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Gender and Transculturality

Code: 106973 ECTS Credits: 6
2025/2026
Degree Type Year
Sociocultural Gender Studies OB 2

Contact

Name:
Maria Bruna Alvarez Mora
Email:
bruna.alvarez@uab.cat

Teachers

Zenaida-Maria Andreica

Teaching groups languages

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


Prerequisites

It is recommended to have taken basic principles of Anthropology (first-year subject).


Objectives and Contextualisation

  • Understand gender as an analytical category, construct, and social organizer from a cross-cultural perspective.
  • Identify the cross-cultural variability of sex/gender systems in different societies around the world, both historically and in contemporary contexts.
  • Identify and analyze cultural change in gender relations across various societies.
  • Denaturalize and avoid essentialist explanations of gender difference and inequality.
  • Understand and analyze current debates on multiculturalism and diverse sex/gender systems.
  • Apply an intersectional and cross-cultural perspective to current issues and challenges in the context of globalization.
  • Understand the main contributions and epistemological debates introduced by feminist ethnography and its dialogues with anthropology and science more broadly.

Learning Outcomes

  1. CM04 (Competence) Identify the effects of sex and gender variables in empirical analyses.
  2. KM09 (Knowledge) Provide an analytical description of everyday situations in which ethnic concepts about gender have an impact on specific processes of intercultural relations in different societies around the world.
  3. KM11 (Knowledge) Use documentary materials and basic readings (ethnographic texts and audiovisual sources), to identify the impact androcentrism has on different cultures in the shaping and converging of the different aspects of social inequality: class, ethnic group, sexuality, gender expression and disability.
  4. KM12 (Knowledge) Apply knowledge of cultural variability and its genesis in argumentative texts that avoid ethnocentric projections of social phenomena different from those found in one's own culture, or which may only manifest a similar form.
  5. SM05 (Skill) Critically analyse a current event or phenomenon from a gender-based, ethnographic perspective.
  6. SM06 (Skill) Analyse discursive phenomena related to the construction and expression of gender identities by adopting a transcultural perspective.

Content

Topic 1: Sex/gender systems: the production of alterity, the historical construction of gender relations, and their universalization
Topic 2: Anthropology and diverse sex/gender systems
Topic 3: Feminist ethnographies and decolonial perspective: tools for the analysis of contemporary societies
Topic 4: Globalization, interculturality, and sex/gender systems: current debates


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Theoretical lectures 30 1.2 CM04, KM09, KM11, KM12, SM05, SM06, CM04
Type: Supervised      
Individual and group tutoring 5 0.2 CM04, KM09, KM11, KM12, SM05, SM06, CM04
Type: Autonomous      
Individual study 40 1.6 CM04, KM09, KM11, KM12, SM05, SM06, CM04

This Course Guide contains all the information related to the subject and should be considered the primary reference document for any questions regarding course content and assessment.

The main actor in the teaching-learning process is the student. Based on this premise, the methodology is planned around continuous work.

Regarding the sessions:

  • The course will be carried out through in-person guided sessions, supervised activities, and independent work.
  • The in-person sessions will always be held with the entire class group and will be dedicated to presenting course content by the teaching staff and invited professionals, following the schedule published on the Virtual Campus at the beginning of the course.
  • Active participation of the students in the analysis and discussion of the topics proposed by the teaching staff will be valued during in-person sessions.

Independent work:

  • Independent work includes activities such as the comprehensive and analytical reading and study of texts and audiovisual materials, bibliographic research, information gathering, observation, writing, among others.

Tutoring

  • Supervised sessions will be held either in person or online (by appointment), and will be especially oriented towards guiding course progress and completing assessment activities. A minimum of one tutoring is recommended during the course for proper follow-up.

Communication:

  • All communication will take place through the Virtual Campus.

Written assignments:

  • Written work will be completed in class and must:
    • Be identified with the student’s NIU (university ID number);
    • Be written in Catalan, Spanish, or English;
    • Be free from spelling and/or grammatical errors;
    • Include citations, notes, references, and bibliography in APA 7 format.

Correction criteria:

  • Quality of presentation, formatting, writing, and APA 7 references;
  • Comprehension, breadth, and depth in the analysis of the bibliography, presentations, and screenings;
  • Quality of analysis and its connection to the concepts of the course;
  • Presentation of a coherent and academically grounded argumentative text;
  • Integration of presentations, bibliography, and/or screenings with ethnographic examples from the press, personal experience, or ethnographic observation.

Grading scale: How well have the objectives outlined in the grading criteria been met?

  • 0: Submission after the deadline without duly accredited justification;
  • 1–4.9: Submission not based on the required analytical materials or based only on description or summary of proposed materials;
  • 5–6.9: Submission of an articulated academic text based on the proposed materials;
  • 7–8.9: Submission based on proposed materials, incorporating additional materials or ethnographic examples, personal experience, or press sources;
  • 9–10: Submission based on proposed materials, incorporating both additional materials and ethnographic examples, personal experience, press sources, and observation.

Note: 15 minutes of one session, within the calendar set by the faculty/program, will be reserved for students to complete evaluation surveys on the instructor's performance and the course/module.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Restricted use: For this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted only for support tasks such as text correction, translations, or other specific situations that must bepreviously agreed upon with the instructor via a tutorial meeting. Students must clearly identify which parts of the activity have been generated using AI, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how these tools influenced the process and the final outcome of the activity. Lack of transparency in the use of AI in assessable activities will be considered a violation of academic integrity and may result in partial or total penalization of the activity grade, or more severe disciplinary measures in serious cases.

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
Debates 30% 25 1 CM04, KM09, KM11, KM12, SM05, SM06
Individual essay 40% 30 1.2 CM04, KM09, KM11, KM12, SM05, SM06
Questionnaires on mandatory readings 10% 12 0.48 CM04, KM09, KM11, KM12, SM05, SM06
Reflexive writting on the three debates 20% 8 0.32 CM04, KM09, KM11, KM12, SM05, SM06

Continuous Assessment

ACTIVITY 1: Questionnaire on each compulsory reading (10%)
This individual activity aims to encourage the reading of the compulsory texts and the extraction of their key concepts. It accounts for 10% of the final grade for the course.

Using the questionnaire tool on the Virtual Campus, 8 tests will be available in which students must answer between 8 and 10 questions on each reading. These quizzes should be completed during the student’s independent study hours. The correct answers will be reviewed at the beginning of each session dedicated to the corresponding reading, where the questions will be discussed and a deeper analysis of the text will be carried out.

The compulsory readings can be found in the Bibliography section of this course guide.
To receive the percentage corresponding to Assessment 1, students must complete at least 6 out of the 8 available quizzes within the established deadline.

ACTIVITY 2: Individual Essay (40%)

This individual activity aims to help students learn how to identify and connect three key concepts from three compulsory readings through a prepared essay that will be written in class. Students are allowed to bring any materials they consider necessary for writing the essay. This activity counts for 40% of the final grade.

Detailed instructions for this activity, along with the evaluation rubric, will be uploaded to the Virtual Campus at the beginning of the course.

The essay will take place on March 27.

 

ACTIVITY 3: Roundtable / Debate (30%)

This group activity aims to foster reflection and discussion on the challenges of gender and cross-culturality in the contemporary world. It will be carried out in small groups (maximum of three people), where students must prepare a roundtable-debate on one of three proposed topics. For this, they must present and discuss key concepts from:

  • One compulsory reading,
  • One academic reading selected from the recommended bibliography, and
  • One additional reading found independently by the group.

These readings must be connected to current events and news articles.

It is mandatory to schedule a tutoring to select the optional reading listed in the guide. This tutorial must be held before April 17, 2025.

Each debate day will include three 30-minute roundtable debates. During each session, students must present and discuss the concepts and arguments from the selected authors, with the moderation of the course instructor. A total of six groups will participate per day (two per debate).

The evaluation will focus on the ability to apply theoretical concepts from the readings to current news events.

Debate dates:

  • May 12, 2025: Gender and Islam
  • May 22, 2025: Reproduction in the Global World
  • June 2, 2025: Sexualities, Childhoods and Adolescence in the Global World

To ensure fairness in evaluation, all debates will be recorded with a voice recorder.

Attendance at all debates is mandatory.

Detailed instructions and the evaluation rubric for this activity will also be available on the Virtual Campus at the beginning of the course.

ACTIVITY 4: Written Reflection on the 3 Debates (20%)

This is an individual written test in which each student will briefly reflect on the theoretical concepts used in the three debates and summarize the main arguments discussed.
This activity will take place on June 5.

Detailed instructions and the evaluation rubric for this activity will be uploaded to the Virtual Campus at the beginning of the course.

 

Single Assessment

The single assessment will consist of a synchronous test with three parts on the date and time established by the Faculty:

  • Activity 1: A quiz with 25 mandatory questions to be completed in 20 minutes (20%)
  • Activity 2: A commentary on a news article using three key concepts from three different compulsory readings(40%)
  • Activity 3: Four questions about the overall course content (40%)
 

Recovery Assessment

For students who fail the course, i.e., whose average grade across all assessment activities is below 5, a resit sessionwill be organized within the period established by UAB regulations (from June 22 to July 3).
However, students who have not reached a minimum score of 3.5 will not be eligible for resit.


Bibliography

Mandatory Readings

1: Rubin, Gayle ([1975]2013). El tráfico de mujeres: notas sobre la 'economía política' del sexo. En Marta Lamas (Comp.), El género: La construcción cultural de la diferencia sexual (pp. 35-96). Universidad Autónoma de México.

2: Nanda, Serena (1993). Hijras: An alternative sex and gender role in India. In Gilbert Herdt (Ed.), Third sex, third gender: Beyond sexual dimorphism in culture and history (pp. 373–417). Zone Books.

3: Roscoe, Will (1993). How to become a Berdache: Toward a Unfieid Analysis of Gender Diversity. In Gilbert Herdt (Ed.) Third Sex. Third Gender. Beyond Sexual Dimorphism in Culture and History (pp. 329–372). Zone Books.

4: Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty. ([1988]2009). ¿Pueden hablar los subalternos? En Laura Meseguer (coord). ¿Pueden hablar los subalternos? (pp. 43-125). Macba.

5: Abu-Lughod, Lila, «¿Puede haber una etnografía feminista?», en Alhena Caicedo (ed.). Antropología y feminismo. Popayán-Colombia: Asociación Colombiana de Antropología, 2019 [1988], pp. 15-48.

6: Nigst, Lorenz and Sánchez-Garcia, José. (2010). ‘Boyät’ in the Gulf: Identity, Contestation, and Social Control. Middle East Critique, 19(1), 5-34.

7: Molinero Gallego Aranzazu G., & Clemente-Martínez, Chandra Kala (2021). Irregularities in transnational adoptions and child appropriations: Challenges for reparation practices. Childhood, 28(4), 467–476.

Lectura 8: Alvarez, Bruna, Vera, Edith, Contreras, Edgar, & Marre, Diana. (2024). Between surveillance and self‐surveillance: What institutionalised girls in Ciudad Juárez (reveal that they) know about sexuality. Children & Society, 00, 1-19   

Optional readings for round tables and debates

Gender and Islam

  1. Adlbi Sibai, Sirin (2016). La economía discursiva de las mujeres, el feminismo y el Islam: el caso de Marruecos. En La cárcel del feminismo (pp. 169-264). Akal.
  2. Fernández, Daniel Ahmed (2021). El islam en la globalización LGBTQ: una aproximación queer a las Relaciones Internacionales. Relaciones Internacionales, 48, 85-100.
  3. Lambrabet, Asma (2020). El velo (hiyab) de las mujeres musulmanas: entre la ideología colonialista y el discurso islámico: una visión decolonial. En Ramón Grosfoguel (comp.). Feminismos islámicos (pp. 43-70). Bellaterra.
  4. Abu-Lughod, Lila (2013). Do Muslim Women (Still) Need Saving? In Do Muslim Women Need Saving? (pp. 27-53). Harvard University Press.
  5. Sehlikoglu, Sertaç. (2018) Revisited: Muslim Women’s agency and feminist anthropology of the Middle East. Contemporary Islam 12(1), 73–92.
  6. Amir-Moazami, Schirin, Jacobsen, M. Christine, & Malik, Maleiha. (2011) Islam and Gender in Europe: Subjectivities, Politics and Piety. Feminist Review, 98(1), 1-8.

Reproduction in a globalized world

  1. Marre, Diana; San Román, Beatriz & Guerra, Diana (2017). On Reproductive Work in Spain: Transnational Adoption, Egg Donation, Surrogacy. Medical Anthropology, 37(2), 158-173.
  2. Molas, Anna & Perler, Laura (2024). Intimate Voices in Translational Reproductive Markets. Medical Anthropology, 43(8), 673-681.
  3. Vlasenko, Polina & Pavone, Vicenzo (2025). Regulation and Altruism as Valuation Mechanisms: A Political Economy of Ova Markets in Ukraine and Spain. Science, Technology, & Human Values, 01622439251336630.
  4. Deomampo, Daisy (2019). Racialized Commodities: Race and Value in Human Egg Donation. Medical Anthropology, 38(7), 620–633.
  5. Viera Cherro, Mariana (2021). Las disputas por el parentesco y por la vida: Argumentos religiosos y procesos de acumulación económica en reproducción asistida en Uruguay. Horizontes Antropológicos, 27(61), 113–141.
  6. Desy, Alexandra, & Marre, Diana (2024). The reproductive journeys of French women over 40 seeking assisted reproductive technology treatments in Spain. Social Science & Medicine, 351, Article 116951.

Sexualities, children and adolescence in a global world

  1. Ferreira do Nascimento Marcos Antonio, Uziel, Ana Paula & Hernández de Garay, Jimena (2018). Young men in juvenile detention centers in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: gender, sexuality, masculinity and health implications. Cadernos de Saúde Pública, 34(2), e00177916. 
  2. Bhana, Deevia, Govender, Govender, Diloshini & Maphumulo Nondumiso Charity (2025). Heterosexual learners’ accounts of gender and sexuality diversity: race, religion, reproduction and ritual. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 1–17.
  3. Agud-Morell, Ingrid, & Breull-Arancibia, Valeria (2024).  Children's agencies navigating sexism and LGBTI+ phobia in Santiago de Chile's primary school. Children & Society, 00,  1–18.
  4. Malgosa, Estel. (2024). “My belly tickles! And my vulva too!”: Children’s conversations about pleasure in Catalonia (Spain). Children & Society, 00, 1-17.
  5. Spišák, Sanna. (2020). The intimacy effect: Girls’ reflections about pornography and ‘actual sex’. Sexualities, 23(7), 1248-1263.
  6. Kamusiime, Annah (2024). ‘Crossed the line’: Sexuality discourses of motherhood under 15 years in Uganda.  Children & Society, 00.

Aditional References

Behar, Ruth & Gordon, Deborah (Eds.). (1995). Women writing culture. Univ of California Press.

Butler, Judith (1990). Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge.

Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299.

Graham Davies, Sharyn (2006). Thinking of Gender in a Holistic Sense: Understandings of Gender in Sulawesi, Indonesia. In Demos, Vasilikie & Texler Segal, Marcia (Ed.) Gender and the Local-Global Nexus: Theory, Research, and Action (pp. 1-24). Leeds. 

Gregorio Gil, Carmen. (2006). Contribuciones feministas a problemas epistemológicos de la disciplina antropológica: representaciones y relaciones de poder. AIBR Revista de Antropología Iberoamericana, 1 (1): pp.22-39.

Haraway, D. (1988). Situated knowledges: The science question in feminism and the privilege of partial perspective. Feminist Studies, 14(3), 575–599.

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

Herdt, Gilbert (1993). Third sex, third gender: Beyond sexual dimorphism in culture and history. Zone Books.

Karakola, Eskalera (2004). Prólogo. Diferentes diferencias ciudadanías excluyentes: una revisión feminista. En Otras Inapropiables: feminismos desde las fronteras (pp. 9-32). Traficantes de sueños.

Lewin, Ellen (2006). Feminist Anthropology: A Reader. ProQuest Ebook Central.

Lugones, María (2007). Heterosexualism and the Colonial / Modern Gender System. Hypatia 22(1), 186-209. 

Mead, Margaret (1949). Male and female: A study of the sexes in a changing world. William Morrow and Co.

Ramírez, Jacobo & Munar, Ana María. (2022). Hybridgender colonization: The case of muxes. Gender, Work & Organization, 29(6), 1947–1965.

Sciortino, Maria Silvana (2012). Antropología y feminismos en América Latina: hacia una práctica descolonial. En Elena Hernández Corrochano (Ed.). Teoría Feminista y antropología: claves analíticas (pp. 133–151). Madrid.

 

 


Software

Two-factor authentication must be installed on your mobile device in order to access the Virtual Campus. You can find the installation instructions at the following link: https://si-respostes.uab.cat/inici/gestio-de-paraules-de-pas/doble-factor-mfa/com-configuro-l-aplicacio-d-autenticacio-microsoft-authenticator. 


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 second semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan/Spanish second semester morning-mixed