Introduction to Gender Studies

This course examines how gender plays a pervasive role in structuring social life. It emphasizes how the social constructs of ethnicity, class, gender, colonial legacy, and cultural identity intersect to legitimize the power and privilege of women and men internationally, with a special focus on the Middle East. Topics include: the debate between nature versus nurture and the intersections of race, class, gender, and social institutions such as family, education, work, and cultural hegemony.