1:25-3:20P     W     BH335

A portion of the above section reserved for majors
Above section COAS intensive writing section and also
requires registration in COAS W333

The purpose of this course is to examine the concept of gender as a
category of social analysis in Latin American history.  This class
will explore how gender has been socially constructed and how it has
served to establish unequal power relations at specific times and
places.  Through different theoretical explanations and perspectives,
we will analyze the ways in which the study of gender has enriched our
understanding of law, politics, economy, ideology, sexuality, gender
relations, colonialism, mobilization, and resistance at macro levels
within our society, and at more personal levels as individuals.  These
abstractions will be made more tangible through the analysis of the
concrete experiences of men and women as seen in testimonies,
pictures, cartoons, films and scholarly essays throughout this course.
We will learn how women and men deal with conflict and negotiate the
contradictions in their daily lives created by gender-based social
norms, and how little by little, through their actions, they transform
their societies and themselves.  Hence, we will study both women and
men as agents of history.

As a writing-intensive course, this class will help students to
develop research and writing skills.  Most of this practice will be
centered on the production of an interpretative paper based on primary
sources printed in English.  Students must hand-in eight
well-organized essays discussing the main argument(s) of a number of
readings during the semester.  Moreover, students will share and
discuss their works through oral presentations.