History/Women Studies 140
American Women's Histories
Fall Quarter 2009 North Seattle Community College
Class Time Monday-Friday, 9:00-9:50 am
Course Instructor Karen Stuhldreher, 206-526-7007
Office Hours Tuesdays 10:30-12:00 and by apt. MWF afternoons.
Office Location Math, Science & Social Sciences Division in the Instructional Bldg. 2330B
E-mail Address webpage: facweb.northseattle.edu/kstuhldr
Course Intern T.A. Parvati Brown
Course Description
This course is a survey of the history of women in the United States from the 17th century to the present, and will examine the dynamics of race, ethnicity, class, and gender to understand women's historical conditions, experiences, and social movements. A variety of sources including diary entries, letters, essays, plays, and documents will be used to examine women's diverse roles in helping to shape the "new world." We will explore several themes and questions in this course:
· What is women's history and how is historical knowledge produced in ways that have shaped women's lives and what we know about women's lives?
· How have socially and historically constructed notions of gender, race, ethnicity, and class helped to shape the conditions and realities of women's diverse lives in the U.S.?
· How have these socially constructed ideas and images contradicted the reality of women's lives?
· What are some of the key social movements in U.S. history that have impacted women’s lives and what role have women played in building and shaping these movements for change?
Course Format and Learning Environment
This course will be comprised of lectures, films, class discussions, seminars, and group activities. Lectures will present new material in addition to integrating information from the readings. Students are expected to attend all classes, take careful notes during lectures and films, and participate actively in seminars and group work. My hope is that together we will be able to cultivate a learning community in which students work cooperatively with the instructor to explore the texts, share their thoughts, and critically examine diverse perspectives and ideas in a way that is thoughtful and respectful. Dialogue is the primary tool of a learning community in that it allows diverse and competing perspectives to be explored with the goal of gaining deeper understanding of issues and theories. Dialogue, like learning, requires that some risks be taken. I encourage you to take risks both by speaking out and by listening to one another in class. Sometimes asking a question or challenging a viewpoint is a risk. Sometimes listening to a new idea or a point of view that you do not share is a risk. Members of a learning community, like members of a democracy, must do both in a way that respects and appreciates the differences among us.
Seminaring One of the primary activities we will engage in together as a class is a text-based seminar in which we will come prepared, having completed the reading and some writing about it in order to discuss the themes, issues, and perspectives offered to us by the texts each week. The objective will be for us to work together to do close readings of the texts in order to gain a clearer understanding of what the writers are saying. We will share our interpretations and responses to the texts in seminar. Active participation in book seminars is an essential part of this program and will be significant in your final evaluation. You will be taught the necessary seminar skills and be expected to demonstrate development in this area. You will need to complete all reading assignments on time and come to all seminars fully prepared to participate.
Required Texts:
1. Major Problems in American Women's History Fourth Edition, Mary Beth Norton and Ruth M. Alexander
2. Women, Race, and Class, Angela Davis
3. Rachel Calof’s Story, Rachel Calof
4. Course Reader -- Available at Prestige Copy & Print located at 11023 8th Ave. NE. It is off Northgate Way just past the Washington Mutual and behind the Starbucks. You can enter from Northgate way at the Starbucks and go to the back parking lot. If you want to call first to make sure a Course Reader is available for you, call 365-5770.
Course Requirements
1. Attendance and Participation (20%)
To meet the course objectives it is necessary for students to participate in the classroom seminar discussions and group activities and to do so actively and respectfully. In order to participate, you must come to class prepared, arrive on time, and stay for the entire class. More than two unexcused absences will affect your course grade. Seminar discussions will be a central component of this course and your final grade will depend in part on your development in seminar skills. Your level of participation and understanding of the course material will be evaluated based on effective and active discussion of the texts and course topics, engaged listening, careful note taking and attendance.
2. Weekly Seminar Papers (20%)
During most weeks you will be responsible for writing and bringing to class on Friday a one page, double-spaced, and word-processed or typed seminar paper. This paper will be a discussion of the readings for the week and preparation for the seminar discussion on most Fridays. Guidelines for the seminar paper will be provided in class most weeks. Sometimes the assignment will simply ask you to summarize and respond to the readings for the week. Other times, you will be asked to consider a particular question that arises from the reading material. All seminar papers should include quotes from the texts that are carefully cited with page numbers. These references to the text will be invaluable in seminar discussions that will be text based.
3. Take Home Essay Exams (40%)
There will be two take home exams during the quarter. The first will be due at midterm (week 6) and the second during finals week. The questions for these exams will be generated by the texts, lectures, and films and you will be expected to reference these materials in writing your essays in completion of the exams. Exams must be typewritten or word-processed. There will additionally be an in class portion of each exam for which you will receive a study guide. This will be a basic identification exam.
4. Group Research Project (20%)
Each group will choose a topic of interest to research and present to the class. Research topics must be approved by the instructor and must be about a particular issue, era or notable woman that is significant in the field of women's history. You will be provided with a list of suggested topics that you might choose from. In order to do your research, you will need to access and read outside materials but you might also use chapters from our texts that are not required reading. Your research project will culminate in a 15-20 minute oral presentation to the class during week 11 and an individually written report which will include a review of your research and methods and a discussion of how your group worked together. Fuller guidelines about the written report will be forthcoming.
Assigned Readings: You are expected to complete the readings assigned for each day before coming to class. When the syllabus lists a set of readings on Monday, for instance, you should read those articles FOR that Monday’s class. In class you must be prepared to raise questions and to summarize and discuss the major points of each reading.
Taking Notes: The material you will be responsible for learning in class will be presented in a variety of formats that include films, lectures, small group discussions, and sometimes guest lectures and panels. You should treat all of these as resources that you will draw on in writing your take home exams and papers, just as you will the course readings. This means that you should take careful notes as you view the films and listen to the lectures. For help on taking notes effectively, please ask me.
Asking for Assistance: I want to make myself as available to you as possible to help you to succeed in this course. My office hours are for the purpose of providing you with any assistance you need in understanding the course material and requirements, as well as in articulating your ideas verbally and in writing. Please don’t hesitate to call me, e-mail me, or to come by my office with any problems or concerns that arise during the quarter. You are encouraged--and it is your responsibility--to use my office hours if you have any questions or if you find yourself falling behind in your work for any reason. I am also open to any suggestions you might have for improvement in all aspects of the course. I will be asking for your feedback throughout the quarter. . You can also talk with our student intern T.A. Parvati Brown about any concerns or questions you have. Parvati and I will work closely together to address students’ needs and concerns so feel free to talk with either of us during the quarter.
Student Responsibility: In addition to contacting me about problems or suggestions, it is your responsibility, as a member of a learning community, to work cooperatively with both your classmates and myself in and outside of the classroom. To this end, I encourage study groups outside of class so that you can continue discussions beyond the bounds of the classroom and also so you can help prepare yourselves and each other for the course assignments. Working cooperatively and respectfully in a learning community also means coming to class on time and prepared, participating in discussions and exercises in class, and finding out what you missed if you are absent from class. Since this is a 5-credit course, it is also your responsibility to devote a minimum of 15 hours a week to this class. Five of these hours will be spent in class which means that you would expect to do a minimum of 10 hours of studying, reading, and writing outside of class each week. The syllabus is designed with this in mind.
Students are expected to:
· Be on time—lateness is disruptive and disrespectful (But don’t miss a class because you are late—come in quietly)
· Turn assignments in during class on the DUE date and proofread all of your written work.
· Call or e-mail if you must miss class. Take responsibility for finding out what you have missed and for obtaining copies of notes, handouts, assignments, and changes.
· Talk with me if you miss more than three classes. Do not just disappear.
· Listen attentively and respectfully to others. Tolerate and work through dissention in class discussions.
· Respect the need for a productive learning environment by turning off your cell phone and pagers at the start of class and leaving them off for the duration of the class.
· Refrain from using artificial fragrances; sensitivity to chemicals can dramatically affect some people and a fragrance free environment is part of the North Seattle Community College Code.
· Because laptop computers can be disruptive to the learning community, refrain from using laptops during class time unless you have special accommodations that are documented.
· Become comfortable with ambiguity and complexity as you study course content and practice course skills.
· Take responsibility for your own progress which means asking questions as they arise and seeking help when the work feels too challenging or confusing
Course Outcomes and Learning Objectives: Completion of this course earns you credit toward the A.A. degree in the areas of Individuals and Society and U.S. Cultures. With this in mind, I have identified some general course outcomes that are important for you to work toward as you complete HIS/WMN 140
In completing this course you will:
· Examine gender, race, and class as significant forces in the development of human communities
· Reclaim and recover the experiences and contributions of women actively shaping their lives in U.S. history and society.
· Gain insight into the meaning and significance of the U.S. as a multi-cultural society
· Discover the value of interdisciplinary writing, research, methods and knowledge
· Attain and improve critical thinking skills in reading and writing
· Analyze and synthesize materials from different academic disciplines
· Work and communicate effectively in groups
· Demonstrate a willingness to learn from many different people, methods, and viewpoints by being actively involved in a learning community that includes people similar and different than you.
Weekly Schedule of Topics and Assigned Readings (please be aware that this is a tentative schedule that is subject to change.)
Week 1 (September 29-October 2) Course Introduction: Placing Women in History
Tuesday Course Introduction—Welcome!
Wednesday Defining “U.S. Women's History”
READ Major Problems, Chapter 1, pp 1-8—the introduction and essay by Kate Haulman
What’s In a Seminar?
Thursday Examining Dichotomies in Women’s History
READ Major Problems, Chapter 1, pp. 8-14—essay by Gisela Bock
Friday From Margin to Center in Women’s History
READ Major Problems, Chapter 1, pp. 14-23—essays by Antonia Castaneada & Leslie Alexander
Consider the following questions as you read this week’s readings: