Men, Masculinities and Difference 2400-OG-EN-MMD

Critical Studies on Men and Masculinities (CSMM) has been a rapidly growing area of research within gender studies and feminist studies over recent decades. CSMM are based on feminist theories and methodologies. The aim of this course is to make student acquainted with CSMM and show them how to analyse men as gendered individuals. Men’s gender is often invisible and consequently ignored in social research. Men’s experiences are seen as ungendered and universal, whereas in fact men are as much gendered as women. They have to follow particular gender roles and behave in line with expectations imposed by the society. This has huge social consequences. Traditional models of masculinity are often connected with violence and risk behaviour, in these models men are expected not show emotional engagement and to be tough. The male identity is often presented as contrasting to female identity. Yet, in times of women’s emancipation and changing gender roles there is a need of critical reflection on prevailing masculinity models. The questions should be asked: are masculinity models changing? If yes, in which direction? If no, why not?
During this course we will look more carefully on different aspects of men’s lives and masculinity models in the contemporary social reality. We will try to answer the questions how male body is constructed in social processes, what consequences the dominant models of masculinity have on men’s health and why men are dying earlier than women, why they are more eager than women to engage in violence and risk behaviours and less eager to be involved parents and caregivers. Many of questions can be asked without using biological explanations. Additionally, it should be remembered that men are different and there are various models of masculinities. Masculinity intersects with various social dimensions, thus we will analyse men and masculinities in the context of different social classes, races, ethnicities, age, sexualities.

Total student workload

Contact hours with teacher: - participation in classes – 20 hrs - consultations – 2 hrs Self-study hours: - reading literature – 30 hrs - preparing presentation – 43 hrs Altogether: 100 hrs (4 ECTS)

Learning outcomes - knowledge

Student W1: has basic knowledge of terms and concepts used in critical studies on men and masculinities – K_W01 W2: has a basic knowledge about the relations between micro-, mezzo- and macrostructures in the context of gender relations, relations between different models of masculinities and other social dimensions such as: class, race, age, ethnicity, sexuality – K_W03 W3: is acquainted with different types of social bond characteristic for men of different social class, race, age, ethnicity, sexuality – K_W04 W4: possesses knowledge about gender order characteristic for the contemporary Western societies, knows about sources and functioning of dominant models of masculinity – K_W07

Learning outcomes - skills

Student U1: is able to identify and interpret men’s behaviours and how they are connected with prevailing masculinity models and gender order – K_U01 U2: is capable of indicating the links between different social processes and phenomena in the context of hierarchies of masculinity models and changing gender order – K_U03 U3: has a skill of diagnosing social problems in the context of theories about men and masculinities and can formulate recommendations for changing patriarchal order– K_U07

Learning outcomes - social competencies

Student K1: is open to new ideas and new ways of thinking about contemporary social reality – K_K07 K2: is eager to constantly broad his/her knowledge – K_K06

Teaching methods

Expository teaching methods: - participatory lecture - problem-base lecture - discussion Exploratory teaching methods: - classic problem-solving - brainstorming

Expository teaching methods

- participatory lecture
- discussion
- problem-based lecture

Exploratory teaching methods

- presentation of a paper
- brainstorming
- classic problem-solving

Type of course

elective course

Prerequisites

Student should be interested in the issue of gender roles, relations and power dynamics between men and women. Students who already participated in other courses in gender studies, feminist theories or sociology are highly welcomed.

Course coordinators

Katarzyna Suwada

Assessment criteria

1. Attendance
2. Student Presentation
3. Activity

Grades:
fail- less than 60%
satisfactory- 60-70%
satisfactory plus-70-75%
good – 75-80%
good plus- 80-90%
very good – 90-100%

Bibliography

Anderson, E. (2009a). Inclusive Masculinity: The Changing Nature of Masculinities. Abingdon: Taylor & Francis.
Anderson, E. (2009b). The Maintenance of Masculinity Among the Stakeholders of Sport. Sport Management Review, 12(1), 3–14.
Blankenhorn, D. (1996). Fatherless America: Confronting Our Most Urgent Social Problem. Harper Perennial.
Bly, R. (2004). Iron John: A Book About Men. Da Capo Press.
Carrigan, T., Connell, B., & Lee, J. (1985). Toward a new sociology of masculinity. Theory and Society, 14(5), 551–604.
Connell, R. (1987). Gender and power: society, the person, and sexual politics. Stanford University Press.
Connell, R. W. (2005). Masculinities (Second Edition.). Berkeley, California: University of California Press.
Connell, R. W., & Messerschmidt, J. (2005). Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept. Gender & Society, 19(6), 829–859.
Courtenay, W. (2002). A Global Perspective on the Field of Men’s Health: An Editorial. International Journal of Men’s Health, 1(1), 1.
Doucet, A. (2004). “It’s Almost Like I Have a Job, but I Don’t Get Paid”: Fathers at Home Reconfiguring Work, Care, and Masculinity. Fathering: A Journal of Theory, Research, and Practice about Men as Fathers, 2(3), 277–303.
European Commission. (2012). The Role of Men in Gender Equality - European Strategies and Insights. Vienna/Berlin/Gratz. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender-equality/files/gender_pay_gap/130424_final_report_role_of_men_en.pdf
Flood, M, (Ed.). (2007), International Encyclopedia of Men and Masculinities London ; New York: Routledge.
Hearn J. & K. Pringle, (Eds.). (2006), European Perspectives on Men and Masculinities. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Hearn, J. (2004). From Hegemonic Masculinity to the Hegemony of Men. Feminist Theory, 5(1), 49–72.
Hearn, J. (2015). Men of the World: Genders, Globalizations, Transnational Times. Sage, London, UK.
Katz, J. (2006). The macho paradox: why some men hurt women and how all men can help. Naperville, Ill: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Kimmel, M. S. (Ed.). (1995). The politics of manhood: profeminist men respond to the mythopoetic men’s movement (and the mythopoetic leaders answer). Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Kimmel, M. S. & J. Hearn (Eds.). (2005), Handbook of Studies on Men and Masculinities, SAGE.
Lamb, M. E. (2000). The History of Research on Father Involvement. Marriage & Family Review, 29(2-3), 23–42.
Lamb, M. E. (2010). The Role of the Father in Child Development, 5th Edition, Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.
Miller, T. (2011). Making Sense of Fatherhood. Gender, Caring and Work, New York: Cambridge University Press.
O’Brien, M., Brandth, B., & Kvande, E. (2007). Fathers, Work and Family Life. Community, Work & Family, 10(4), 375–386.
Suwada, K & L. Plantin. (2014). On Fatherhood, Masculinities and Family Policies: A Comparative Analysis of Poland and Sweden, Polish Sociological Review, (3), 509-524.
Suwada, K. (2015). Naturalisation of the Difference. The Experience of Fatherhood in Sweden and Poland, Studia Humanistyczne AGH, No 14(2), 141-155.
Titkow, A. (2010). Do Men Have Their Own Glass Ceiling? Polish Sociological Review, (172), 391–409.
Wojnicka, K. (2011). (Re)constructing Masculinity à la Polonaise. In E. Ruspini, J. Hearn, B. Pease, & K. Pringle (Eds.), Men and masculinities around the world: transforming men’s practices (Palgrave Macmillan., pp. 71–83). New York, NY.
Wojnicka, K. (2012). The Polish profeminist movement. GENDER Heft, 3, 25–40.

Additional information

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 2400-OG-EN-MMD in USOSweb