Gender, Science, and Medicine

Books | Schedule | Assignments | Policies

Professor Matthew J. Brown (contact)
Office Hours: Monday 3-5pm, JO 4.120 
Schedule an Appointment

I will be available to speak to you for several minutes before and after class each week. I will be fully engaged during class, with plenty of time for questions and discussion. I will be prompt to office hours each week, and will announce any cancellations in advance. I will answer my phone during office hours unless I am with another student. I will happily make appointments before or after class, or by the website above. Generally, I will not respond to emails or phone messages. The only reason to email me would be (1) to inform me of a genuine emergency situation before class or an assignment due date that will prevent you from being on time, (2) to remind me to do something I promised to do, such as post bonus readings, (3) or to ask brief and urgent logistical questions. If you have a burning question, I suggest first checking the syllabus, course website, and all handouts to see if the answer to your question is there.

Course Description

This course touches on central and controversial issues in our lives and society concerning sex and gender, and particularly the interaction between sex and gender and medicine, science, and technology. The main theoretical lenses for the course will include feminist philosophy, critical gender studies, history and philosophy of science. Problems that this course will address include: the underrepresentation of women and minorities in STEM fields; gender stereotypes and research on cognitive and neurological sex differences; sex and gender disparities in medical research; the scientific and social bases of sex and gender.

Required Texts

Other readings will be available electronically.

Schedule of Readings and Assignments

Topics arranged by week. Unless otherwise specified, all of the reading should be completed by the first day of class each week (Tuesday).

  1. Basic Concepts: Oppression and Privilege (1/15-1/17)
    • Tues (1/15): Introductions, Review Syllabus, Course Overview, Reading Response Expectations
    • Thurs (1/17):
      • Readings: Marilyn Frye, “Oppression”; Alison Bailey, “Privilege”
  2. Why Feminism & Gender in HPS? (1/22-1/24)
    • Readings: Sandra Harding, “Should the Histoy and Philosophy of Science Be X-Rated?”; Kourany chapter 1
    • Reading Journal 1
  3. Values in Science I (1/29-1/31)
    • Readings: Helen Longino, “Subjects, Power, and Knowledge: Description and Prescription in Feminist Philosophies of Science”; Elizabeth Anderson, “Uses of Value Judgments in Science: A General Argument, with Lessons from a Case Study of Feminist Research on Divorce”
    • Reading Journal 2 option
    • Special Events:1/31, 5:30pm, Ellen Greenwald on Gender Identity Diversity.
  4. Values in Science II (2/5-2/7)
    • Readings: Kourany pp. 21-68
    • Reading Journal 2 option
    • Special Event: 2/6, 5pm, LGBT+ in STEM Panel
  5. Diversity and Representation in Science (2/12-2/14)
  6. Gender and the Brain I (2/19-2/21)
    • Readings: Fine, part 1
    • Reading Journal 3 option
  7. Gender and the Brain II (2/26-2/28)
    • Readings: Fine, part 2
    • Reading Journal 3 option
    • Special Event: 2/27, 7:30pn Casey Fiesler on Data Ethics
  8. Gender and Biology (3/5-3/7)
    • Readings: The Biology and Gender Study Group, “The Importance of Feminist Critique for Contemporary Cell Biology”; Kathleen Okruhlik, “Gender and the Biological Sciences”
    • Reading Journal 4 option
    • Assignment Due 3/7: Final Project Proposal or Consultation.
    • Special Event: 3/6, 7:30pm, Don Howard on Big Data, AI
  9. Gender and Medicine (3/12-3/14)
    • Readings: Maya Goldenberg, “How can Feminist Theories of Evidence Assist Clinical Reasoning and Decision-making?”; Susan Sherwin & Katie Stockdale, “Whither Bioethics Now? The Promise of Relational Theory”
    • Reading Journal 4 option
  10. Spring Break – No Class (3/19-3/21)
  11. Gender and Evolution I (3/26-3/28)
    • Readings: Lloyd chapters 1-5
    • Reading Journal 5 option
  12. Gender and Evolution II (4/2-4/4)
    • Readings: Lloyd chapters 6-8
    • Reading Journal 5 option
    • Assignment due: Book reviews (4/5)
  13. Philosophy of Science after Feminism (4/9-4/11)
    • Readings (Tues 4/9): Kourany, pp. 68-128
    • Reading Journal 6
    • Special Event: 4/10, 7:30pm, Ed Finn on Algorithmic Imagination
    • No class on Thurs 4/11 — Work on projects and presentations.
  14. Student Choice Topic (4/16-4/18)
  15. Presentations (4/23-4/25)
  16. Presentations (4/30-5/2)
  17. Finals Week (5/7)
    • Assignment due: Final Report / Paper Due

Some options for Student Choice Topic week 14:

  • Risk and pregnancy
  • Vaccine hesitancy and vaccine refusal
  • Gender and technology
  • Neurosexism and raising children (Fine Part 3)
  • BDSM Practice and Mental Health
  • Epistemic injustice, diagnosis, and patient care
  • Science and transgender identity
  • Sexuality and the brain

Assignments and Grades

Assignment Categories

  1. Participation (60 points max)
  2. Reading journals – Due Mondays by 3pm (15+ per, 90+ points)
  3. Peer responses – Due Wednesdays by 5pm (5 per, 60+ points)
  4. Book review (50+ points)
  5. Final project or research paper (100+ points)
  6. Final project/paper presentation (60 points)

Grades

Your grade is based on a point system. At the end of the semester, your points will be added up, divided by 100, and calculated on a 4-point scale. So 400 points = A. 266 points = B-. 235 points = C+ Etc.

In addition to the points listed above, here are additional additions and subtractions from your final grade:

  • Everyone starts with 30 bonus points
  • Every absence is -15 points
  • Every time you are tardy or leave class early is -10 points
  • Attendance at Special Events related to the course topic is +10 points (up to 40 points total) – If you know about some events that seem to fit, but are not on the course schedule, please let me know, and I will add them!

Most assignments are graded on a “satisfactory/unsatisfactory” basis, where “satisfactory” means not barely passing but attaining a level of competence or mastery. (More a B level than a C- level grade in rough analogy to traditional grading.) The final project / paper has a more complex grading rubric.

Note that late work will not be accepted except as part of a prior arrangement for a modified assignment schedule.

Course and Instructor Policies

Classroom expectations

You are expected to have read the assignments before class, and it would be to your benefit to also read them again after class. You are expected to bring a copy of assigned readings for each day’s class, and have them available to refer to. You are expected to listen respectfully to the professor and your fellow students, and participate in class discussions and activities.

Failure to abide by these expectations will result in you being asked to leave the classroom and being counted absent for the day.

Late Work, Make-Up, and Completion

No late work or make-up exams will be allowed without consent of the professor prior to the due date, except in situations where University policy requires it, or in case of truly dire circumstances, where evidence can be provided. If you anticipate trouble meeting a deadline, it is much more likely that I can accommodate you if you come to be before the deadline than after.

Class Attendance

Attending class is mandatory. Missed classes may count against your final grade, and egregious absenteeism will be grounds for an F in the course. Homework assignments due in class can only be turned in personally the day of that class (or before). In-class assignments and activities likewise cannot be made up. Tardy arrival or early departure will also count against you.

Cheating and Plagiarism

Don’t do it! If you incorporate any work that is not your own into any project that you do, and you do not cite the source properly, this counts as plagiarism. This includes someone doing the work for you, taking work done by another student, verbatim copying of published sources, paraphrasing published work without citation, and paraphrasing in a inappropriate way even with citation. Re-using work created for another course also counts as plagiarism in most contexts. Unless group work is explicitly permitted or required, it is expected that all of the work that you turn in is original and your own, and that any sources that you make use of are correctly cited.

If you are caught cheating or plagiarizing, it is absolutely mandatory for me to turn you in to the Dean of Students Office of Community Standards and Conduct.

Electronic Devices

If you are viewing your texts digitally, you may want to bring a tablet or a laptop computer with you, since you should have a copy of the text at the ready during class discussion. Hard copy does have advantages, and you should consider using hard copies where possible. You’ll be better off (and research supports this) if you take notes on paper and transcribe it onto your computer than if you type your notes directly. Given the nature of the course, you should not have to take such copious notes as to require any extra speed afforded by typing them.

Please don’t distract others by checking email or social media on your phone, tablet, or laptop, using a music player or headphones (unless they are attached to a hearing-assistive device), or doing work for another class during our discussions. Turn off your wifi (unless a class activity requires its use), silence your phone, put away your music, and engage fully with the class discussion. Students making distracting use of electronic devices will be asked to leave and counted absent for the day, without being warned.

What to Call Me, Other Faculty, and TAs

I prefer to be called “Matt,” “Matthew,” “Professor Brown,” or “Dr. Brown.” My preferred pronouns are he/him/his. Faculty members regardless of gender should be referred to by title or degree, “Professor X” or “Dr. X,” unless they specifically tell you otherwise. Visitors or teaching assistants who have not obtained a doctoral degree or hold a relevant academic title should be referred to as “Mr. Y” or “Ms. Z,” never using “Miss” or “Mrs.” unless you are explicitly told otherwise.

Concealed Handguns on Campus

As of August 1, 2016, concealed handgun license holders are permitted to carry their weapons onto the campus and into the general buildings of the University. Unlicensed individuals may not do so, and unconcealed weapons are not allowed. You are not required to disclose whether your status as licensed carrier, nor whether or not you are carrying a handgun at any particular time, to me or anyone other than an official peace officer. Nevertheless, I ask that you voluntarily refrain from bringing weapons into the classroom. Furthermore, I will designate my office as an exclusion zone, prohibiting the concealed carry of a handgun in that space. You will be provided with oral notification to that effect upon visiting my office.

University Policies

The information contained in the following link constitutes the University’s policies and procedures segment of the course syllabus: http://go.utdallas.edu/syllabus-policies

A syllabus is a living document. This descriptions, timelines, and policies contained in this syllabus are subject to change in the interest of improving the quality of the course, at the discretion of the professor. Adequate notice will be provided for any changes, and in many cases they will be discussed with the class.

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