Anthropology of Sex, Gender, and Kinship [Durham, NC]

**This course is in-person only. There is no virtual component. Participants must be age 21+

Full Tuition: $340 — Sliding-scale tuition options are available in the drop-down enrollment menu for you to self-select. To pay in installments, choose to pay with PayPal or Klarna at check out.

Instructor: Leigh Campoamor | 5 Weeks | Sundays | September 27-October 25 | 7:00-9:00 PM | 719 N. Mangum St, Durham NC 

How did the myth of the gender binary become so powerful? And why has it been such a potent force for organizing social life? We know that sex and gender aren’t the same thing, but what does it mean to say that the very concepts are social constructions, and that they work in and through another social construction: the nuclear family? How do people around the world and in our own communities navigate these structures, whether within families or through alternative social formations? In this class, we’ll take an anthropological approach to these questions, which means also examining how people around the world have diversely understood and experienced sex, gender, kinship, and linked concepts, including sexuality, queerness, patriarchy and feminism. 

As we develop an understanding of how these concepts operate as instruments of control and how people have navigated them, we’ll ask ourselves what we want to do with them. Do we want to get rid of concepts like masculinity and femininity, and gender itself, or do we want to resist their dominant configurations by investing them with new meanings? Do we want to save the nuclear family or abolish it? What are the promises and limitations of putting names on things and forming them into identity categories, particularly as capitalism captures and co-opts identity politics? How does normative language around sex and gender fail to embrace the possibilities of kinship, care and connection? Many anthropologists have argued that queerness gives us a way out of the binary as a fluid and expansive concept that signals a powerful critical relationship to the world and its categories. In studying  together, we’ll imagine more fulfilling ways of relating to one another. 

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The Fine Print:

Gift certificates may only be redeemed at the full tuition tier.

SLIDING SCALE TUITION

Full tuition is the cost per-student of running the class. If you choose a tier below full tuition, you are receiving a discount. If you choose to make a donation in addition to full tuition, you are helping to cover the cost for students who are not able to pay the full amount.

The mid-level tier is a discounted rate for people whose household income is at or above living wage but who have limited discretionary income. 

The low-level tier and the full-scholarship tier are for people whose household income is below living wage or who need extra assistance to meet their needs.

SCHOLARSHIPS

Through our fundraising efforts, we are able to offer three full scholarships per class. The full-scholarship tier is a nonrefundable offering. Each student may only take one full-scholarship class at a time. Because our scholarship funding is limited, if a student selects multiple overlapping classes at the full-scholarship level, they will be disenrolled from all classes. 

All sliding-scale and scholarship needs are self-assessed, and we will never request or require proof of need.

Please see our FAQ for more information, including installment plans, refund policy, and sick and inclement weather policy.