Who is Patricia Hill Collins?
Lets Talk Sexuality
Connected to the Content
Hide and Seek
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What are some interesting background information about Patricia Hill Collins?
She was born in Philadelphia in May 1948
Daughter of Robert Hill and Eunice Randolph Hill
Grew up in working class family and educated in the public school system
She received her education from Brandeis University
Became a Professor of the University of Michigan
100th President of American Sociological Association
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What is sexuality?
According to Fischer, L. N.& Seidman ,S. (2005),
"It refers to the bundle of social phenomena that shape erotic life: laws, religion, norms and values, beliefs and ideologies, the social organization of reproduction, family life, identities, domestic arrangements, diseases, violence and love – everything we evoke when we speak of the sexuality of a culture. And it also refers to the level of the individual – to the pleasures and pains that can shape our lives for good or ill." (P.50)
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What is the target audience for this particular piece of work?
The target audience was:
*African Americans
*Women
*LBGT
This reading is not necessarily geared towards scholars and sexologists; however viewing the direction Collins went in, by incorporating gender ideologies and the idea of "new racism", creates a critical level of thinking, for a general of reader. The book draws a stronger connection from those listed above.
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Miscellaneous Aspects
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What is she known for?
Patricia Collins was a Social Theorist, author, and Professor at the University of Michigan
According to, Patricia Hill Collins: Biography, Thought, and Works (thoughtco.com), it states that "she is an active American sociologist known for her research and theory that sits at the intersection of race, gender, class, sexuality, and nationality."
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How does the author define / Describe sexuality?
Her view of sexuality broadens a view that focuses on racism and gender ideology from a global perspective and she uses these ideas to broaden cultural studies and empirical research.
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TAKE A LOOK!
What is the nature of the documentation?
* Think of the most common sources she uses as far as her works or does she uses the works of other authors?*
Collins was very knowledgeable of her own work and theories. She utilized prior conversations and other work from sociologists as references to sharpen and expand her views on ideas she had not fully been aware of and / utilized the work of others to critically challenge their views, like most theorists.
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Mention the time period, topics discussed, themes /concepts, organization of work, and how the work is related to sexuality and society.
The start of her career was in 1965 when she attended Brandeis University. She sharpened her skills and understanding, which allowed her to foster to schools in Black Boston. She completed her Bachelors in 1969 and then her Masters. She later achieved her PHD, and focused on women, feminist, and Black studies. Between 1986-2005, she earned her title as a professor , focusing on "how African American male and female youth's experiences with social issues of education, unemployment, popular culture and political activism articulate with global phenomena, specifically, complex social inequalities, global capitalist development, transnationalism, and political activism. " Web. Patricia Hill Collins: Biography, Thought, and Works (thoughtco.com)
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Famous Previous Works
First book (award winner), "Black Feminist Thought" published in 1990.
"Black Sexual Politics" (award winner) published in 2004.
In 2005, Collins was a Distinguished Professor for the Department of Sociology at the University of Maryland
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Purpose: Why did they author address sexuality?
She addresses sexuality to highlight the importance of the oppressed groups, recognizing social theories and advocate the importance of perspectives for those oppressed groups.
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Strengths and Weaknesses of the book
Relativity and Contribution to the history of book
The strengths of this book would be the:
*concepts
*organization
*Perspectives
This is a great book to read and the idea of incorporating past issues to show relevancy to the present day society has opened my eyes to what sexuality really is. It does not give a "cookie cutter" view; but more of a realistic idea so that we can become a part of what society looked like in the past in comparison to now.
The only weakness would be not mentioning more feminist sociologists, that has stronger ideas as well. Perspective is everything.
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Conclusion
What could you conclude from the reading that ties into the thesis created for this particular work?
To conclude, Collins fully understood the importance of sexuality and being a feminist has allowed her to critically analyze how black women were viewed in the past. Her knowledge of this concept involving the African American community has deepened her understanding involving oppression and resistance for this particular group of people.
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What was Collins' purpose of writing "Black Sexual Politics"?
Thesis
Collins wrote this piece to express her views on the operation of oppression from a economical and political view. Her readings help expand this understanding of intersectionality in by focusing on intersections of racism and heterosexism. She relates to pop culture figures and events to shape her arguments.
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Name some content relevancy to current issues in sexuality
Ongoing issue related to slavery and heterosexism
*Ideology of "Black sexual deviance"
Churches and communities condemn LGBT
African American men live a double standard life
Churches accepts "closeted" homosexuality ; however, silence in LGBT community results in the worsening of the spread of AIDS
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What did you learn from the book? Would you recommend the book to someone else and why?
Certain oppressions black people, well black women has faced never surprised me but the only part that shocked me was how black women were associated with animalistic sexuality. One would have never known, especially after comparison to a "Latina" or "Caucasian" woman, we would be labeled as "wild" women.
This book would be highly recommended for anyone who is specifically searching for clarity behind African American sexuality of course, but mainly for those who chooses to critically think and want more understanding on ideology and new racism.
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QUOTES
List three quotes that connects to the theme, concepts, scholars from reading.
" The study of history is the beginning of political wisdom" -Jean Bodin
“Homosexuality is neither a sin, nor an anomaly or a disease. It is an evolutionary variation.”
― Abhijit Naskar
- “It appears that my worst fears have been realized we have made progress in everything yet nothing has changed.” Derrick Bell