraged, since we meet only once a week. Students who must miss class should get notes from a fellow student and be sure to check for any updates on assignments or class schedule. Make an effort to identify two or three individuals with whom you may exchange this information, study in preparation for examinations, etc.

Name:_____________________________ Phone:________________ E-Mail: _____________

Name:_____________________________ Phone:________________ E-Mail:_____________

4. Paper - All students must complete a course paper, which counts 30% of the grade. Students must propose a paper topic/theme relevant to the course content in writing on September 22, 1997. Outlines and preliminary bibliographies are due to me on November 10, 1997 and final papers are due to me December 1, 1997 at the beginning of class. Papers appearing any later will face deductions of 5 points per day (based on 100 possible points). Further instructions will be handed out and further discussion of this assignment will take place in class. Grading standards and expectations will be more stringent for graduate students.

5. Examinations. Two exams will be given. Each will count 30% of the final grade and cover primarily the material in their respective halves of the course (some overlap is unavoidable). Since the course may be taken for undergraduate or graduate credit, exams differ for the two groups. Each exam has an objective question section, comprising approximately half of the score, and an essay section accounting for the remaining half. Prior to the exam, students will be given a study guide for the objective section and a set of essay questions, from which the essays used for the exam will be selected. Since the students have the essays before the exam, it is expected that the answers will be well-organized and thought out by the time they are written.

Students are expected to take the exam on the date scheduled, unless there is a compelling reason not to do so, such as hospitalization or serious illness (not just sniffles). Anyone who must miss the exam MUST contact the professor on or before the day of the exam (via phone or e-mail) describing the reason and how they can be reached to schedule a makeup exam. Most makeup exams will be scheduled within a week of the original date, and the professor reserves the right to modify the exam format or content in a makeup. Failure to appear for a scheduled makeup exam results in a score of 0.

6. Grading Student grades will be based on a numeric total of their scores on the graded assignments. Students who are borderline may have grade trend over the semester taken into consideration. Occasionally the scale below will be adjusted, but normally grading will be as follows:

POINTS: RANGES:

Exam 1 100pts 30% 300-333 = A

Paper 100pts 30% 266-299 = B

Exam 2 100pts 30% 233-265 = C

Participation 33 pts 10% 200-232 = D

333pts 100%

No extra credit work will be available. If you perform less well than you expect on the first exam or are having trouble with any assignments, please see me as soon as possible so that we can discuss strategies and options. Incompletes will only be given in very unusual circumstances and following consultation with the instructor (i.e., failure to complete a graded requirement does not result in an automatic incomplete, but rather in a zero for the requirement). University policies regarding academic misconduct and sexual harassment are understood to be in force for this course. A climate of respect for all persons and groups is expected in the classroom and in written work.

Good Luck--Here We Go!!

Weekly Topical Outline with Readings

Week 1 (September 8) INTRODUCTION: CONCEPTS IN AGING AND THE LIFE COURSE

Readings:

Ginn, Jay and Sara Arber "Only Connect: Gender Relations and Ageing." Chapter 1 in Arber & Ginn text. ** Undergraduates skip Pp 2-5, graduate students read entire chapter.

Moen, Phyllis. 1996. "Gender Age, and the Life Course." Pp 171-180 in Binstock and George (Eds) Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences. San Diego: Academic Press.

Morgan, Leslie A. "Special Concerns in Studying Aging." Pgs 1-8 from Aging in Social Context (forthcoming) Pine Forge Press.

Bell, Inge Powell. "The Double Standard: Age" Pp 256-263 in Freeman, Jo. Women: A Feminist Perspective. 1984 Palo Alto, CA: Mayfield.

Week 2 (September 15). GENDER AS A SOCIAL/CULTURAL CONSTRUCT

Assignments Due: Weekly questions/comments

Readings:

Lorber, Judith "The Social Construction of Gender." Pp 83-89 in D. Kendall (Ed) Race, Class and Gender in a Diverse Society. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Ingrish, Doris Pp 42-55 in Arber & Ginn Text

Nanda, Serena. "Neither Man Nor Woman: The Hijras of India." Pp 198-201..From: Brettell, Caroline B. And Carolyn F. Sargent Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective. 1997.

Callaway, Barbara J. "Hausa Socialization." Pp 133-137..From: Brettell, Caroline B. And Carolyn F. Sargent Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective. 1997.

**Gilligan, Carol "Woman's Place in Man's Life Cycle." Pp 31-42.From: Laurel Richardson and Verta Taylor Feminist Frontiers 1989. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Week 3 (September 22): THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF LIFE COURSE STAGES

Assignments Due: Weekly questions/comments

Paper Topic

Readings:

Bury, Mike "The Theory of the Third Age" Pgs 21-24 in Arber & Ginn Text.

** Graduate students read entire Bury article (Pgs 15-29).

Wilson, Gail "I'm the Eyes and She's the Arms: Changes in Gender Roles in Advanced Old Age." Pp 98-113 in Arber & Ginn Text.

Herdt, Gilbert H. "Rituals of Manhood: Male Initiation in Papua New Guinea." Pp 129-133..From: Brettell, Caroline B. And Carolyn F. Sargent Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective. 1997.

Week 4 (September 29) DEMOGRAPHIC BASES OF GENDER & THE LIFE COURSE

Assignments Due: Weekly questions/comments

Readings:

Guttentag & Secord 1983 "Introduction: The Sex Ratio Question." Pp 13-33 in Too Many Women. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Hess, Beth B. 1992. "Gender and Aging: The Demographic Parameters." Pp 15-24 in L. Glasse and J. Hendricks Gender & Aging. Amityville, NY: Baywood.

Uhlenberg, Peter and Sonia Miner "Life Course and Aging: A Cohort Perspective." Pp 208-228 in Binstock, Robert H. And Linda K. George (Eds) Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences. San Diego: Academic Press. **Undergraduates read sections I, II and IV, Graduate students read entire.

Week 5: (October 6): BIOLOGICAL DETERMINISM AND THE LIFE COURSE

Assignments Due: Weekly questions/comments

Readings:

Lorber, Judith 1997. "Believing is Seeing: Biology as Ideology" Pp 13-22 in Maxine Baca Zinn, Pierette Hondagneu-Sotelo and Michael A. Messner Through the Prism of Difference: Readings on Sex and Gender. Boston: Allyn and Bacon

Fausto-Sterling, Anne "Hormonal Hurricanes" Menstruation, Menopause and Female Behavior." Pp 291-306 in Richardson, Laurel and Verta Taylor Feminist Frontiers. 1989. New York: McGraw Hill.

**Chodorow, Nancy "Family Structure and Feminine Personality." Pp 43-58.From: Laurel Richardson and Verta Taylor Feminist Frontiers 1989. New York: McGraw-Hill

Week 6 (October 13):AGE STRATIFICATION: MACRO VIEW OF COHORT FLOW

Assignments Due: Weekly questions/comments

Readings:

Riley, Matilda W. and John W. Riley "Age Integration and the Lives of Older People." Pp 31-41 in Quadagno, J. And D. Street Aging for the Twenty-First Century.. New York: St. Martin's Press.

Settersten & Hagestad 1996. "What's the Latest? Cultural Age Deadlines for Family Transitions." The Gerontologist 36(2): 178-188.

** O'Rand, Angela "Cumulative Stratification of the Life Course." In Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences Binstock & George. 1996

Week 7 (October 20) FIRST EXAMINATION (Usual time & place)

Week 8 (October 27):CLASS/RACIAL/ETHNIC VARIATIONS IN THE LIFE COURSE

Assignments Due: Weekly questions/comments

Readings:

"Introduction: Different Worlds in Aging: Gender, Race and Class" Pp xvii-xxx. From: Stoller and Gibson Worlds of Difference Pine Forge 1997.

Lorde, Audre 1992. "Age, Race, Class and Sex: Women Redefining Difference." Pp 495-502 in M.L. Anderson and P.Hill Collins (Eds) Race, Class and Gender: An Anthology. Wadsworth.

Gibson, Rose C. "The Black American Retirement Experience." Pp 309-326 in Quadagno and Street (Eds) Aging for the 21st Century. New York: St. Martin's Press.

Week 9 (November 3) ECONOMY, PRODUCTIVITY AND THE LIFE COURSE

Assignments Due: Weekly questions/comments

Readings:

Bernard et al. "Gendered Work, Gendered Retirement." Pp 56-68 in Arber & Ginn Text.

Arber & Ginn "Choice and Constraint in the Retirement of Older, Married Women" Pp 69-74 in Arber & Ginn Text. ** Graduate students read entire article

Stone, Robyn I. "The Feminization of Poverty among the Elderly." Pp 201-214.From: Margaret L. Andersen and Patricia Hill Collins Race, Class and Gender: An Anthology. 1992. Wadsworth.

Week 10 (November 10):GENDER AND THE PRIVATE WORLD OF FAMILY

Assignments Due: Weekly questions/comments

Outline and Bibliography for Paper

Readings:

Ashkam, Janet "The Married Lives of Older People" Pp 87-97 in Arber & Ginn Textbook.

Hareven, Tamara 1995 "Family and Generational Relations in the Later Years: A Historical Perspective." Pp 7-21 in L. Burton (Ed) Families and Aging. Amityville, NY: Baywood.

di Leonardo, Micaela "The Female World of Cards and Holidays: Women, Families, and the Work of Kinship." Pp 340-350..From: Brettell, Caroline B. And Carolyn F. Sargent (Eds) Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective. 1997.

Bengtson, Vern L., Carolyn Rosenthal and Linda Burton. 1996. "Paradoxes of Families and Aging." Pp 253-282 in Binstock and George (Eds) Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences San Diego: Academic Press. **Undergraduates read sections I and IV, graduate students read entire chapter.

Week 11: Individual Appointments to Discuss Progress on Papers

Week 12 (November 24) AGING, GENDER AND HEALTH

Assignments Due: Weekly questions/comments

Readings:

Verbrugge, L.M. 1985 "Gender and Health: An Update on Hypotheses and Evidence" Journal of Health and Social Behavior 26:156-182.

Martin Matthews, Anne and Lori D. Campbell "Gender Roles, Employment and Informal Care." Pp 128-143 in Arber & Ginn Text.

Markson, Elizabeth W. "Physiological Changes, Illness, and Health Care Use in Later Life." Pp 173-186 in Hess & Markson (Eds) Growing Old in America. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.

Week 13 (December 1): SPECIFIC LIFE STAGES: GENDER DIFFERENCES

Assignments Due: Weekly questions/comments

Readings:

Scott, Anne and G. Clare Wenger "Gender and Social Support Networks in Later Life." Pp. 158-172 in Arber & Ginn textbook.

Markson, E. and Gognalons-Nicholet, M. "Midlife Crisis or Nodal Point? Some Cross-Cultural Views." Pp 55-65 in Hess & Markson (Eds) Growing Old in America. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.

Barrie Thorne "Girls and Boys Together....But Mostly Apart: Gender Arrangements in Elementary Schools." Pp 73-84 From: Laurel Richardson and Verta Taylor Feminist Frontiers 1989. New York: McGraw-Hill

**Gibson, Diane 1996. "Broken Down by Age and Gender: 'The Problem of Old Women' Revisited." Gender & Society 10(4):433-448.

Week 14 (December 8):GENDER, POWER, AND POLICY OVER THE LIFE COURSE

Assignments Due: Weekly questions/comments

Readings:

Arber & Ginn "Connecting Gender and Ageing: A New Beginning?" Pp 173-179 in Arber & Ginn textbook.

Kautzer, Kathleen "Growing Numbers, Growing Force: Older Women Organize." Pp 456-462.From: Margaret L. Andersen and Patricia Hill Collins Race, Class and Gender: An Anthology. 1992. Wadsworth.

Quadagno, Jill. "Generational Equity and the Politics of the Welfare State." Pp 398-418 in Quadagno, J. and D. Street Aging in the Twenty-First Century. New York: St. Martin's Press.

Meyer, Madonna Harrington. "Family Status and Poverty among Older Women: The Gendered Distribution of Retirement Income in the United States." Pp 464-479 in Quadagno & Street Aging in the Twenty-First Century. New York: St. Martin's Press.

December 15, 1997 (3:30-5:30): SECOND EXAMINATION

(Contact the instructor well in advance if you have an exam time conflict)