Course Syllabus
Transgender in Scandinavia
| Semester & Location: |
Spring 2021 - DIS Stockholm |
| Type & Credits: |
Elective Course - 3 credits |
| Major Disciplines: |
Gender Studies, Sociology |
| Faculty: |
Iwo Nord, iwo.nord@disstockholm.se |
| Program Director: |
Tina Mangieri, tma@disstockholm.se |
| Time & Place: |
Mondays & Thursdays, 11:40-13:00, 1D-409 |
Charley Kåberg Normkritisk Illustration
Course Description
Transgender celebrities such as Caitlin Jenner and Laverne Cox have fueled mainstream interest in transgender lives and experiences. However, trans and queer communities have long fought for trans people’s rights to be ‘true to self’. This course explores the history of trans activism with a special focus on Sweden, and how legislative and medical discourses change how we think about gender identities and rights. We also explore topics such as transphobia, gender disclosure and HIV criminalization laws, reproductive rights, gender-neutral pronouns, transgender children and their families, and how race and class intersect with being trans.
Learning Objectives
- To understand and critically evaluate the historical, cultural and political context of trans identities and trans bodies in Scandinavia and Sweden, in particular.
- To critically compare the inclusion and exclusion of trans narratives in gender theory discourse and feminist movements in Europe and the U.S.
- To recognize the stakeholders and forces of influence that govern and police gender conformity.
- To identify key legislation that impacts trans lives and critically examine the surrounding discourse.
Faculty
Iwo Nord is a trans researcher and educator interested in transgender and queer lives and culture, nuances of agency and power, intersections of the transnational and the local, and questions concerning mobility (travel and migration). The past years he has been committed to building and strengthening Transgender Studies in both the Nordic region and in the former Yugoslav space. Devoted to social change for trans people, he is involved in trans academic and activist alliances, resulting in the forthcoming collaborative volume In Transition: Trans Lives, Activisms, and Culture in the Post-Yugoslav Space, edited by Bojan Bilić, Iwo Nord and Aleksa Milanović. He was one of the founding members of Trans Fest Stockholm, an activist collective that strives to create inclusive and empowering cultural and community events in the Swedish capital. Iwo is a PhD candidate in Gender Studies at Södertörn University, and is affiliated with the Center for Baltic and East European Studies. His doctoral project ethnographically explores Belgrade as a transnational destination for gender-affirming surgery. He holds an MA from the University of Oslo, Norway, and has formerly taught at the Institute of Scandinavian and Finnish Studies at the University of Gdansk, Poland. Iwo’s publications include “Routes to Gender-Affirming Surgery: Navigation and Negotiation in Times of Biomedicalization” in Body, Migration, Re/constructive Surgeries: Making the Gendered Body in a Globalized World, edited by Gabriele Griffin and Malin Jordal (Routledge 2018).
Selected Readings
* Ida Linander, Erika Alm, Anne Hammarström, and Lisa Harryson (2017) Negotiating the (bio)medical gaze - Experiences of trans-specific healthcare in Sweden, Social Science and Medicine, 174, 9-16
* Malin Lindroth, Galit Zeluf, Louise Nilunger Mannheimer and Charlotte Deogan (2017) Sexual Health among Transgender People in Sweden, International Journal of Transgenderism
* Yolanda Martínez-San Miguel and Sarah Tobias (Editors) (2016) Trans Studies: The Challenge to Hetero/Homo Normativities, Rutgers University Press, New Jersey
* Christina Richards, Walter Pierre Bouman, Leighton Seal, Meg John Barker, Timo O. Nieder and Guy T'Sjoen (2016) Non-binary or Genderqueer Genders, International Review of Psychiatry, 28:1, 95-102
* Marie Gustafsson Sendén, Emma A. Bäck and Anna Lindqvist (2015) Introducing a gender-neutral pronoun in a natural gender language: the influence of time on attitudes and behavior, Frontiers in Psychology, 6:893
* Dean Spade (2015) Normal Life: Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics, and the Limits of Law, Duke University Press, Durham
* Susan Stryker (2017) Transgender History, Seal Press, Berkeley
* Susan Stryker and Stephen Whittle (Editors) (2006) The Transgender Studies Reader, Routledge, New York
* TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly, Duke University Press, Durham
* Galit Zeluf, Cecilia Dhejne, Carolina Orre, Louise Nilunger Mannheimer, Charlotte Deogan, Jonas Höijer and Anna Ekéus Thorson, (2016) Health, Disability and Quality of Life among Trans People in Sweden – a web-based survey, BMC Public Health, 16:903
Field Studies and Guest Lectures (to be confirmed)
- ANOVA* – we will visit Stockholm’s gender team to hear about the process and healthcare options available for trans and gender-diverse people wanting medical interventions.
- Transformering.se* – we will visit RFSL & RFSL Ungdom to learn about their support and information website for trans and gender diversity questions, as well as the ongoing political and advocacy work for trans rights in Sweden.
- Trans People and Asylum in Sweden – Suma Abdelsamie* will speak about the experiences of trans people seeking asylum in Sweden.
- Trans Children, Parents and Families – Anna Pirata and Zafire Vrba* will share their different experiences of gender-neutral parenting in the Swedish context and their perspectives as trans parents in their chosen family forms.
Approach to Teaching
This is a mostly discussion-based course where each person is encouraged to offer personal insights and different perspectives to help collectively question and explore our understandings of trans and gender-diverse experiences in society.
SAFER SPACE
In order to create a class environment that is considerate and respectful of our diverse life experiences, it is very important that we all share responsibility to help ensure a safer space for each other. Our collective learning will be enhanced through our different perspectives.
Care
We will be openly engaging with numerous topics and issues that some students might find uncomfortable. If you feel you need to excuse yourself from the conversation or the classroom because of things brought up by our discussion, you are welcome to do so. Please just advise me at some point before or afterwards if this is the case.
Expectations of Students
Assigned readings must be done prior to class to encourage active engagement and informed participation. I want to see your participation, understanding, and engagement with the material during our discussions.
Computers can be used in class, but please keep phones in your bag. You are encouraged to take notes (because you won’t remember everything), but the how and where is up to you to decide. Please be aware that failure to comply with these expectations will negatively affect your participation grade.
COVID-19
We all have a collective responsibility to avoid the spread of COVID-19 at DIS. Throughout this semester, please monitor yourself carefully for symptoms of COVID-19 (dry cough, high temperature, breathing difficulties, sore throat, headache, muscle pain, loss of smell/taste). If you experience any of these symptoms, please stay home and contact the DIS emergency phone. The respondent will coordinate with Academics at DIS Stockholm, who will in turn contact your individual faculty. If you are otherwise well but isolating due to possible exposure or mild symptoms, it is your responsibility to keep up with your coursework - we will organize hybrid classes for you to join via Zoom. If you are unwell due to COVID-19 and unable to attend class or study, your absence will be excused. Your faculty will work with you to ensure you are able to make up missed course content due to illness. You are still responsible for completing any missed work.
Possible adjustments to the schedule and content
* Guest lectures and field trips might be adjusted (where, when, who)
* Some changes might be made in the preparational material for some classes.
* In this "strange time", as your teacher I will strive to turn the low student number into an advantage. We will think together about how to make the most of out of the course, for example by making extra space for topics you might find especially interesting and by adapting assignments to this term's special circumstances.
Assessment
To be eligible for a passing grade, you must complete all of the assigned work:
* 40% Participation and Discussion Leading – demonstrated by actively participating in class/field studies and leading class discussion.
* 15% Individual Presentation – 20 minute presentation.
* 15% Personal Gender Narrative – create a short booklet/zine with pictures and captions.
* 10% Short Reflections on 4 topics
* 20% Experience in Trans Community Reflection, alternatively Transgender in Scandinavia Course Reflection – 2-3 page essay.
Academic Regulations
Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on:
DIS - Study Abroad in Scandinavia - www.DISabroad.org
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|