24 Jan Then, between Friday morning

HUM105 Great Ideas of World Civilizations

Discussion Forum 3

Do we really need gender roles?

This week, I’ll be following up on last week’s discussions about sex and gender roles, by asking you to read and talk about one of the most powerful and influential gender assumptions in Western culture – the concept we call “romance”. What is it? Where did it come from? Why did it become so powerful?

To participate in this week’s discussion forum, first please view the PowerPoint on “Romance and the Courtly Love Tradition”. Then read the excerpt from Andreas Capellanus’s The Art of Courtly Love, and the short story, “Editha” by William Dean Howells. You can and should also browse through some of the other materials I’ve posted in the Unit 1 folder, such as “Jealousy and Western Tradition”, Lavinia Fontana’s painting, “Portrait of a Noblewoman”, the “Guides To Being a Good Woman”, etc. After you’ve had a chance to consider what you’ve found, come into this discussion forum, click on “Reply”, and, in a first post of about 150 to 200 words, answer the following questions:

Do you see evidence of the continuing influence of the Courtly Love Tradition in your life, your and other people’s relationships, and your or other people’s expectations for those relationships? Do these factors affect people’s choices and behavior? How important do you think the Courtly Love concept of “romance” is to you or to our culture in general?

As before, make sure that you use at least one quotation from the assigned readings and make at least one reference to any other material you chose to look at. Remember to click on “Submit” when you’re ready to post. Your first post should be submitted by Thursday, February 7th, at 11:59 pm.

Then, between Friday morning and Sunday night, post your second response. Your second response can be shorter, but it should be a full response to a post of one of your classmates: at least three sentences. That one needs to be completed by 11:59 pm, Sunday, February 10th. Please use at least one direct quotation from the assigned readings (use quotation marks and cite properly), and one reference to on-line materials in your first post, and make sure you do at least one of the following for each of your two posts:

Be the first to post an answer to the question.

Agree, but then add to what someone else has already said.

Disagree with something already said, but explain why you disagree.

Add a new element or new idea to the discussion.

Do not just agree, disagree, go off on an unrelated tangent, or base your argument on “It’s just my opinion”. Give reasons. And because you want everyone to understand what you’re trying to say, be clear and grammatical.