2018-2019 Pitzer Catalog 
    
    Mar 28, 2024  
2018-2019 Pitzer Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

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SOC 108 PZ -Moon Called: Black Women, Pregnancy and Ritual


Institution: Pitzer

Description: The moon’s connection to women’s wombs is honored within southeastern African American: a) folklore and menstruation, birthing, pregnancy and fertility rituals; b) midwifery practice; and c) superstitions. The course is divided into four sections, with each section being organized around one or more major questions about the ways in which culture, religion and society influenced the ways in which pregnancy, menstruation, and birthing are viewed among African Americans. We begin with an introduction of the social roles of rituals, and how pregnancy symbolizes social cohesion for communities of color. We then explore symbolic rituals within African American pregnancy and birthing traditions as practiced by Black midwives on slave plantations and within southern US black communities post-Emancipation. We next critically analyze the social codification of pregnancy and birthing by the US medical establishment and its impact on Black midwifery practice, and end with a feminist investigation of how certain rituals and superstitions persist within Black communities via feminist qualitative methods, namely one-on-one interviews with black women from Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties.

Prerequisite(s): SOC 001 and Intro to Gender Studies

For up-to-date information on current course offerings and details, please refer to the Pitzer class schedule on MyCampus2 Portal.

 



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