Taking the Red Pill: Men and Masculinities Today

In contemporary culture to “take the red pill” or to be “red-pilled” means peering beneath the “illusions” of mainstream society to perceive the “truth” about reality, an act professed by many males today who feel marginalized in the late modern world. As a way of accounting for this situation this course charts the rise of male discontent since the 1950s within the United States and abroad. Employing interdisciplinary and transnational perspectives, it explores how men and masculinities are represented and experienced during periods of rapid change connected to “modernity” as well as the rights-based movements of women, people of color, and LGBTQIA+ people. (Same as AMS 365, HUM 365 and WGSS 365.)

HIST 364 explores the messy world we live in. To do so it employs tools from disciplines like history, sociology, philosophy, social psychology, and gender studies. Critical thinking, careful reading, informed reflection, and methodological empathy are all skills that will be developed, along with the ability to entertain different points of view and discuss them in a civil manner. Heck, you might even learn a bit of empathy. Although each week will feature at least one lecture, discussion is strongly encouraged. Coursework may include brief response essays, discussions, and/or a research project.

Above all, this course does not shrink from ambiguity and paradox. It resists the polarizing tendencies of so much that passes for “debate” these days and offers no easy answers. Can’t deal with that? Then this course isn’t for you.