About this course: What is sex? What is gender? What is sexuality? What do we mean by LGBTQIA? How are these concepts related to the workplace? How have our understandings of these terms changed over time, and how have these changes impacted work and culture? To help you answer these important questions, this course will introduce you to the exciting field of gender, sexuality, and women's studies, and to LGBTQIA identities. We will use a range of interdisciplinary concepts, tools, and methods to understand and analyze how identity shapes our experiences in culture and in the workplace. Because we all live with gender expectations, this course is crucial for any profession, and for understanding the world around us. Also, you will learn key concepts that will help you to interpret and understand the world we share.
Created by: University of Pittsburgh
Taught by: Julie Beaulieu, Lecturer
Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies Program
Taught by: Susan Marine, Guest Lecturer
Assistant Professor and Program Director, School of Education and Social Policy, Merrimack College
| Level | Beginner |
| Commitment | 4 weeks of study |
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Changing Landscapes, Identities, and Discourse
This week, we introduce a set of key terms (specifically, LGBTQIA) and explore the significance of these terms in a wider social and political context. This sets the groundwork for the following weeks by providing a shared language to discuss key issues in gender and sexuality studies and by introducing a range of critical issues that are directly related to gender and sexuality.
5 videos, 6 readings
- Video: Course Introduction
- Reading: Key Terms
- Discussion Prompt: Welcome & Introduction
- Video: Intro to LGBTQIA
- Reading: Intro to LGBT Workplace Issues
- Video: Sex
- Video: Gender
- Reading: Understanding Gender Diversity
- Video: Sexuality
- Reading: Sexual Orientation
- Discussion Prompt: Lecture Reflection
- Discussion Prompt: Genderbread Person
- Reading: Self-assessment
- Reading: Additional Resources
Graded: Changing Landscapes, Identities, and Discourse
WEEK 2
The History of Gender and Gender in Theory
This week, we cover a range of topics on gender including the evolution of ideas about gender, the history of gender in the U.S. workplace, and key theories of gender from the 1970s to the present.
4 videos, 7 readings
- Reading: Key Terms
- Video: Gender in Theory
- Reading: Doing Gender
- Video: Intersectionality
- Reading: Gender Stereotyping
- Discussion Prompt: Lecture Reflection
- Video: Gender and Sex Discrimination
- Reading: Gender and Sex Discrimination
- Discussion Prompt: Rewards & Sanctions
- Video: LGBTQIA Issues in the Workplace
- Reading: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- Discussion Prompt: Workplace Discimination
- Reading: Self-assessment
- Reading: Additional Resources
Graded: Cyster Systems Case Study 1
Graded: LGBTQIA Inclusive Practices
WEEK 3
The History of Sexuality and Sexuality in Theory
This week, we provide a brief overview of the historical and emerging understanding of sexuality and sexual identity. We then explore the history of sexuality and sexual identity discrimination in the workplace (early days of allowed discrimination against LGB people; larger issue of job insecurity for LGB folks; advent of ENDA, controversies around ENDA –how that has played out to pit LGB people and trans* people against one another).
5 videos, 7 readings
- Reading: Key Terms
- Video: Sexuality in Theory
- Reading: Thinking Sex
- Video: LQBTQIA Identities and Rights
- Discussion Prompt: Lecture Reflection
- Video: LGB at Work
- Reading: LGBT Employment Discimination
- Discussion Prompt: Workplace Disclosure
- Video: Challenges Faced by LGB Individuals in the Workplace
- Reading: Understanding 21st Century LGBT Workers
- Discussion Prompt: Workplace Silencing
- Video: Strategies for Making Workplaces More LGB Inclusive
- Reading: The Business Impact of LGBT Workplace Policies
- Reading: Self-assessment
- Reading: Additional Resources
Graded: Cyster Systems Case Study 2
WEEK 4
Trans Topics Today and Trans in Theory
This week, you will learn about the evolution of understanding about transgender people’s lives and identities, exploring the long history of gender transgression across different cultural contexts, and talk about the ways we understand gender transgression to function. We then discuss how those who identify outside the gender binary present important challenges to fixed ways of being/thinking about gender. Finally, we examine the ways that transgender individuals have faced and surmounted oppression in the workplace (also known as genderism, a term coined by Riki Wilchins), and the kinds of laws that are designed to protect their rights.
6 videos, 6 readings
- Reading: Key Terms
- Video: Theories of Transgender Identity
- Reading: Trans Issues
- Discussion Prompt: Gender
- Video: Global Transgender Identities
- Video: Genderism
- Reading: Trans People Speak
- Discussion Prompt: Transgender Life Experiences
- Video: Transgender Issues in the Workplace
- Reading: Transgender Issues in the Workplace
- Discussion Prompt: Legal Protections for LGBT People
- Video: Being a Meaningful Ally to Transgender Individuals at Work
- Discussion Prompt: Adapting Workplaces
- Reading: Self-assessment
- Reading: Additional Resources
- Video: Farewell
Graded: LGBTQIA Inclusive Workplace Memo
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Ratings and Reviews
Excellent course very well developed and delivered. Learned more than I expected and came away inspired to "be the change".
Fantastic course. Even if you're familiar with the topic there is so much to learn. Really makes you think. I'd recomm
Well arranged and excellent content.
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I am rating this after my first week and I must comment that this is an informative, interesting, and eye-opening course which I personally will highly recommend. As a student of social sciences with an inclination towards gender studies, this course is of great help to me.