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Fall 2026 Syllabus
Course Meeting Times
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Instructor
Christopher Bryant, Ph.D.
Email: ccbryant02@ysu.edu
Course Description
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Course Readings
| Group | Title | Author | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Required | Gendered Voices Feminist Visions: Classic and Contemporary Readings, Eighth Edition | Susan M. Shaw and Janet Lee | 10. 019092487X |
| Optional | Is Everyone Really Equal? (Chapter 1) | Sensoy, Özlem, and Robin DiAngelo | |
| Optional | Everyday Bias. (Chapter 1) | Ross, Howard | |
| Optional | Gender: A Graphic Guide | Barker, Meg-John, and Julia Scheele | |
| Optional | Queer: A Graphic History | Barker, Meg-John, and Julia Scheele | |
| Optional | Introducing the New Sexuality Studies, 2nd Edition | Seidman, Steven and Fischer, Nancy | 0415781264 |
| Optional | Intersectionality | Crenshaw, Kimberlé | |
| Optional | Understanding Patriarchy | hooks, bell | |
| Optional | Transgender, Transsexual, and Gender Variant Individuals | Galupo, Stuart, and Siegel | |
| Optional | Gender, Pronouns, and Thought. | Everett | |
| Optional | Women and Body Hair: Social Perceptions and Attitudes. | Basow and Braman | |
| Optional | Human Nature: On Fat Sexual Identity and Agency | Pause | |
| Optional | The Human Rights of Intersex People: Addressing Harmful Practices and Rhetoric of Change | Carper | |
| Optional | Are We Having Sex Now or What? | Christina | |
| Optional | This Practice from BDSM Should Be Part of Everyone’s Sex Lives—No Matter How You Play! | Brown-James | |
| Optional | Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Polyamory & Poly Relationship Styles | Brown-James | |
| Optional | Why We Love | Fisher, Helen | |
| Optional | Anatomy of Love: A Natural History of Mating, Marriage, and Why We Stray | Fisher, Helen | |
| Optional | A Cross-Cultural Perspective on Romantic Love | Jankowiak and Fisher | |
| Optional | Demographic Trends in the United States: A Review of Research in the 2000s. | Cherlin, Andrew | |
| Public and Private Families | Cherlin, Andrew | ||
| Optional | Exiles from Kinship | Weston | |
| Optional | Gender and Sexual Politics: American Gay Rights and Feminist Movements | Murphy | |
| Optional | The U.S. Supreme Court and the Politics of Gay and Lesbian Rights | Maddox |
The course readings are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances, research developments, current events, and/or to ensure better learning.
Assignments/Assessments
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Schedule of Topics and Assignments
| Week of | Reading(s) | Proposed Topic | Due/To Prepare for Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8/24 | Chapter 1 — Women’s and Gender Studies: Perspectives and Practices | Course Introduction What Is Women’s & Gender Studies? |
Discussion Post #1: Welcome & Introductions Syllabus Quiz |
| 8/31 | Avoiding Plagiarism and Self-Plagiarism Guide Purdue OWL resources Sensoy and DiAngelo, Is Everyone Equal? Chapter 1 Ross, Everyday Bias Chapter 1 |
Academic Discourse & Inquiry | Discussion Post #2: Building an Academic Conversation Online Assignment #1: Source Check |
| 9/7 | Chapter 3 — Learning Gender Seidman & Fischer, Introducing the New Sexuality Studies — Theoretical Perspectives |
Constructing Gender & Sexuality | Discussion Post #3: Learning and “Doing” Gender Online Assignment #2: Media Check-In |
| 9/14 | Chapter 2 — Systems of Privilege and Inequality Crenshaw — Intersectionality bell hooks — Understanding Patriarchy |
Theoretical Perspectives: Systems of Privilege & Inequality | Discussion Post #4: Seeing Intersectionality Online Assignment #3: The Mythical Norm & Social Institutions |
| 9/21 | Chapter 3 — Learning Gender | Masculinity, Femininity & Gender Roles | Discussion Post #5: The Rules of Masculinity & Femininity Critical Reflection Portfolio 1 |
| 9/28 | Chapter 3 — Learning Gender Galupo, Stuart, & Siegel — Transgender, Transsexual, and Gender Variant Individuals Everett — Gender, Pronouns, and Thought |
Beyond the Binary: Gender Diversity & Trans Experiences | Discussion Post #6: Beyond the Binary Online Assignment #4: Trans Visibility Profile |
| 10/5 | Chapter 4 — Inscribing Gender on the Body Basow & Braman — Women and Body Hair: Social Perceptions and Attitudes Pause — Human Nature: On Fat Sexual Identity and Agency Carper — The Human Rights of Intersex People |
Social Construction of Bodies | Discussion Post #7: Who Defines a “Normal” Body? Online Assignment #5: Body Norms in Everyday Life |
| 10/12 | Chapter 5 — Media and Culture | Representation, Media & Popular Culture | Post #8: Popular Culture & Media Representation Online Assignment #6: Representation Reimagined |
| 10/19 | Chapter 6 — Sex, Power, and Intimacy Christina — Are We Having Sex Now or What? |
Sexuality & Intimacy | Discussion Post #9: Who Defines Sex? Critical Reflection Portfolio 2 |
| 10/26 | Chapter 6 — Sex, Power, and Intimacy Brown-James — This Practice from BDSM Should Be Part of Everyone’s Sex Lives—No Matter How You Play! Brown-James — Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Polyamory & Poly Relationship Styles Listen: All My Relations — “Decolonizing Sex” |
Exploring Monogamy, Non-Monogamy & Relationship Diversity | Discussion Post #10: What Makes a Relationship “Legitimate”? nline Assignment #7: Decolonizing Sex & Relationship Diversity |
| 11/2 | Fisher, Anatomy of Love, Chapter 9 Fisher, Why We Love, Chapter 3 Watch: Dawn Maslar — How Your Brain Falls in Love |
The Experience of Love: Attachment & Neurobiology | Discussion Post #11: What Shapes Love? Online Assignment #8: Love & Neuroscience |
| 11/9 | Chapter 8 — Family Systems, Family Lives Cherlin — Demographic Trends in the United States Weston — Exiles from Kinship, pp. 21–41 |
Families, Relationships & Care Across the Lifespan | Discussion Post #12: What Counts as Family? Draft Feminist Cultural Analysis Project: Analysis |
| 11/16 | Chapter 11 — State, Law, and Social Policy Murphy — Gender and Sexual Politics Maddox — The U.S. Supreme Court and the Politics of Gay and Lesbian Rights |
Gender, Law & Public Policy | Discussion Post #13: The History & Politics of Marriage Online Assignment #9: Reproductive Politics Check-In |
| 11/23 | Chapter 12 — Religion and Spirituality | Gender, Religion & Culture: Institutions, Identity & Global Perspectives | Discussion Post #14: Religion — Constraint, Empowerment, or Both? Online Assignment #10: Gender Across Contexts |
| 11/30 | Chapter 13 — Activism, Change, and Feminist Futures | Where Do We Go From Here? Feminism, Gender & the Future | Discussion Post #15: Imagining Gender Futures Critical Reflection Portfolio 3 |
| 12/7 | Final Course Application | Final Feminist Cultural Analysis Project |
The course schedule, policies, procedures, and assignments in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances, by mutual agreement, and/or to ensure better learning.