Sylabus
Week 1: Introduction to course (Syllabus overview, requirements, getting to know each other)
Week 2: ‘Men and Gender’ / Concept of Hegemonic Masculinity
Assigned readings:
Connell, R. W., & Messerschmitt, J. W. (2005). Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept. Gender and Society, 19(6), 829–859.
West, C., & Zimmerman, D. H. (1987). Doing Gender. Gender and Society, 1(2), 125–151.
Week 3: Men’s Studies in Europe
Assigned readings:
Christensen, A., & Jensen, S.Q. (2014). Combining hegemonic masculinity and intersectionality. NORMA: International Journal for Masculinity Studies, 9, 60 - 75.
Hearn, J., & Pringle, K. (2009). Violences. In European perspectives on Men and Masculinities: National and transnational approaches (pp. 149–169 ). essay, Palgrave Macmillan.
Week 4: Fatherhood and Masculinities
Assigned readings:
Kearney, J. (2000). Fatherhood and masculinities: A comparative study of the ideals and realities of fatherhood and masculinity in Britain and Sweden. Centre for Social Research and Practice.
Wall, G., & Arnold, S. (2007). How Involved Is Involved Fathering? An Exploration of the Contemporary Culture of Fatherhood. Gender and Society, 21(4), 508 –527.
Week 5: Militarized Masculinities
Assigned readings:
Kay, R. (2016). Military service: Rite of passage or waste of time? The Fallen Heroes of PostSoviet Change. Men in Contemporary Russia. , 57–82.
Sasson-Levy, O. (2011). Research on Gender and the Military in Israel: From a Gendered Organization to Inequality Regimes. Israel Studies Review, 26(2), 73–98.
Week 6: Masculinity and Sports
Assigned readings:
Adams, A. (2011). ‘Josh Wears Pink Cleats’: Inclusive Masculinity on the Soccer Field. Journal of Homosexuality, 58, 579 - 596.
Anderson, E. (2008). ‘I Used to Think Women Were Weak’: Orthodox Masculinity, Gender Segregation, and Sport. Sociological Forum, 23(2), 257–280.
Week 7: Gay Masculinities and Homophobia
Assigned readings:
Bucher, J. (2014). ‘But He Can't Be Gay’: The Relationship between Masculinity and Homophobia in Father-Son Relationships. The Journal of Men's Studies, 22, 222 - 237.
Connell, R.W. (1992). A very straight gay: Masculinity, homosexual experience, and the dynamics of gender. American Sociological Review, 57, 735–751.
Week 8: Transnational Masculinities and Migration
Assigned readings:
Koskela, K. (2019). Intersecting Experiences: Class, Gender, Ethnicity and Race in the Lives of Highly Skilled Migrants in Finland. Nordic Journal of Migration Research, 9, 311 - 328.
Wojnicka, K., & Nowicka, M. (2021). Understanding migrant masculinities through a spatially intersectional lens. Men and Masculinities.
Week 9: Racialized and Colonized Masculinities
Assigned readings:
Fanon, F. (1986). The Lived Experience of the Black Man’ . In Black Skin, white masks; (pp. 109–141). essay, Pluto Press.
Kimmel, M., Hearn, J., & Connell, R. (2005). Globalization, Imperialism, and Masculinities. In Handbook of Studies on Men & Masculinities (pp. 71–89). essay, SAGE.
Week 10: Gender, Masculinity and Sexuality in Post-Soviet Countries
Assigned readings:
Fiałkowska, K. (2018). Negotiating masculinities: Polish male migrants in the UK – insights from an intersectional perspective. NORMA, 14, 112 - 127.
Vanke, A. (2017). Masculinities, bodies and subjectivities: Working-class men negotiating Russia’s Post-Soviet Gender Order. Masculinity, Labour, and Neoliberalism, 195–218.
Week 11: Masculinities in Scandanivia
Assigned readings:
Hearn, J., Nordberg, M., Andersson, K., Balkmar, D., Gottzén, L., Klinth, R., Pringle, K., & Sandberg, L. (2012). Hegemonic Masculinity and Beyond: 40 years of Research in Sweden. Men and Masculinities, 15(1), 31–55.
Holter, Ø. G. (2016). Unraveling the maze: Gender equality and men's practices in Norway. In Men and masculinities around the world: Transforming men's practices (pp. 85–96). essay, Palgrave Macmillan.
Week 12: Masculinities in Middle East
Assigned readings:
De Sondy, A. (2011). Prophecy and masculinities: The case of the qur’anic Joseph. CrossCurrents, 61(4), 529–539.
Inhorn, M.C. (2012). The New Arab Man: Emergent Masculinities, Technologies, and Islam in the Middle East. Princeton University Press.
Anotace
The course explores the ways society constructs the meaning of masculinity within the context of different discourses and cultures. This course will seek to answer two fundamental questions; what does masculinity mean, and why does it exist in so many other forms?
Masculinity, understood as a configuration of practice in everyday life is substantially a social construction (Connell, 2005). To understand masculinity, we must start by understanding the gender system in which masculinities are defined. Men’s social practices and masculinity are socially constructed through the specific historical, cultural contexts of gender orders and their interactions with various actors.
There are multiple versions of masculinities and forms of ‘being a man’ presented at different times and in different cultures and within the same society. These versions of masculinity are accompanied by hierarchical positions in society, power relations, negotiations, and intersections between femininities and masculinities. According to Connell (2005), all men benefit from patriarchy, but not all of them have the elements of hegemonic masculinity. Only a small group of men can carry the features of hegemonic masculinity. Although it’s the most honored way of being a man, it’s something normative that all other men have to position themselves according to it. Research into masculinity is a growing concern within Gender
Studies. Men’s studies started to grow from the 1980s with Raewyn Connell’s works about how masculinity is constructed at various times, places, and experiences. This module provides an overview of other research on masculinity-related subjects and a phenomenological reflection upon masculinity in everyday life. It will be interrogating topics such as: what’s hegemonic masculinity, the intersections of gender, race and social class; gender inequality; fatherhood.
Moreover, it will examine masculinities in different cultures and settings especially with a focus on Europe, Post-Soviet countries, Scandinavian, and Middle Eastern Masculinities. Particular attention will be devoted to the study of men and masculinities in the context of transnational, international migration and intersectionality