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Frann
Michel
Required Texts: Estelle Freedman, No Turning
Back: The History of Feminism and the Future of Women Additional texts will be available electronically through e-reserve, Academic Search Premier, or the links in the schedule. |
Course Goals and Expectations
This course introduces students to some of the central issues and concepts in US feminist movement. We will consider the relations among sexism, homophobia, racism, and class oppression, and will examine the effects of dominant representations of women, the impact of sexual violence, the institution of the family, sex discrimination, and reproductive rights. Students will gain both awareness of the significance of gender in contemporary US society and experiential knowledge of feminist analysis.
Feminism is a social movement, and our classroom activities and writing assignments will emphasize collaboration and active participation in discussion. You should come to each class having read the assigned material, having thought about it, and having questions or ideas about it.
Course
requirements
include
reading journals/discussion on weblog: 20%
two essays of about 4 pages each (due 10/16 &11/13): 20% each
a final examination: 20%
class participation: 20%
See
below for
more
information.
Tentative Schedule of
Readings
Changes to this schedule will be announced once in class and posted to a class email list.
Feminisms
W Aug 30 Introductions; some definitions
F Sep 1 No Turning Back,
Chapter 1: “The Historical Case for
Feminism"
M Sep 4 Labor day
W Sep 6 Declaration
of Sentiments; Friedan, "The Problem that Has No
Name"; NOW
Statement of Purpose; de Beauvoir, "Woman as 'Other'"; Frye,
"Oppression"
F Sep 8 No Turning Back,
Chapter 2, "Gender and Power"
M Sep 11 No Turning Back, Chapter
3, "Women's Rights, Women's Work, and Women's Sphere"
W Sep 13 Pharr, "Homophobia: A Weapon of Sexism"; Blood et al., "Understanding
and Fighting Sexism: A Call to Men"
F Sep 15 Yamato, "Something about the Subject Makes it Hard to Name"; McIntosh,
"White
Privilege and Male Privilege"; Cervantes, "Poem for the Young White Man..."’
Parker, "For the white person who..."
M Sep 18 No Turning Back,
Chapter 4, "Race and the Politics of Identity in US Feminism"
W Sep 20 1. Combahee River Collective, "A Black Feminist Statement";
Walker, "Definition of 'Womanist'"
2. Shanley, "Thoughts on Indian Feminism"; Mohanty, "Feminism Without Borders"
3. Shah, "Slaying
the Dragon Lady"
4. Gallardo, ed., "Defining Chicana
Feminisms"
5. Susan Muaddi Darraj, “It’s Not an Oxymoron: The Search for
an Arab Feminism”
F Sep 22 "Transnational
Feminist Practices Against War"; Lila Abu-Lughod, “Do Muslim
Women Really Need Saving?: Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism
and its Others; Entry from Baghdad
Burning
M
Sep 25 No
Turning Back,
Chapter 5: "The Global Stage and the Politics of Location”
Genders
W
Sep 27 Enloe, "Masculinity
as a Foreign Policy Issue"; Connell, "Masculinities and
Globalization"
F Sep 29 Easlea, "Patriarchy, Scientists, and Nuclear Warriors";
Martin, "The Egg and the Sperm"
Society: Politics of Work and Family
F Oct 6 Mainardi, "The Politics of Housework"; Linda Hirshman, "Homeward Bound" Childress, "Like One of the Family"; Ehrenreich, "Maid to Order"
M
Oct 9 No Turning Back,
Chapter 6, "Never Done: Women's Domestic Labor"
W Oct 11 Klinger, "Prostitution, Humanism, and a Woman's
Choice"; Leuchtag, "Human Rights: Sex Trafficking and Prostitution"
F Oct 13 Langston, "Tired of Playing Monopoly?"; Bose & Whaley, "Sex
Segregation in the U.S. Labor Force"; Burk, "Power Plays: Six Ways
the Male Corporate Elite Keeps Women Out"
*M
Oct 16 video: Live Nude Girls Unite
(in class) PAPER DUE
W Oct 18 No Turning Back, Chapter 7,
"Industrialization, Wage Labor, and the Gender Gap"
F Oct 20 Midsemester day
M Oct 23 No Turning Back, Chapter
8: "Workers and Mothers: Feminist Social Policies"
W Oct 25 Hays, "Flat Broke with Children" (on reserve); Power, "Social Provisioning
as a Starting Point for Feminist Economics" (Feminist
Economics 10.3 Nov 2004 (available through Academic Search Premier)
Society: The Politics of Health and Sexuality
F Oct 27 OBOS Chapter 7: "Environmental and Occupational Health"
M
Oct 30 OBOS Chapter
1: "Body Image"
W Nov 1 No
Turning Back, Chapter 9: "Medicine, Markets, and the Female Body"
F Nov 3 OBOS Chapter
20: "Abortion"
M Nov 6 Michael Sullivan DeFine, "A
History of Governmentally Coerced Sterilization: The Plight of the Native American
Woman"
W Nov 8 No Turning Back, Chapter
10: Reproduction: the Politics of Choice
F Nov 10 No class meeting
*M Nov 13 video: Jane: An Abortion Service
(in class); PAPER DUE
W Nov 15 OBOS, Chapter
12 "Sexuality"
F Nov 17 No Turning Back, Chapter 11:
"Sexualities, Identities, and Self-Determination"
M Nov 20 Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, "Mapping
the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women
of Color"
W Nov 22 continued discussion
F Nov 24 Thanksgiving Vacation
M Nov 27 Martin & Hummer, "Fraternities and Rape on Campus"; Allen
& Kivel, "Men Changing Men"
W Nov 29 No Turning Back, Chapter
12: "Gender and Violence"
F Dec 1 OBOS, Chapter
8 "Violence and Abuse"
M Dec 4 No Turning Back,
Chapter 13: "New Words and Images: Women's Creativity as Feminist
Practice"
W Dec 6 No Turning Back,
Chapter 14: "No Turning Back: Women and Politics"
F Dec 8 Last day of class
F Dec 15 9am Final examination
Participation
Evaluation of your participation includes the following:Reading Journals (a.k.a. discussion blog)
Point your web browser to http://blog.willamette.edu
Login using your WU username & password
On the "My Weblogs" list you should see "Feminism, Gender, and
Society"
C lick on one of the "Create new entry" buttons to do just that.
You need to select the "Publish" option for Post Status for your entry
to appear on the formal blog site page.
To comment on someone else's entry, you have to be viewing the actual site
/http://blog.willamette.edu/people/fmichel/journal/
You can get there by clicking on the "View Site" buttons which appear
in various places in the editing interface or by entering the above URL in the
browser address bar.At least once a week, you'll post a response to a reading
assignment before we discuss it in class.
You might raise questions, offer additional evidence of a writer's point, or offer
a refutation, qualification, or other critique. You might consider the implications
of the reading in light of your own experience, of current events, or of
other readings. Ideally, you will also respond to your classmates' postings.
Papers
The order in which you
turn in the two papers is up to you. Each paper should be
about four
pages long (1000 words), and should be thoughtful, focused, and
clear. The Writing Center has several handbooks and tip sheets on
writing. I encourage you to confer with me about your papers.
Paper One: Feminist Activity
Because feminism is not a purely academic subject, this assignment requires you to visit and report on a feminist group, event, or resource. For instance, you might attend a meeting (or several meetings) of NOW, NARAL, Students for Choice, or the campus Women's Center. You might volunteer as a clinic escort, or attend a feminist rally, lecture, or concert. Because feminism is a collective movement, and because some of these events may take place outside Salem, I encourage you to attend them in company with classmates, and to discuss your experiences together before writing your own essay. Draw on our readings where they help you to develop your analysis (for instance, in defining how the event is feminist). Your essay should have a clearly-stated thesis, that is, a main point that characterizes and assesses the subject of your report. The paper should describe and critique the event: its purpose, participants, strategies, and outcome.
Paper Two: Plan for life on minimum wage.
In order to help us conduct an informed discussion of economic issues, this assignment requires you to plan a monthly budget based on minimum wage. The monthly after tax income of a single parent with two children working full time (40 hours/week) at minimum wage in Oregon is approximately $1135. To plan a budget, you will need to locate an affordable residence and childcare, price foods and plan menus for one adult and two children (ages 2 & 6), allow funds for utilities, clothing, and transportation, and for items such as diapers and sanitary napkins or tampons. Again, you may wish to do the research for this paper in teams, assigning one person to find a place to live, for instance, and another to plan a week's food shopping, and pooling your findings before writing your individual papers. Ideally, however, you will find ways to make the assignment vivid. (For instance, spend a day or two eating only the meals you've budgeted.) How hard or easy was it to complete this assignment? What would it be like to raise a family on this budget? Be specific. What does the home you found look like? In what kind of facility will you be leaving your children? How nutritious and appetizing are the meals you have planned?
Links
on writing
my writing guidelines
Writing Center
Online Writing
Resources
The Elements of Style
Brief MLA Style Guide
On Plagiarism
and how to avoid it
articles (not included on reading schedule)
Stanford Encyclopedia
of Philosophy: Topics in Feminism
Beyond Same-Sex Marriage: A New Strategic
Vision
The Myth
of the Vaginal Orgasm
The Woman-Identified
Woman
Redefining Prostitution
as Sex Work on the International Agenda
Daily
Effects of Straight Privilege
Male Privilege
Checklist
I Want a Wife
blogs
Feminist Blogs
Feminist Allies
organizations, resources
National Organization for Women
Code Pink
Institute for Women’s Policy Research
XY: Men, Masculinities, and Gender
Politics
Ipas: Women’s Health
and Reproductive Rights
Center for Reproductive Law and Policy
Ms magazine
bibliographies
Men’s Bibliography
Bibliography of
Black Feminisms
archives
University of
Maryland Resources
Duke Collection of Women’s
Liberation Documents
Women of Color site at Harvard
Eserver feminist documents
Chicago Women’
s Liberation
Late assignments, absences
I do not accept late assignments. In exceptional circumstances I may provide an extension on a paper assignment if you speak with me individually in advance. Late papers will be returned at my convenience.
If you miss class for any reason, consult with at least two classmates about what you missed and then come to me with any additional questions you may have.
Individual
consultations/office hours/other
questions and suggestions
My regular office hours are listed at the beginning of this syllabus. Some weeks, I may need to reschedule some hours because of committee meetings or other faculty business. I will post temporary changes on my office door. Most weeks, I will have a sign-up sheet on my office door for scheduling appointments. I will be happy to meet with you individually to go over drafts, discuss your ideas for a paper, or discuss other course material or issues. If you cannot meet with me at any of the scheduled times, contact me after class or by phone or email to set up an appointment at another time.
When you have questions about materials or assignments, please raise them in class-others may have the same questions. When you have questions or concerns about your work, or suggestions for improving the class, please come see me as soon as possible. I can answer questions, resolve problems, and make use of suggestions only if I know about them.