ISC 205-01 (A Minerva Course)
Inequality:  Economic and Social Perspectives

Teresa Meade and Eshragh Motahar/Fall 2015

David Cotter

The Gender Revolution:  Stopped, Stalled or in Reverse?
Wednesday, September 30, 2015, Olin 115

The shift towards greater equality between men and women over the last half-century is one of the more remarkable changes in contemporary society.  So remarkable that many have termed it a “revolution” – highlighting the degree to which what once seemed “natural” inequalities are quite challenge-able and changeable.  The reverberations of this revolution are felt across social institutions of the family, economy, education, politics, religion, and others. Over the last decade and a half scholars, however, have observed that this trend toward growing equality has stalled.  This lecture will examine the forms, causes, and consequences of the gender revolution, as well as its intersection with inequalities of race, class and sexualities. As preparation for the lecture, students should read the following, each delivered as addresses by prominent sociologists, England’s to the Sociologists for Women in Society, Wharton’s as President of the Pacific Sociological Association. England, Paula.  2010.  “The Gender Revolution: Uneven and Stalled” Gender & Society.  24:149-166. Wharton, Amy S. 2015. “(Un)Changing Institutions: Work, Family, and Gender in the New Economy.” Sociological Perspectives. 58:7–19. Professor Cotter's website.

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Last revised:  Tuesday, September 29, 2015