Gender and Gender Relations in the Americas 4219-AW230

The course aims to analyze gender and gender relations across both Americas, exploring how gender roles and identities are constructed, challenged, and redefined within historical, political, and cultural frameworks. Students will critically examine how colonialism, nationalism, race, and class intersect with gender across various regions. Using interdisciplinary sources and regional case studies, the course promotes comparative thinking and cross-cultural awareness. Classes will be organized into thematic blocs as follows:
Bloc I: Introduction to Gender Studies in the Americas
• Introduction to the course: key concepts – sex, gender, gender identity, cisnormativity, and non-binarity.
• Theoretical perspectives: feminism(s), queer theory, decolonial approaches, intersectionality.
• Gender as social and cultural construct across the Americas – historical legacies and contemporary implications.
Bloc II: Gender in Institutions and Everyday Life
• Family structures and gender roles: from patriarchal models to inclusive parenting in North, Central, and South America.
• Gender and the labor market: feminization of work, informal labor, and gender pay gaps.
• Education and the reproduction of gender norms: school curricula, access, and hidden biases.
Bloc III: Gender, Culture, and Media
• Representations of gender in media and popular culture: stereotypes, resistance, and emerging narratives.
• Body, sexuality, and gender norms: beauty standards, reproductive rights, and queer visibility.
• Gender-based violence: femicide, structural violence, and media framing across the Americas.
Bloc V: Contemporary Issues and New Directions
• Masculinities in transition: traditional norms vs. emerging masculinities in urban and rural contexts.
• Gender in the age of globalization and digital technologies: online activism, digital gender performance, and virtual bodies.
Each bloc will combine lectures, group discussions, and case studies focused on specific countries or communities, encouraging students to recognize both shared patterns and regional particularities in the dynamics of gender.