Potential Sociology of Gender Course
Sociology of Gender is a basic sociology course at most universities and has been on PVCC’s course catalog for years, but it has not been offered at PVCC since Professor of Sociology Dr. Kim Hoosier started in 2006.
“I think our notions of gender are changing,” said Dr. Hoosier. She said that gender as a social construct is changing and it is important for people to understand what those changes are and how that influences how they think and how society functions.
Dr. Hoosier said, “I think that’s what sociology gives you in general, is a different way to think about the world.” She hopes, no matter what prospective students are coming from, that they learn to think about gender and its real-world effects more broadly.
Dr. Hoosier would start the class with the difference between biological sex and gender, both as a social construct and an identity. The class would cover some history of gender in society, mostly western but pulling some examples of different gender structures from around the world.
Dr. Hoosier uses a mixed approach to learning, so students can expect classes to consist of lecture and discussion and for homework to include readings, listening to podcast episodes, watching YouTube videos, and more. So, if reading textbooks is not your thing, this might be a more effective approach to learning.
This class would look at gender beyond binary (only two genders) and would put an emphasis on issues like toxic masculinity as much as things like workplace harassment and the wage gap.
Dr. Hoosier said that the class would feature lots of intersectionality between things like economics, media, health, and family dynamics. But, Dr. Hoosier said the class would also be a bit flexible to students’ interests.
If students are interested in making this class happen, Dr. Hoosier suggests voicing interest, telling professors, telling deans, writing about it in the student survey, or just talking to each other and getting the word out. She hopes the class can run as soon as Fall 2020.
