Fall 2023 Syllabus / Class Policies
Online – Scheduled Meetings

Lecture
Mon & Wed 2-3:15pm

Mentored Inquiry: Lab/Studio
002 Mon 1-1:50
003 Mon 12-12:50
004 Wed 1-1:50

Instructor: Wynn Strange
Pronouns: they/them/theirs
Salutations: Instructor, Professor, Wynn
Email: wstrange@pdx.edu

Office Hours

By arrangement – email to schedule – evening and weekend time is available by zoom.

Course Introduction

This course is an introduction to the historical development and current issues within gender and sexuality studies. There are more topics and issues that fall under the category of gender and sexuality than we could ever cover in a single term; we are only scratching the surface as an introduction to the topic. We will explore gender and sexualities through lived experiences, analyzing social constructions, and interrogating our social institutions. To give a sense for the breadth of the course content we will explore gender as an accomplished performance, the ungendering of populations, masculinities, transnational marriage, what it means to be queer, (a)sexuality, transgender experiences, embodiment, emotion, cultural clashes, controlling images, reproductive justice, disability, and intersex experiences.

I have chosen to center populations historically marginalized in social life and in the academy, with the incorporation of intersectional identities and voices from the global south throughout. This includes LGBTQ+, Black, Latinx, Asian, and disabled people. While we may not have readings on all intersectionally marginalized populations we will include additional examples in our discussions. Within social justice contexts, the intention of centering multiply marginalized populations and considering implications for bettering their lives, is that there would be a trickle-up effect, improving the lives of everyone.

Student Learning Outcomes

By the end of the semester, students who regularly attend class and thoughtfully complete all assignments should be able to achieve the following learning outcomes for the Gender and Sexualities Studies cluster:

G&S SINQ LEARNING OBJECTIVES	UNST OBJECTIVES
Acquire knowledge of sexuality and gender studies, including some of the theoretical frameworks (such as feminist theory, critical race theory, queer theory, and decolonial studies) that shape knowledge in these areas of study.	– Critical Thinking and Inquiry – Ethics, Agency, and Community – Diversity, Equity and Social Justice
Critically examine the constructs of gender, race, class, sexuality, religion, ability, and nation and their intersecting relationships, both past and present.	– Critical Thinking and Inquiry – Diversity, Equity and Social Justice
Explore and contextualize the meaning of social identities historically, politically, and personally.	– Critical Thinking and Inquiry – Diversity, Equity and Social Justice  – Ethics, Agency, and Community
Apply these ideas to our political practices, intellectual endeavors, and personal communities.	– Critical Thinking and Inquiry – Ethics, Agency, and Community – Communication
Create a collaborative and mutually beneficial learning environment.	– Ethics, Agency, and Community – Diversity, Equity and Social Justice – Communication
Acquire critical thinking skills through a variety of both written and verbal practices.	– Critical Thinking and Inquiry – Communication

Schedule, Assignments, & Grades

See the Course Schedule document for details on what materials you should read, watch, or listen to before class and the grade breakdown. See individual assignment handouts for detailed instructions on assignments.

Pedagogy Statement

You each come to this class with varied experiences and at different times in your lives. Education and growth does not occur at the same rate or along the same path for everyone. Who is in your lives, where you come from, what is happening around you, where you live, and how you live – all the things that make up your histories and biographies are varied and influence your education and growth throughout life. And, you all have immense potential, if given the support and opportunities to continue to grow. I have set up this course purposefully, to be flexible and participatory and to encourage engagement that recognizes your existing knowledge with hope that you will have an opportunity to grow that knowledge.

Everyone has ways they learn best, that might be talking, listening, reading, watching, writing, and alone, one-on-one, in small groups, or in a class. It can take you some time before you know what works best for you, I encourage you to reflect on what has worked best for you in the past, and engage with this class in a way that works for you, and to find ways to challenge yourself. If you’re not sure what learning styles are optimal for you, try multiple ways of engaging until you find what works well for you!

I am here for each of you, you are not bothering me if you have a question or if you’re struggling and need to communicate more frequently.

The combinations of the theories, beliefs, assumptions, and approaches I take in teaching are my pedagogy. My pedagogy statement here is meant to communicate to you the way I approach teaching this class. This I believe is an important part of creating a space for dialogue. I approach teaching as facilitating education, learning, and growth; I am not transmitting knowledge to you as if you are passive absorbers of facts. Knowledge is not something that a teacher owns that is gifted to students. Education and the growth of knowledge is a process, and knowledge is created and re-created by us all. I ask that you bring to this class curiosity and empathy. My hope for each of us is that we will be challenged, that we will wrestle with ideas, and that we will ask more sophisticated questions by the end of the class.

“Knowledge emerges only through invention and re-invention, through the restless, impatient, continuing, hopeful inquiry human beings pursue in the world, with the world, and with each other.”

Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed

“I don’t need you to have answers at the end of this class, I want you to have more sophisticated questions, and a desire to learn even more about what you don’t know.”

Chris Andersen

Course Caveats & Ground Rules

(Adapted from the American Society of Criminology’s Division of Critical Criminology and Social Justice’s Sociology of Hate Model Syllabus)

This course is designed to engage in a critical analysis of gender and sexualities; the oppressions, struggles, and inequalities along with resilience, hope, and joy. The materials in this course will challenge deeply held and normative social beliefs. Please keep in mind that they are the product of rigorous scholarly research, peer review, and acceptance. In the spirit of scholarly discourse, critique of the reading and viewing material in this course should be based on similarly reputable scholarship. This standard will foster a collegial debate, mutual learning, and respect in the classroom.

Some of the materials we engage may include extreme, foul and bigoted, sexually explicit, and potentially violent discussions. I will do my best to give content warnings with individual materials. There may also be explicit references to these things in class, when necessary to illustrate a point. The subject matter of this course is likely to create an emotional response in most students who engage with the course material at some point. It is my goal as an instructor to facilitate dialogue around issues of gender and sexuality discrimination and violence and other experiences. I encourage students to be open and honest about such reactions and to explore tools to understand the roots of their feelings and to process these feelings, including meeting with me individually. Any examples or discussions of troubling experiences will be made appropriate for the class, and will only ever be used as examples of things that have already happened. Any use of extreme, foul, bigoted, sexually explicit, or violent language that is egregious, otherwise unnecessary, not referring to a specific example for illustration, etc. will not be tolerated.

Ground Rules for Discussions

• While I encourage making connections to your other classes and your own experiences, discussion should first center the course materials. What do the readings and videos say about the topic(s)?
  • Opinions should include reputable supporting evidence.
  • Always have your book, readings, and notes in front of you.
• Take responsibility for the quality of the dialogue.
  • Be prepared to learn from each other as well as the instructor.
  • Listen actively and attentively.
  • Ask for clarification, additional explanation, or examples if you are confused or don’t know something. If you have a question, it is likely that others do too.
  • Build on one another’s comments; work toward shared understanding.
  • Do not monopolize discussion.
• Take responsibility for respecting each other and the people we discuss in class.
  • Critique ideas, not people.
  • Do not interrupt one another.
  • Avoid put-downs (even humorous/sarcastic ones).
  • If you are offended by anything said during discussion, acknowledge it.
• Be conscious of stereotypes. If you use personal experience when you speak, do so without generalizing, or do so by making explicit connections to course materials.
• Consider anything that is said in class strictly confidential.

Ground Rules for Class Meetings

• Arrive on time. Class will start on time and you may miss out on important announcements if you are late. If you are late, join with the least disruption possible. Check with your fellow students at the end of class if you missed announcements.
• Turn your cell phone off/on silent.
• When possible, leave your video on, turn your video off if you have to get up from your seat and turn it back on when you return. (please speak with the instructor if you have circumstances that make this a challenge)
  • You may set up zoom to blur your background or to put up a virtual background.
• Mute yourself when you are not speaking.
• Use laptops only for legitimate class activities (note-taking, assigned tasks).
• Do not leave class early without letting the instructor know in advance.
• Try not to distract your classmates.

If I feel that a student is being disruptive or disrespectful I reserve the right to ask the student to leave for the remainder of the class session. If a student is asked to leave, I will have a one-on-one meeting with that student to discuss the reason they were asked to leave and to determine a solution.

If a student feels uncomfortable in the classroom because of another student and I do not address the interaction in class, I ask the uncomfortable student to speak with me as soon as possible. While I am sensitive to a variety of circumstances that may cause discomfort, I cannot know all circumstances that may be challenging. I take all reports seriously, and will work with the student for a resolution.

Communications

I will make announcements about changes to readings and assignments in class, if you miss class you will have a harder time keeping up. Any significant changes to the class will also be emailed to the class. 

I will try my very best to respond to emails within 24 hours. Occasionally emails can be missed, buried, etc. because I’m only human. If you don’t hear back from me in 48 hours, send your email again to bump it to the top of my inbox.

If you send me an email please address me by my first name, Instructor, Professor, or other non-gendered salutations.

Due Dates

All readings, videos, and podcasts should be completed before class the day they are listed in the course calendar. We will discuss those materials on those days, to have your involvement in the discussion, you should complete the materials.

All assignments are due by the end of the day they are assigned.

Keep in mind, you do not necessarily need to read every single word in a given reading to learn something from it. It takes reading every word for some time before getting comfortable with knowing how to identify key terms and arguments. Though, many of us can read every word and still not get all the intended meaning out of something. Try to complete as much of the readings as possible, focusing on introductions and discussion/conclusion sections, and looking for specific examples and key terms if you are running short on time.  

Deadlines & Late work

In life we all have to abide by deadlines, and I understand you are all at varying stages of learning how to manage your schedules to meet competing deadlines. We are also continuing to live with the logistical, emotional, and psychological impact of covid.

With all that said, with the exception of the photovoice assignment and the final essay peer review, I will accept late work. I urge you to adhere to all course deadlines when possible. I ask that if you are going to turn in something late, that you turn it in within 2 weeks of its deadline.

One of the reasons following the deadlines is helpful is so that your work, and my work in reading and responding to your assignments, is more evenly spread out and thus more manageable. Sticking to the schedule also helps ensure you get the most out of this class. The two assignments noted are those that involve others in the course, and thus are important deadlines to keep.

If you struggle to stick to the schedule, let me know as early in the term as possible.  

Accommodations

Students with disabilities who may require accommodations are encouraged to contact the PSU Disabilities Resource Center (DRC) and the instructor at the beginning of the term to arrange accommodations. The DRC will provide all services remotely and ask that you engage with them via phone, email, or Virtual Front Desk unless you are unable to do so and require an in-person visit. We appreciate your consideration of immunocompromised and chronically ill students, staff, and community members. Please call our office at 503-725-4150 or email us at drc@pdx.edu. You can visit the DRC website at http://www.pdx.edu/drc

Disabilities that may require accommodations include: ADD or ADHD; Allergies; Autism Spectrum; Cerebral Palsy; Chronic Medical; Cognitive Disorder; Diabetes; Head Injury; Hearing Impairment; Learning Disability; Orthopedic/Physical; Psychological; Seizures; Speech; Temporary Medical; Visual Impairment; and Other Disabilities.

I encourage students with any of the above disabilities or other disabilities who are not already registered to explore the DRC website, as you may find that your education experience can be made more enriching through available accommodations: https://www.pdx.edu/disability-resource-center/accommodations

Academic honesty

I come to this class expecting that you are here to learn, and that you want to learn. I understand that there are times that it seems like shortcuts are worth taking, but you will shortchange yourself if you cheat or plagiarize. If you are struggling, please speak with me so that we can make a plan to get you support or to manage your work. You are expected to be academically honest. Your assignments in this class must be your original work. You can refer to the Student Conduct Code for more information on PSU policies. Plagiarized work will result in failing the assignment, and may be reported to the university.  

What is plagiarism?

If you use a direct quote (i.e. someone else’s words), you must include it in quotation marks and cite the source, including author(s) name(s), the date of publication, and the page number. If you summarize or paraphrase an idea from another person, you must cite the source, including author(s) name(s) and the date of publication. Failure to cite your sources, whether intentional or not, is plagiarism.

We need to give credit where credit is due! Being able to synthesize your words with the words of others to make an argument, and being able to point to the original author are key skills to develop.

Course Calendar

This is where you can follow our readings and upcoming assignments. These will likely change throughout the term, so make sure you have the most recent course calendar!

Week	Date	Materials – All materials are on Canvas   (All materials should be read, watched, or listened to before we meet the week they are listed. We will refer to the materials during class.)	Assignments due	Planned activities
Week 1	9/25	No class meeting!
	9/27	Syllabus Berkeley professor explains gender theory | Judith Butler https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD9IOllUR4k Gender identity: ‘How colonialism killed my culture’s gender fluidity’ – BBC World Service https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqEgsHGiK-s The Dangers of Western Feminism to African Women | Elma Akob | TEDxUniversityofPretoria https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EbiVAfoGmo Why “Third-World” Feminism Matters | Barani Maung Maung | TEDxOccidentalCollege https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAKRh0KU4vg Kimberlé Crenshaw Discusses ‘Intersectional Feminism’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROwquxC_Gxc		Introductions & course overview   Start exploring the basics
Week 2	10/2	Connell. (2010). Doing, Undoing, or Redoing Gender? Learning from the Workplace Experiences of Transpeople. (22 pages)	Pre-flection	Focus on gender as a performance
	10/4	Butler. (1988). Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory. (13 pages)	Journal reflections
Week 3	10/9	Snorton. (2017). Anatomically Speaking: Ungendered Flesh and the Science of Sex. From Black on Both Sides. (33 pages)	Submit your final project plan	Intersectional understanding of the ungendering of Black populations
	10/11	Bailey & Mobley. (2019). Work in the Intersections: A Black Feminist Disability Framework. (17 pages) Why I must come out | Geena Rocero https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCZCok_u37w	Journal reflections
Week 4	10/16	Davis, Dewey, & Murphy. (2016). Giving sex: Deconstructing Intersex and Trans Medicalization Practices. (20 pages) Adamson. (2023). María Lugones, Sylvia Wynter, and Intersex Liberation. (8 pages)	Submit your final project background research results and revised interview plan	Intersex violences and liberation
	10/18	Cuthbert. (2019). “When we talk about gender we talk about sex”: (A)sexuality and (A)gendered Subjectivities. (19 pages)	Journal reflections
Week 5	10/23	Bridges. (2014). A Very “Gay” Straight? Hybrid Masculinities, Sexual Aesthetics, and the Changing Relationship between Masculinity and Homophobia. (22 pages) The Mask You Live In. (documentary)	Photovoice slides with reflective summaries	Present photovoice assignments   Exploring domestic and global masculinities
	10/25	Jake Skeets. (2018). Drunktown. (1 page) https://poets.org/poem/drunktown Kim. (2014). South Korean Rural Husbands, Compensatory Masculinity, and International Marriage. (25 pages)	Journal reflections	Present photovoice assignments
Week 6	10/30	Munoz. (2009). Queerness as Horizon: Utopian Hermeneutics in the Face of Gay Pragmatism. (14 pages) Lorde. (1983). The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House. (3 pages) The Fight to Reform LGBTQ Incarceration w Dominique Morgan of Black & Pink National & Latrice Royale https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCXn7XxGKTo Incarcerated LGBTQ Americans find little to no support system upon release https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSDtoFI31bo	Submit final project initial analysis from your interview	Queer theory – the past, present, and future
	11/1	Santana. (2019). Mais Viva! Reassembling Transness, Blackness, and Feminism. (10 pages) (2006). 2 Spirits: Native Lesbians and Gay Men by Osa Hidalgo de la Riva for Royal Eagle-Bear Productions. https://archive.org/details/ddtv_124_2_spirits_native_lesbians_and_gay_men Alok. (2020). Our Precarious Joy. (1 page) https://www.alokvmenon.com/blog/2020/1/17/our-precarious-joy My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness (2017) OR Genderqueer (2019) (Graphic novels)	Journal reflections
Week 7	11/6	Lagos. (2019). Hearing Gender: Voice-based Gender Classification Processes and Transgender Health Inequality. (18 pages)	Submit outline for final project including which references you are considering	Embodiment and emotion in gender and sexuality experiences
	11/8	Wingfield. (2010). Are Some Emotions Marked ‘Whites Only’? Racialized Feeling Rules in Professional Workplaces. (17 pages) Maya Angelou. I know why the caged bird sings. (1 page) https://mypoeticside.com/show-classic-poem-1193	Journal reflections
Week 8	11/13	Anzaldua, G. (1987) Ch 2 Movimientos de rebeldia y las culturas que traicionan from la frontera/Borderlands (9 pages) Anzaldua, G. (1987) Ch 7 La conciencia de la mestiza from la frontera/Borderlands (15 pages)		Watch Hollywood Shuffle   The double consciousness of race, gender, and sexuality
	11/15	Garcia, R. (2022). “We’re Not All Anti-Choices”: How Controlling Images Shape Latina/x Feminist Abortion Advocacy (17 pages)	Journal reflections
Week 9	11/20	Luna & Luker. (2013). Reproductive Justice. (17 pages) Sutton & Borland. (2018). Queering abortion rights: notes from Argentina. (11 pages)	Turn in final project draft for peer review	Reproductive justice as gender and sexuality justice
	11/22	Hammer. (2012). Blind Women’s Appearance Management: Negotiating Normalcy between Discipline and Pleasure. (20 pages) YouTube: Sexuality and Disability: Forging Identity in a World that Leaves You Out | Gaelynn Lea | TEDxYale https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akGYugciSVw&t=1s	Journal reflections	Disability and sexuality
Week 10	11/27	Egner. (2019). “The Disability Rights Community was Never Mine”: Neuroqueer Disidentification. (22 pages) Margarita With A Straw (film) https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x39qc8i	Turn in final project peer review comments	Disability and sexuality
	11/29	Liang. (2022). Playing with power: Kink, race, and desire. (18 pages) Paris is Burning. (documentary)	Journal reflections	Power
Final papers due: 12/8 Interview essay & Reflection statement

Individual Assignments

Given this is a writing-intensive course meant to prepare you for your future courses we have a lot of writing to do in this class! With that said, some of our writing is intended to be more casual and other writing more formal. Casual writing that collects your reflections on what we read in this course is an important practice of getting your thoughts down on paper without worrying about the structure and syntax, it is the first step in analysis. The formal writing assignments culminate into a final writing project. Writing is an iterative process, it does not come out perfectly at first. 

This is a short description of all the assignments. See Canvas for full instructions and details.

1. Pre-flection
   1. This assignment will offer us a sense first of all of where your writing skills are, and your background and existing knowledge on the subject of gender and sexualities.
2. Photovoice
   1. This assignment involves taking photos of what represents gender, sexuality, feminism, or related ideas, and going through a process of selecting a small number of photos to share and writing a concise statement on what the shared photos represent to you.
3. Journal reflections (x9)
   1. These are weekly casual reflections on the materials and discussions from the week. These should help guide your notes to be organized and able to select materials for reference in your final papers.
4. Final project 200
   1. There are multiple sub-sections of this assignment all meant to build on each other, culminating in a final essay that discusses an interview you will conduct. You will do research to provide context for your interview topic and analyze using this research and our course materials. See the assignment handout for additional information.
5. Reflection statement
   1. This paper will be shorter than the interview paper, and will fall somewhere between more casual and more formal writing. This will include reflection on the development of your writing skills and your knowledge on the subject of gender and sexualities.
6. Participation / Attendance
   1. You are expected to read, listen, or watch assigned materials and be prepared to discuss them. I will post discussion questions on Canvas for most readings that will inform our class discussion. I encourage you to take notes for each question as you do the readings, use these questions as a reading guide.
   1. You are expected to attend as many of the primary lecture courses and mentored inquiry sessions as possible, ideally all of them! I build in flexibility for my class and understand that there are a great many barriers to perfect attendance, and mandated attendance has a history of reproducing inequalities. The populations who are most likely to experience internal and external barriers to attendance are those who have been historically and systematically excluded from public spaces, including in academic spaces. However, by centering lived experience and dialogue in this class, being present is a necessary aspect of getting the most out of this class. There is more than just the information we are covering, we are learning from each other. We are practicing and developing our communication skills, and managing our emotions in a public setting, which includes expressing our needs and making space to listen to others needs to create a space that allows for mutual growth.
7. If you are experiencing challenges to participation or attendance, please communicate with me as early as possible so that we can work together for a resolution.

Grading

I will update grades throughout the term on Canvas.

Assignment	Points	%
Pre-flection	10	2.5
Participation / Attendance	90	22.5
Photovoice	30	7.5
Journal reflections (x9)	45	11.3
Final project Final project plan 5Final project background research 15Final project initial analysis 20Final project essay outline 20Final project peer review 30Final project peer review comments 10Final project 100	200	50
Reflection statement	25	6.3
Total	400	100

A note on grades for this class. While I will assign numeric grades for each step in the Final Project, you will have opportunities to make revisions and resubmit for a higher score and the overall final project grade will have more weight for your final grade than the individual steps.

This is a living document, that means that it may change! If there are changes, I will alert you all in class, via email and Canvas.