Course: GNDR 150: Introduction to Gender & Women S Studies

Course: GNDR 150: Introduction to Gender & Women’s Studies

Fall 2010, Roanoke College

Tuesday/Thursday 1:10-2:40

Room: West 125

Prof. Monica Vilhauer

Email:

Office: West 317

Office Hours: Monday/Wednesday 2-3:30

Syllabus:

Course Description:

What is gender? Is gender inborn or a product of society? Are women and men essentially different? Are there more than two genders? What counts as gender inequality? How might we achieve “gender justice”? Is it possible to separate a study of gender from a study of race, ethnicity, class, and sexuality? These are all central questions at the heart of Gender &Women’s studies. This course aims to tackle these questions by tracing the historical development of gender theory and activism in the west from its roots in (so-called) first wave feminism (centered on women’s suffrage), through the second wave (of the 1960s and 1970s), and up to contemporary debates of today. Along the way we will see how studies from a variety of different disciplines (including anthropology, sociology, psychology, literature, history, religion, philosophy, etc.) have come together to offer important contributions to our developing understanding of gender. Our guest faculty speakers working on Gender & Women’s studies from across the curriculum will aid us in seeing the interdisciplinary nature of the field. In this course students will have the unique opportunity to develop the conceptual and historical orientation needed to ground their concentration in Gender & Women’s studies, while also gaining exposure to the range of professors at the college with whom they can study in this field.

Outcomes:

The outcome of such a study is expected to be a heightened ability to (1) recognize cultural gender norms and gender inequality, (2) grasp the basic historical progression in which gender has become a subject of critical reflection and political justice in the west (3) analyze, interpret and articulate dominating theories concerning gender and gender inequality (from a number of different disciplines) in writing and class discussion, (4) critically evaluate these theories in written argument and class discussion, (5) develop our own positions within a tradition of debate surrounding gender, using reasoned argument. Students’ performance will be evaluated based on class discussion, papers, and midterm/ final essay exams.

Required Texts:

(Available at the College Book Store)

1. The Feminist Papers, edited by Alice Rossi, Bantam Books

1. The Second Wave, edited by Linda Nicholson, Routledge
2. Feminist Thought, Second Edition by Rosemarie Putnam Tong, Westview

4. All other required readings will be posted on blackboard.

Course Requirements:

Participation in Class Discussion20%

Four Textual Analysis papers (3-4 pages each, 10% each)40%

Miderm Exam20%

Final Exam20%

Participation:

• This is a discussion-based seminar. Discussion-based seminars emphasize student participation and engaged learning, and depend upon students coming to class having already read, thought about, and written about the texts we will be discussing each day. (See my handout “What’s a Seminar?”)

• Your ability to participate is a reflection of your preparation for the class and counts as 20% of your final grade. You should aim to contribute something to our conversation every day that we discuss a reading selection.
• For each day that we discuss a reading selection, students from one of the groups A, or B (as noted on the schedule below) will be called on to “start us off” in our discussion of the homework questions (posted on blackboard) by taking a first stab at answers to these questions. The rest of the class will then be expected to get involved in the discussion. On the first day of class, students will sign up for which group (A or B) they would like to be in.

• How Participation is Graded: Since discussion-based seminars can only succeed with the participation of its members, your preparation and engagement in our conversation about the texts we read is essential.

• Excellent (A level): Excellent participation reveals excellent preparation for class. Your contributions show that you have read and thought carefully about the material, and your comments provide depth of insight to the rest of the class. You are able to dig beneath the surface of the text, make connections to previous ideas we have studied, and think critically about what we are reading. You participate every day. Our conversation would suffer without you.
• Good (B level): Good participation shows that you have done the work of reading and defining relevant concepts for yourself before class. You are able to come up with thoughtful questions that show you have a basic understanding of the ideas we are reading, but want to dig into their deeper meaning. You participate most days. Our conversation is better because of you.
• Fair (C level): Fair participation shows that you have read the material, though perhaps not very closely, and have half-heartedly done the homework questions. Your comments show you are thinking about our class discussion, but they are not grounded in your own reading of the text. Your questions lead us to review basic concepts and definitions. You only really participate when your group is up. Our conversation stays on task with your input.
• Barely There (D level): You avoid participating, so it is very difficult to know if you have engaged the reading, or if you are engaged in our class-time work. You find ways to avoid participating even when your group is up. You seem alert enough to be listening, but our discussion would not lose anything if you were absent.
• Non-Participant (F level): You are basically silent and do not participate. You seem to have your mind elsewhere, and it is not totally clear that you are awake. This, in itself, can be a real distraction and bring down the level of the class. Our discussion would be more focused if you were not there.

Preparation: Readings and Homework Questions

• For each meeting there will be an assigned selection of text to read and a handful of homework/discussion questions (posted on blackboard) that all students are expected to answer in writing before class, and come to class ready to talk about.
• Homework questions are meant to help direct students to the important issues to focus on while they are reading the text, challenge each student to develop skills of reading comprehension, analysis, and written articulation, and serve as preparation for class discussion and papers.
• Students will be asked to discuss, summarize, or read their answers in class as a springboard for further discussion.
• Homework answers are to be individual efforts – that is, a result of your own careful reading and analysis of the primary text. (The commentary offered in Tong’s Feminist Thought, should be used as a supplement or aide, but not a replacement, for reading and analyzing the primary text).
• On days that we have guest speakers there may not be homework questions given out ahead of time, but students are still expected to prepare the reading material assigned for that day and engage with the guest speaker.

Textual Analysis Papers:

• Over the course of the semester, students will write four short 3-4 page textual analysis papers
• For the 3-4 page papers, students will be offered a handful of questions relating to the previous couple weeks of class and will be asked to choose one of these questions to answer in depth by way of a close analysis of the text.
• What is expected in an analysis paper (i.e., statement of a focused question; a thesis, reconstruction of the author’s argument; explanation of the author’s insight; critique of the argument) will be discussed in class ahead of time (see my handout “Writing a Philosophy Paper: Textual Analysis”)
• Papers that are turned in late will drop one step of a grade (i.e., from an A to an A-) each day that it is late (this means each calendar day, not each class day). If you are absent on the day your paper is due, email it to me.

The Writing Center is Your Friend!

• The Writing Center @ Roanoke College is located in the Goode-Pasfield Center for Learning and Teaching in Fintel Library. Student writers working in any field of study at any level of competence meet with trained peer writing tutors in informal, one-on-one sessions. Writers may meet with tutors at any point in the writing process, from brainstorming to drafting to editing. The Writing Center is open Sunday through Thursday from 4 to 9 pm starting Sunday, September 12th.. Simply stop in or schedule an appointment ahead of time by going to www.roanoke.edu/writingcener. Questions? Email the writing center at or call 375-4949. The Writing Center also sponsors writing workshops, grammar crammers, and creative writing playshops. The Spring 2010 schedule will be posted on our website at www.roanoke.edu/writingcenter .

Exams: There will be midterm and final exams involving short and long essay components. Only in the event of a real emergency can a student take the exam at a different time than is allotted for the class. The student should talk to me or email me immediately if this is their situation.

Special Services:

• If you are on record with the College’s Special Services as having a special academic or physical needs requiring accommodations, please let me know immediately. We need to discuss your accommodations before they can be implemented. Also, arrangements for extended time on exams and testing in a semi-private setting must be made at least one week before every exam. If you believe you are eligible for accommodations but have not yet formally contacted Special Services, please call 375-2248 or go to the Center for Learning and Teaching in Fintel Library.

Course Policies:

Attendance:

• One of the reasons you and I have come to a small liberal arts school like Roanoke College is that we believe that genuine education is an interactive endeavor. If you are not in class, you are not actively engaging in your education.
• For a class that meets twice a week, I will allow a student 4 absences (regardless of reason) before dropping him/her from the course. This means you should THINK AHEAD! Everyone will likely have something happen during the semester which will cause them to miss class (flu, funeral, etc.). You should save your absences for such emergencies!
• If you must miss a class due to some emergency or other pressing reason, please talk to me about it or email me (preferably ahead of time). If you are absent, you are responsible for asking a classmate about the contents of our class discussion.
• When you have reached your maximum absences in the class, you will receive an email officially notifying you of this fact.

Lateness:

• If you are more than a couple of minutes late to class, it is a problem. Three times late will equal one absence.

Academic Integrity:

• This course will uphold all academic integrity policies as laid out in the pamphlet “Academic Integrity at Roanoke College.” Students are responsible for knowing these rules, and professors are obliged to report any violation of these rules when they find evidence for it.

Plagiarism:

• Philosophy, in particular, is about learning to think, reason, articulate and know for oneself. Nothing is learned by copying someone else’s work.
• Borrowing another’s ideas or words without giving the author their due credit, and presenting them as one’s own, is a deception and contrary to academic and social/moral values.
• Plagiarism is met with serious consequences at Roanoke College (the usual minimum penalty being an F in the course, and the maximum penalty being expulsion). It is the student’s responsibility to familiarize himself/herself with the school’s policy as laid out in “Academic Integrity at Roanoke College” (esp. p. 16-19).
• To avoid inadvertent plagiarism, remember the following:

• All direct quotes should be placed in quotation marks, followed by the author’s name and page number.
• All ideas, interpretations, or arguments learned from another source should be credited with an introduction such as “Taylor argues that . . . .” or “Sallis believes that . . . .”.
• Your summary of another’s ideas should be put in your own words, and organized in your own way – that is, in such a way that it supports your point or argument – as well as accompanied by a citation.

Professionalism:

• All students are expected to behave in their courses as young professionals. This involves treating your classmates, your professor, and the privilege of attending college with respect. To be clear, this involves:

• coming to class on time
• coming to class prepared
• contributing to the group work of the class
• taking notes in class
• listening to others while they speak
• showing up on time to appointments you make with your teacher
• silencing cell phones or pagers before entering the classroom
• never text-messaging in class
• never sleeping in class
• not leaving the room during class, except in the event of an “emergency” (such “emergencies” should be rare for any given student)
• using your laptop for note-taking only, not web surfing, emailing, or instant messaging
• embracing the challenges of your classes as laid out in this syllabus, and not complaining about them, avoiding them, or trying to find ways to get out of them.

Schedule:

(Because there are so many guest speakers whose schedules might inevitably conflict with ours, we may need to be flexible in making changes as they come up.)

• “Sexism” by Ann E. Cudd and Leslie E. Jones (on blackboard 73-83)
• “On Psychological Oppression” by Sandra Bartky (on blackboard 105-113)

• A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Mary Wollstonecraft (Selections in The Feminist Papers (FP p.40-85)
• Supplemental reading: “Liberal Feminism” chapter (in Feminist Thought (FT p. 10-15))

• The Subjection of Women, John Stuart Mill (Selections in FP p. 196-238)
• Supplemental reading: “Liberal Feminism” chapter (in Feminist Thought (FT p. 15-20))

• From “Not for Ourselves Alone” about Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony

• “Declaration of Sentiments” Elizabeth Cady Stanton (FP p. 415-421)
• “Speech after Arrest for Illegal Voting” Susan B. Anthony (on blackboard p. 91-94)
• Supplemental reading: “Liberal Feminism” chapter (in Feminist Thought (FT p. 20-22))

• “Introduction” to The Women’s Bible by Elizabeth Cady Stanton

• “Class and Race in the Early Women’s Rights Campaign” from Women, Race, Class by Angela Davis (on blackboard, focus on 57-69)
• “Ain’t I a Woman” Sojourner Truth (FP p. 426-429)
• “Keep the Thing Going While Things Are Stirring” Sojourner Truth (on blackboard p. 79-80)

• “Why I became a Women’s Rights Man” Frederick Douglass (on blackboard p. 98-99)

• “The Origin of the Family” Friedrich Engels (FP p. 480-495)
• “Woman and Socialism” August Bebel (FP p. 496-505)

• Supplemental: “Marxist and Socialist Feminism” chapter (FT p. 94-105)

• To be announced (current issues in gender inequality)

• “Sex and Temperament” Margaret Mead (FP p. 653-671)
• Other reading selections by Whitney Leeson (on blackboard)

• Intro to The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir (in The Second Wave)

 Supplemental: “Existentialist Feminism” chapter in FT

• “The Problem That Has No Name” by Betty Freidan from The Feminine Mystique (on blackboard 198-203)
• “Statement of Purpose” NOW (on blackboard 211-213)
• “The Gospel of Pricilla” (on blackboard)
• “Redstockings Manifesto” (on blackboard)
• Supplemental: Finish “Liberal Feminism” chapter (FT p. 22-44)

• “The BITCH Manifesto” Joreen Jo Freeman (on blackboard 213-218)
• “Theory of Sexual Politics” Kate Millett (on blackboard 218-220)
• “The Dialectic of Sex” Shulamith Firestone (in The Second Wave SW p.19-26)
• Supplemental: Begin “Radical Feminism” chapter (FT p. 45-54)

• Selection from Beyond Power by Marilyn French (first half - on blackboard p. 442-455)
• Supplemental: Continue “Radical Feminism” chapter in FT

• To be announced (current issues in gender inequality)

• Selection from Beyond Power by Marilyn French (second half - on blackboard p. 473-488)

• Selection from Gyn/Ecology by Mary Daly (on blackboard p. 328-332)

• “Femininity” by Sigmund Freud (on blackboard 91-98)
• “Family Structure and Feminine Personality” Nancy Chodorow (first half --on blackboard 309-315)

• Supplemental: “Psychoanalytic and Gender Feminism” chapter in FT

• “Family Structure and Feminine Personality” Nancy Chodorow (second half --on blackboard 316-322)

• “Woman’s Place in Man’s Life Cycle” Carol Gilligan (SW, 198-211)