Gender & Family: A Global Perspective

Gender & Family: A Global Perspective
Introduction

This course introduces students to the intertwined relationship between the family and gender division of labor in society. On the one hand, the family is a domain where gender roles and relationships between women and men are socially constructed and reproduced. Through examining the social interactions between family members, allocation of resources and responsibilities, we shall be able to understand how individuals do gender and the maintenance of gendered division of labor in the wider society. On the other hand, gender is a key form of stratification in societies globally. Thus, gender is a lens through which we can assess how changing marriage and family life are structured and processed. More importantly, it can also help us to understand some of the stresses and strains faced by families today in meeting various challenges induced by increasing global competitive market and also the demand for achieving gender equality. We will look at the changing family structures and gender relations in Hong Kong and elsewhere. Particularly, we will examine how policies and processes in the public domain are related to gender and family relations in the private domain. By the end of the semester, students are expected to gain a good knowledge of diversified practices of gender relations and family as well as to be able to analyze them critically.