Erin and Others: I generally do these two 'activities' at the beginning of my sections on gender, but I think they would work just as well at the end...
1) I have students stand up and 'envision' how it feels to be in the body of their currently identified gender - whatever that is for them. Then, I ask them to envision that they are suddenly in the body of the opposite gender (or a gender identification that is somehow different if there are students who are transgendered). I have them spend a couple of minutes envisioning this different gender, then ask them to sit down "in the body" of that gender, paying attention to the differences in body posture, space taken up, and other aspects of sitting that tends to be gender-specific. The students usually have a good time with this, and are amazed at how many aspects of what's considered 'appropriate' differ for males and females. 2) I also have students do a 'whiteboard' exercise, and divide the students up by the 'traditional' genders of male and female. I have the women put on one half (or one side) of the board all the things that "we KNOW about how men are." At the same time I have the male students put on the other half (or other side) of the board all the things that "we KNOW about the way women are." The students usually have a field day with this exercise, and I make sure that there are lots of different colors of markers that they can write with, and encourage everyone to write something. We then discuss as a class the 'validity' (or stereotypes) of each item written on the board (as you can imagine, some are pretty hilarious), and double-check with the group about which each particular list has been written to get their response. Then we wrap up with a discussion about how we have come to "know" these things about men and about women, illustrating the socially-constructed nature of most of this cultural "knowledge." It generally provides an opportunity for the students to have some fun, but also gets them thinking about stereotypes and how much we take for granted about each gender. Hope these ideas are helpful... - Jan Buhrmann ========================== Jan Buhrmann, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Sociology Illinois College E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Phone: 217-245-3877 "Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions that differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions." -- Albert Einstein -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, November 18, 2005 8:34 AM To: Teaching Sociology Subject: TEACHSOC: Activity needed to wrap up Gender Relations I have covered stereotypes, patriarchy and misogyny etc. and I am now ready to wrap the course up on a positive upbeat note. Any ideas for a fun activity to end a gender relations class with? Thanks! Erin Steuter Mount Allison University
