An exploration of the social origins and meanings of gender in a range of human societies. The course will assess both classic texts and more contemporary studies in order to evaluate critically some of the key dichotomies in gender studies, including nature/culture, domestic/politico-jural, woman/man. Also evaluated will be competing theories of socialization, marriage, domesticity, and gender subordination. The course will conclude with a reassessment of the cross-cultural validity of such categories as sex, gender, and sexuality, especially in view of the changing nature of gender in Western industrial nations. Class format: seminar. Requirements: regular class participation, midterm exam, research paper, and final. No prerequisites. Open to first-year students.