Robert’s research lies at the intersection of gender, sexuality, and social change. His first book, AIDS and Masculinity in the African City, examines how the AIDS epidemic has shaped African masculinities. Beyond his interest in global health, Robert has examined the global dimensions of human rights and feminist activism, including how women’s rights are articulated and reformulated in African contexts. He has also explored the cultural significance of the Asian martial arts in African-American communities in Chicago. His current project focuses on the rise of China as a new force in African development. This work brings a distinctive ethnographic perspective to how Chinese development is shaping gender relations and the lives of men and women in Africa.
keywords
masculinity, gender, sexuality, social change, urban Africa, HIV, AIDS, development, human rights, women's rights
IAFS 3000 - Special Topics in International Affairs
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Fall 2018 / Fall 2019 / Fall 2024
Junior or senior level umbrella seminar spanning a variety of topics relevant to the study of international affairs. Subjects addressed under this heading vary according to student interest and faculty availability. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours.
IAFS 4500 - The Post-Cold War World
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2018 / Spring 2019 / Spring 2020 / Fall 2020 / Spring 2021
Capstone course for international affairs majors. Examines the ways in which the end of the Cold War, the collapse of failed states, and the rise of global terrorism changed the world. Studies how peoples, governments and nongovernmental organizations face new social, political, economic and security challenges in an era of globalization. Includes discussion, oral reports, critical book reviews, and research papers.
IAFS 4800 - Honors Seminar in International Affairs
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2023
Directed research course tailored to the particular research interests of the students enrolled. Devoted to research methodology and the development of students' research. Department enforced prerequisite: overall 3.30 GPA and IAFS 3.40 GPA.
IAFS 4810 - Honors in International Affairs
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2024
Continuation of IAFS 4800. Students complete original research begun in the fall and write, defend their honors thesis and meet regularly with the instructor.
PSCI 6851 - Interdisciplinary Social Science Professional Socialization
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Spring 2022
Trains graduate students and provides professional socialization in interdisciplinary social science research. Open to all interested students, with programming provided by the Institute of Behavioral Science. Sessions include IBS-housed colloquia and workshops in professional socialization, technological tools, interdisciplinary research, ethics, grant writing, etc. Students workshop and submit a research paper. May be repeated up to 4 total credit hours. Same as PSYC 6831 and SOCY 6851.
PSYC 6831 - Interdisciplinary Social Science Professional Socialization
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2021
Trains graduate students and provides professional socialization in interdisciplinary social science research. Open to all interested students, with programming provided by the Institute of Behavioral Science. Sessions include IBS-housed colloquia and workshops in professional socialization, technological tools, interdisciplinary research, ethics, grant writing, etc. Students workshop and submit a research paper. May be repeated up to 4 total credit hours. Same as SOCY 6851 and PSCI 6851.
SOCY 6851 - Interdisciplinary Social Science Professional Socialization
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2020 / Spring 2021 / Fall 2021 / Spring 2022
Trains graduate students and provides professional socialization in interdisciplinary social science research. Open to all interested students, with programming provided by the Institute of Behavioral Science. Sessions include IBS-housed colloquia and workshops in professional socialization, technological tools, interdisciplinary research, ethics, grant writing, etc. Students workshop and submit a research paper. May be repeated up to 4 total credit hours. Same as PSYC 6831 and PSCI 6851.
WGST 3100 - Feminist Theories
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2018 / Fall 2019 / Fall 2020 / Fall 2023 / Fall 2024
Explores a variety of alternative systematic accounts of, and explanations for, gender inequities. Social norms of both masculinity and femininity are analyzed in relation to other axes of inequality such as class, sexuality, race/ethnicity, neocolonialism and the domination of nonhuman nature.
WGST 3520 - Gender and Sexuality in Africa
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2020 / Fall 2021 / Fall 2023
Examines the dramatic changes occurring across the continent of Africa that are currently reworking gender and sexuality. Foregrounds African conceptions of feminism, and explores a range contemporary issues, including gender & health, modern womanhood, new African masculinities, LGBTQ rights, and the gendered implications of environmental change. Recommended requisites: WGST or WGST 2600.
WGST 3712 - Topics in Global Gender and Sexuality Studies (SS)
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2019
Examines selected topics in women, gender and sexuality in the social sciences, from a global perspective. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours for different topics. Recommended prerequisite: WGST 2000 or WGST 2600.
WGST 3930 - Women and Gender Studies Internship
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Summer 2019
Provides field experience in local and national government and non-governmental agencies focusing on women and gender-related issues. Supervision by approved field instructors. Students must relate their academic experience to their field work experience though a portfolio and a final paper. Department enforced prerequisite: 6 hours of course work in Women and Gender Studies and 30 cumulative credit hours.
WGST 6290 - Special Topics in Gender and Sexuality Studies
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2018
Offers interdisciplinary feminist perspectives on different special topics such as gender and war, gender and globalization, women's social movements, gender and citizenship, gender and collective memory, and cultural representations of gender and sexuality. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours. Meets the requirements for the WGST certificate.
