AS 213.318 - The Making of Modern gender

Institution:

Johns Hopkins University

Subject:

Description:

Taught in English. Gender as we know it is not timeless. Today, gender roles and the assumption that there are only two genders are diligently contested and debated. With the binary gender system thus perhaps nearing its end, we might wonder if it has had a beginning. In fact, the idea that there are two sexes and that they not only assume different roles in society but also exhibit different character traits, has emerged historically around 1800. Early German Romanticism played a seminal role in the making of modern gender and sexuality. For the first time, woman was considered not a lesser version of man, but a different being with a value of her own. The idea of gender complementation emerged, and this idea, in turn, put more pressure than ever on heterosexuality. In this course, we will explore the role of literature and the other arts in the making and unmaking of gender. Authors discussed will include Thomas Laqueur, Michel Foucault, Friedrich Schlegel, Dorothea Schlegel, Karoline von Günderode, Novalis, Goethe, Kleist, and Bettina von Arnim. Cross-listed with WGS and English

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.jhu.edu

Phone Number:

(410) 516-8000

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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