Psychology and Sociology
Spring 2013
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Aging Mothers/Older Daughters: New Challenges/New Dynamics
Day: 5 Thursdays Time: 1:30-3 p.m. Dates: 3/7-4/4 Location: UMass Boston, McCormack Hall, 1st Floor, Room 420 Facilitator: Sarah Pearlman Description: The mother/daughter relationship has long been acknowledged as one of the most complicated and complex family relationships, frequently marked by clash and struggle, but also closeness and issues involving identity, autonomy, dependence, and independence. This course will provide an opportunity for lively conversation about ourselves as both mothers and as daughters with emphasis on (1) the aging mother/older daughter relationship, (2) how our relationship with daughters differ from the one we had with our own mothers, and (3) the impact of sexual orientation on the mother/daughter relationship.
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Learning Sociology through Literature
Day: 6 Mondays Time: 10-11:30 a.m. Dates: 4/22-6/3 (no class on 5/27) Location: UMass Boston, McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 201 (former cafeteria) Facilitator: Whitney Gecker Description: This course will use three pieces of literature (Giovanni's Room, To Kill a Mockingbird, Water for Elephants) and their themes, plots, and characters as a medium for learning foundational sociological concepts such as: race, gender, sexuality, class, age, and place. Throughout the course the class will discuss how fiction helps us to identify larger societal issues, while also recognizing the historical context surrounding each novel. The course will encourage critical engagement with the texts as a way to look beyond what is presented, in order to tap into the broader sociological issues at play.
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Defining Transgender in Our Own Words
Day: 6 Tuesdays Time: 1:15-3:15 p.m. Dates: 4/23-5/28 Location: UMass Boston, McCormack Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 204 Facilitator: Janice Josephine Carney Description: This is a class for anyone who has asked: “Who are the T people in LGBT?” From Christine Jorgensen’s surgery in Denmark in 1952, Virginia Prince’s coining of the term ‘Transgender’ and Jan Morris’s “Conundrum” over his/her gender, the general public has struggled to understand what has become known as the Trans community. The writings of Kate Bornstein, Renee Richards, and Leslie Feinberg, and many more Transgender authors and activists will be read and discussed. This history from 1952 through 2012 of the Transgender community will also feature the showing of a short documentary, “Finding Peace,” the story of Janice Josephine Carneys transgender journey and “Sugar & Spice, and Estrogen Replacement Therapy “in which four Trans- Women are interviewed.
