SOC 230: Men and Masculinities

(1 Unit)
Prerequisite: SOC 101, or Women’s and Gender Studies 111, or permission of instructor.
Examines how people are transformed into boys/men who interact in the social world through shared gendered meanings. Analyzes various socio-historical constructions of masculinity both in the United States and beyond, paying particular attention to how these differ over time, across cultures and within subcultures. Focuses on gender as a central organizing principle of society, and how this socially constructed characteristic affects individuals, society and, quite literally, the world. Discusses structural inequalities, cultural similarities and differences, intersectionality, and individual issues related to masculinities. (This is an Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program course, whereby Albion College students travel to a local correctional facility to join incarcerated students for a semester long seminar.) Melzer.