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Frann
Michel
Required Texts: bell hooks, Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics Estelle Freedman, No Turning Back: The History of Feminism and the Future of Women Boston
Women's Health Collective, Our
Bodies, Ourselves |
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 short papers of about 4 pages each (due 10/5 and 11/9): 15% each
a final essay and presentation (essay due 12/12): 30%
class participation: 20%
See
below for
more
information.
Tentative Schedule of
Readings
W 29 Aug Rich, “Claiming an Education”
Feminisms: some key terms and concepts
W 5 Sept hooks, Feminism is for Everybody, Chapters 1-4; Freedman,
No Turning
Back, Chapter 1
M 10 Sept Fausto-Sterling, “The
problem with sex/gender and nature/nurture”
W 12 Sept Pharr, “Homophobia as a Weapon of Sexism”; hooks, Ch16
M 17 Sept Blood et al., "Understanding and Fighting Sexism: A Call to Men";
Kimmel, “Real Men Join the Movement”; hooks, Ch 12
W 19 Sept Langston, “Tired of Playing Monopoly?”; hooks, Ch 7
M 24 Sept Yamato, "Something about the Subject Makes it Hard to Name";
McIntosh, "White
Privilege and Male Privilege"; Parker, "For the white person who...";
hooks, Ch10
W 26 Sept Combahee River Collective, “A Black Feminist Statement”;
Yamada, “Invisibility is an Unnatural Disaster”; Shanley, “Thoughts
on Indian Feminism”; Moraga, "La Güera?"; Darraj, “It’s
Not an Oxymoron”; Recommended: Freedman, Ch 4
M 1 Oct hooks, Ch 8; Abu-Lughod, “Do
Muslim Women Need Saving?”; Recommended: Freedman, Ch 5
Work and Family
W 3 Oct Mainardi, "The Politics of Housework"; Childress, "Like One of the Family"; No Turning Back, Chapter 6, "Never Done: Women's Domestic Labor"
F 5 October 2:30 pm First short paper due
M 8 Oct Enloe, “‘Just Like One of the Family’: Domestic Servants
in World Politics”; Parreñas, “The International Division
of Domestic Labor,” (aka "The International Division of Reproductive Labor") from Servants of Globalization
W 10 Oct Bose & Whaley, "Sex Segregation in the U.S. Labor Force";
No Turning Back, Chapter 7, "Industrialization, Wage Labor, and
the Gender Gap"
M 15 Oct "Kimmel, “The Constructed Problems” of Family Life”;
No Turning Back, Chapter 8: "Workers and Mothers: Feminist Social
Policies"
W 17 Oct Alexander, “Prostitution: A Difficult Issue for Feminists”;
Klinger, "Prostitution, Humanism, and a Woman's Choice"; Leuchtag,
"Human Rights: Sex Trafficking and Prostitution "
M 10/22 Andrea Dworkin, "Why Pornography Matters to Feminists" from Letters from a War Zone; Hartley, “Confessions of a Feminist Porn Star”; Live Nude Girls Unite! (video, in class)
Genders, Bodies, Sex
W 10/24 Our Bodies, OurSelves Ch 1; hooks, Ch 6; Gimlin, “Cosmetic Surgery: Paying for Your Beauty”; Recommended: Freedman, Ch 9
M 10/29 Wangsgaard Thompson, “’A Way Outta No Way’: Eating
problems among African-American, Latina, and White Women”; Haubegger,
“I’m not fat, I’m Latina”; Lamm, “It’s a
Big Fat Revolution”; No
More Miss America!
M 11/5 OBOS, Ch 30-33 ; Wendell, “The Social Construction of Disability”; Chan,
“You’re Short, Besides!”
W 11/ 7 Planning for final essay: Three (3) possible topics due; Shapiro, “Transsexualism: Reflections on the Persistence of Gender
and the Mutability of Sex”; OBOS, Ch 9
F 11/9 2:30 Second short paper due
M 11/12 Guest presentation by Julie Greenberg, Professor of Law at Thomas Jefferson School of Law
W 11/14 Planning for final essay: Topic due: One Paragraph; OBOS, Ch 10-12; hooks, Ch 14-15; Recommended: Freedman, Ch
11
M 11/19 OBOS, Ch 17-20; hooks, Ch 5; Jane: An Abortion Service (video, in class); Recommended: Freedman, Ch 10
W 11/21 continued discussions
M 11/26 OBOS, Ch 8; hooks ch 11; Recommended: Freedman, Ch 12
W 11/28 Crenshaw, "Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color"; Beneke, "Introduction to Men on Rape"; Bernhard & Schlaffer “The Man on the
Street: Why he Harasses”; Bart and O’Brien, “Stopping Rape:
Effective Avoidance Strategies”
M 12/3 Group Presentations
W 12/5 Group Presentations
W 12/12 2pm Final essay due
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/fgs
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
Each paper 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: 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. First, determine the monthly after tax income of a single parent with two children working full time (40 hours/week) at minimum wage in Oregon. 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?
Paper Two: 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.
Final Project
Final paper (8-10 pages) and Final Presentation: This paper is a research project
involving an analysis of the topic of your choice. Topics can include any of
the subjects we address in class, spin off topics from these, or any other significant
issue relating to Feminism, Gender, and Society. You will research and write
your own individual paper. The presentation, in contrast, will be a group effort,
a space for you to share with class members the thinking and process that informs
your final project and paper. It will also allow us to share with each other
some of the specific knowledge and insights gained. The paper is due Wednesday
12 December; presentations will take place in the last several class meetings.
(30% of course grade)
Links
on writing
my writing guidelines
Writing Center
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 Rights
Ms magazine
bibliographies
Men's Bibliography
Bibliography of
Black American Feminisms
archives
University of
Maryland Resources
Duke Collection of Women's Liberation
Documents
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. Post a summary of the reading assignment to the class blog
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. 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.