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Anthropology of Sex/Gender Systems

Code: 101252 ECTS Credits: 6
2025/2026
Degree Type Year
Social and Cultural Anthropology OB 3

Contact

Name:
Laia Narciso Pedro
Email:
laia.narciso@uab.cat

Teachers

(External) A determinar

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

No prerequisites.


Objectives and Contextualisation

Third-year course of the Bachelor's Degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology, taught during the first semester. It is part of the subject General Thematic Areas of Anthropology and also part of the Gender Studies Minor, which is interdisciplinary and transversal, coordinated by the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, and has the following objectives:

  • Develop anthropological theory and the analysis of cultural diversity in sex/gender systems.
  • Identify the variability of sex/gender systems in different cultures.
  • Apply anthropological knowledge to current sociocultural problems related to debates about sex/gender systems.
  • Understand the sociocultural constructions related to sex, gender, and identity.
 

Competences

  • Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
  • Apprehending cultural diversity through ethnography and critically assessing ethnographic materials as knowledge of local contexts and as a proposal of theoretical models.
  • Carry out effective written work or oral presentations adapted to the appropriate register in different languages.
  • Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  • Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
  • Take sex- or gender-based inequalities into consideration when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
  • Using the discipline's ethnographic and theoretical corpus with analytical and synthesis skills.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analyse the sex- or gender-based inequalities and the gender biases present in one's own area of knowledge.
  2. Analysing a contemporary fact from an anthropological perspective.
  3. Applying the basic concepts of Social and Cultural Anthropology to the understanding of relationships between various societies and cultures.
  4. Applying the knowledge of cultural variability and its genesis to avoid ethnocentric projections.
  5. Communicate using language that is not sexist or discriminatory.
  6. Consider how gender stereotypes and roles impinge on the exercise of the profession.
  7. Critically analyse the principles, values and procedures that govern the exercise of the profession.
  8. Express ideas with a specific vocabulary appropriate to the discipline.
  9. Identify the principal forms of sex- or gender-based inequality and discrimination present in society.
  10. Identifying the sociocultural variability through ethnographic texts and audiovisual resources.
  11. Identifying the transcultural variability of economic, kinship, political, symbolic and cognitive, educational and gender systems as well as their corresponding anthropological theory.
  12. Interpreting the cultural diversity through ethnography.
  13. Interpreting today's main events from physical, economic, social and cultural diversity.
  14. Summarising acquired knowledge about the origin and transformations experienced in the several fields of anthropology.
  15. Summarizing the characteristics of a written text in accordance to its communicative purposes.
  16. Theoretically analysing ethnographic examples of cultural diversity in the fields of education, gender and inclusion-exclusion systems.
  17. Weigh up the impact of any long- or short-term difficulty, harm or discrimination that could be caused to certain persons or groups by the actions or projects.

Content

The contents of this course are structured into three thematic blocks that reflect both the reviewed academic context and the intended learning goals. The first block addresses the theoretical foundations of gender anthropology, from its origins in the 1970s to the tensions between feminism and anthropology, emphasizing the critique of androcentrism, the recognition of women’s roles in studied societies, and the development of a feminist anthropology. It also covers the theoretical advances that emerged in the 1990s — from both interpretive and socio-critical approaches — and includes a specific unit on gender-based violence as a key contemporary issue, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals and current legal frameworks.

The second block focuses on feminist epistemology and ethnography, challenging the positivist paradigm through the advocacy of situated, reflexive, and ethically engaged knowledge. It addresses classic debates on the existence of feminist methodology and ethnography, as well as contributions from the Global South and the need for an embodied, dialogical, and autoethnographic anthropology. Finally, a third block is proposed, oriented toward the application of gender anthropology in public policy, with a professional focus that links to other learning spaces within the degree and responds to current social challenges.

BLOCK I: Gender, Anthropology and Feminism: A Productive Tension. From the Naturalization of Difference to the Questioning of Inequality.
BLOCK II: Feminist Ethnography: Dialogues and Reflections from Current Approaches.
BLOCK III: Gender, Public Policy, and Social Intervention.


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Activities, visionaries and conferences in large group 20 0.8 7, 1, 16, 2, 4, 3, 5, 8, 13, 15, 14, 6
Lectures and master classes made for professor and invited experts 30 1.2 7, 1, 16, 2, 4, 3, 10, 11, 9, 13, 12, 6, 17
Type: Supervised      
Individual and / or group tutorials (face to face and / or virtual) 2 0.08 1, 5, 8, 11, 12, 6
Type: Autonomous      
Reading, analysis, preparation and writing of individual and group works and study 18 0.72 7, 16, 2, 4, 3, 5, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14
Study of materials and exam preparation 16 0.64 7, 16, 2, 4, 3, 10, 11, 9, 13, 12, 14, 17

The student is the main agent in the teaching-learning process, and based on this principle, a methodology focused on continuous work has been designed. Therefore, attendance is important in this course. Following the course requires active engagement in learning and responsibility throughout the entire process.

The Virtual Campus (VC) is the official communication space for the course. It is the student’s responsibility to access the VC and keep their email profile updated in order to stay informed of news and information posted throughout the course.

The methodology involves continuous work through:

  • Personal study and work: information research, extending the syllabus, comprehensive reading of mandatory texts, creating outlines, concept maps, and summaries of the materials covered inside and outside the classroom.
  • Theoretical and practical classes led by the professor: lectures, flipped classroom format, and use of audiovisual materials.
  • Text discussion seminars: sessions for debating mandatory readings with individual and/or group participation.
  • Preparation and presentation of assignments: documentation search; writing, drafting, and presenting assignments; public presentation of the work.

TUTORIALS: Student support through office (or virtual, in justified and previously agreed cases) tutorials, individually or in groups. The office hours will be communicated by the professor on the first day of class and will also be available on the VC.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Class activities 20% 14 0.56 7, 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 9, 13, 15, 14, 17
Final Exam 30% 20 0.8 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 13, 15
Midterm exam 20% 10 0.4 1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 9, 15, 14, 6
Single work 30% 20 0.8 1, 16, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 9, 12, 6

Continuous assessment:
It will consist of the following components:

  • Class participation and in-class activities (20%)

  • Individual tests (50%)

  • Individual and collaborative work (30%)

Single assessment:
The single assessment will consist of:

  • Individual assignment (photo-voicing)

  • Exam (70%): to be completed synchronously on the date and time established by the faculty.

    • Part 1: multiple-choice test based on the required readings.

    • Part 2: a news article will be provided, which the student must relate to three key concepts from three different required readings.

    • Part 3: three short-answer questions related to the overall content of the course.

Final grade:
The final grade corresponds to the average of all the scores obtained.

Non-assessable:
A student will be considered non-assessable if they have not completed one or more of the four assessment tasks without justified cause.

Reassessment:
Available only to students who have completed all assessment tasks but failed one or more (whether in continuous or single assessment mode). Class participation (in-class activities) is not subject to reassessment.
Failure to attend or submit an assessment task without duly justified and documented cause will result in the task not being graded. Assessment submissions that do not comply with the format standards and rubrics will not be accepted.

Plagiarism or fraudulent conduct:
If a student commits any irregularity that could significantly alter the result of an assessment, that specific assessment will be graded with a 0, regardless of any disciplinary action that may follow. If multiple irregularities occur in the same course, the final grade will be 0.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI):
Restricted use: In this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted solely for support tasks such as bibliographic or information searches, text corrections, or translations. The student must clearly identify which parts were generated using AI, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how they influenced the process and final outcome of the activity. Lack of transparency in the use of AI in assessed work will be considered academic dishonesty and may lead to partial or total penalties on the grade for the activity, ormore serious sanctions in severe cases.


Bibliography

General Readings

Abu-Lughod, Lila (2019). ¿Puede haber una etnografía feminista? En Alhena Caicedo (Ed.), Antropología y feminismo (pp.15-48). Popayán-Colombia: Asociación Colombiana de Antropología. 

Aixelà, Yolanda (2005). Género y antropología social. Sevilla: Editorial Doble J.

Ardener, Shirley (1985). The Social Anthropology of Women and Feminist Anthropology. Anthropology Today, 1(5), 24-26.

Essed, Philomena; Goldberg, David Theo and Kobayashi, Audrey (2009). A companion to Gender Studies. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

Harris, Olivia y Young, Kate (1979). Antropología y feminismo. Barcelona: Editorial Anagrama.

Héritier, Françoise (1991). La sangre de los guerreros y la sangre de las mujeres. Alteridades, (2), 92-102.

Jabardo, Mercedes y Ródenas, Beatriz (2017). Más allá de las dicotomías. Un análisis de la actividad del trenzado en la diáspora senegalesa desde el feminismo negro. Revista Española de Sociología, 26 (3), 373-384.

Lamas, Marta (comp.). El género. La construcción cultural de la diferencia sexual. Universidad Autónoma de México.

Lewin, Ellen (Ed.). (2006). Feminist Anthropology. A Reader. Blackwell Publishing.

Martín Casares, Aurelia (2006). Antropología del género: Culturas, Mitos y Estereotipos sexuales. Madrid: Cátedra.

Mead, Margaret (1972 [1968]) “La educación del niño samoano”, en Adolescencia, sexo y cultura en Samoa, (54-69). Barcelona: Ed. Laia.

Méndez, Lourdes. (2007). Antropología feminista.Madrid: Síntesis. 

Moncó, Beatriz. (2011). Antropología del género. Madrid: Síntesis. 

Moore, Henrieta [1988] (1991). Antropología y feminismo. Madrid: Cátedra.

Reiter, Rayna R. (1975). Toward an Anthropology of Women. Monthly Review Press.

Rosaldo, Michelle and Lamphere, Louise (1974). Woman, Culture and Society. Stanford University Press.

Segato, Rita Laura (2003). Las estructuras elementales de la violencia. Contrato y estatus en la etiología de la violencia. En Las estructuras elementales de la violencia. Ensayos sobre género entre la antropología, el psicoanálisis y los derechos humanos (p. 131-149). Buenos Aires: Universidad Nacional de Quilmes.

Stolcke, Verena.  (2003). La mujer es puro cuento: la cultura del género. Quaderns de l'Institut Català d'Antropologia, (19), 69-95.

Suarez, Liliana.  (coord.) (2008). Feminismos en la antropología. Nuevas propuestas críticas. San Sebastián: Ankulegi.


Software

No specific software required.


Groups and Languages

Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed