University of Pittsburgh

Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies Program

WS 0100: Introduction to Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies (Writing Intensive)

Chelsea Wentworth

Office: 2208 WW Posvar Hall

Email:

Office Hours: Tues/Thurs 10:45-11:45

And by appointment

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Introduction to Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies

Course Description:This course is designed to offer students an overview of the field of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies. As this field is interdisciplinary, this course will introduce students to the range of scholarship from various departments and epistemological perspectives that are engaged in promoting the discipline. This course will serve as a foundation for future coursework in the Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh, and as a result will encourage students to engage in activities and events promoted by the Program. Through the readings, activities and assignments in this course, students will develop tools to critically analyze the ways in which social and cultural forces shape us as gendered individuals in the context of the world in which we live. We will analyze a range of perspectives and consider the ways that gender, sex, biology, race, class, nationality, power, politics, and social movements intersect to influence our understanding of gender and culture. In fulfillment of a University Writing Requirement, this course writing intensive course will provide students with opportunities to write, revise and hone their academic writing skills. Course prerequisites: none.

Learning Objectives: At the end of the course, you should achieve the following:

  • Demonstrate an introductory understanding of the field of gender, sexuality, and women’s studies, and utilize a range of interdisciplinary tools and methods for understanding and analyzing sex, gender, and sexuality in culture.
  • Develop a rich comprehension of both feminist and queer approaches to the social and cultural construction of gender and sexuality.
  • Construct and enhance a critical understanding of intersectionality, including an awareness of gender and its complex intersections with other social, cultural, and biological categories, including but not limited to sex, race, ethnicity, class, nation, sexuality, ability, and age.
  • Cultivate a language framework for thoughtfully articulating the critical vocabulary in the field of gender, sexuality and women’s studies.
  • Improve reading and writing skills through effective synthesis of written material, and subsequently, the ability to convey course concepts in a concise and clear manner both verbally and in writing.
  • Develop a skillset to think critically and thoughtfully about the self and others through a deepened understanding of how social, cultural, and biological categories shape our lives, and our understandings of the world.

Peer Learning and Contacts: Learning from and offering instruction to your peers is very helpful to your development as a student and to your success in this course. You will have many opportunities for discussion and group work in class to help you get to know your peers. If you are absent from class or have questions, please reach out to your peers first for clarification. If you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact your instructor, but you are required to contact your peers first. To help facilitate this process, write the name and contact information of two students in this class in the space below for your future reference.

Name______Email: ______

Name______Email: ______

Course Materials

The primary texts for this course are:

Shaw, Susan and Janet Lee. 2011. Women’s Voices, Feminist Visions: Classic and Contemporary Readings.5th Edition. New York: McGraw Hill. ISBN: 007351232X/9780073512327

(In Syllabus as: “WVFV”)

Halberstam, J. Jack. 2012. Gaga Feminism: Sex, Gender, and the End of Normal. Boston: Beacon Press. ISBN: 978-0-8070-1098-3 (In Syllabus as: “GF”)

In addition we will be reading several articles. All additional readings and articles will be made available on CourseWeb as .pdf files.

As this is a writing intensive course, I also recommend the following text:

Strunk, William Jr. and White, E.B. 1999. The Elements of Style. Harlow: Longman.

ISBN: 978-0205-30-9023

Course Requirements and Assignments

Assignments

Field Journal: 60 points total. Breakdown of points for individual assignments listed below.

The primary assignment for this course, in addition to the readings, is a Field Journal. This will be made up of a number of different assignments. There are deadlinesthroughout the semester for the individual assignments, which I will return to you graded. You will keep these graded assignments and resubmit everything at the end of the course with the Field Journal Reflection paper as the last submission in your full Field Journal. Learning is a cumulative process, and your grade for your Field Journal will reflect your improvement over the course of the semester, as well as your thoughtful reflections and changes made based on instructor feedback on your individual assignments.

The Field Journal will include:

1)Reading Responses

2)Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Activities and Papers

3)Field Journal Reflection paper.

Details about how to complete each of the assignments in the Field Journal are outlined below. Your final Field Journals will be returned to you after grading.

Reading Responses: 30 points.

You are responsible for reading the assigned readings listed in the Course Schedule BEFORE you come to class each week. In addition, you willsubmit 8 reading responses. You may choose which 8 dates you turn in a reading response; however,you may hand in ONLY ONE reading response per course topic. Course topics are in bold on the Course Schedule, and often there are 2 class meetings that fall within one course topic, giving you a chance to choose which date you would like to submit your reading response. As the readings are different for each class meeting within a course topic, the readings discussed in your reading response must be those discussed in-class the day you turn in your reading response. All reading responses must be turned in at the beginning of class. If you are absent for a class period, you are not eligible to turn a reading response for that week. Reading responses can be NO LONGER than 1-page single-spaced. Examples of previous student’s Reading Responses will be made available on CourseWeb for you to see an example of how I expect you to complete this assignment.

Each reading response should include the following three components:

  1. A list and explanation of key points and concepts learned from each of the assigned readings.
  2. At least two questions for class discussion based on the readings. These can be questions you have about the readings, or concepts/ideas that you would like to explore in more depth during class discussion.
  3. A one-paragraph discussion on how the readings link to broader course content. You do not need to mention every reading in this section of the reading response. Here you have the opportunity to focus on what you found most provocative. You will link the readings for this class period to other class concepts. This can include references to in-class discussions, films, or previous class readings. You may also reference personal experiences, current events, readings that are not required for this course, and/or activities you completed as part of the Women’s Studies Activities section of the course. If you reference readings/websites not assigned in this course, you are required to provide a citation.

Reading Responses will be graded on a scale of 1, 2 or 3.

  1. (Poor): Response is insufficient and short and does not demonstrate that the student actually read all of the assigned readings. Response includes only unsubstantiated opinions or irrelevant autobiographical anecdotes AND/OR only 1 or 2 readings were referenced AND/OR one of the three components of the reading response listed above is missing.
  2. (Average): At least half of the readings were included in the reading response AND the response demonstrates that the student read the material, but did not critically engage with the material.
  3. (Excellent): All of the readings are included in the reading response AND the student engages with the course material demonstrating a deeper level of understanding.

Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies(GSWS) Activities and Papers: 20 points.

You will complete two(2) GSWS Activities. You can choose from a possible four (4) options. Each is worth a total of 15 points, and should be 4-5 pages in length. There are 2 due dates for the GSWSActivities listed on the Course Schedule. There are drafts of these papers due in-class for peer-review sessions before the final due date.Each of the activities is briefly described below, and more detailed instructions about these assignments in general and what specifically you need to turn in for each is listed on a separate handout.

Choose only two (2) of the following assignments
Life History Interview
The Language Experiment
Community Based Action
Gendered Transgressive Art Project

Life History Interview:

Choose a woman over 40-years-old and interview her about her life and experiences. The interview must specifically address how being a woman has affected her life and decision-making processes. Alternatively, you can conduct this interview with a LBGTQ individual over 40-years-old. Your interview should consider gender, race, class, sexuality, work, and family. Then, write a 4-5-page paper highlighting some of her life story, how some of her experiences connect to themes from this course and readings, and conclude with what you have learned from this activity.

The Language Experiment:

Practice identifying and analyzing various forms of oppressive language. This can be sexist (“bitch”), racist (“black sheep”), classist (“white trash”), homophobic (“fag”), ableist (“retarded”), etc. You will analyze how these types of oppressive language are used in three (3) different contexts. You will choose one example from each of the following three categories: audio material (songs, radio), visual material (TV, magazines, print media), and interpersonal communications (talk you overhear, conversations you’re engaged in, etc.). Then you will write a 4-5-page paper describing the context of these expressions, critically analyzing why and how this language is oppressive, and the description of your experience and personal response to the use of this language.

Community-Based Action:

You will participate in two (2) gender-based community actions (community service, community awareness, protest or demonstration, Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies Program event etc.). You MUST have your community-based actions approved by the instructor PRIOR to your participation! After you participate in your community-based action you will write a 4-5-page paper comparing and contrasting the events, and critically analyzing how these actions relate to one of the themes discussed in this course.

Gendered and Transgressive Art Project:

“Sometimes we learn not just by reading and thinking about a subject but by doing and participating in it as well. Try your hand at creating some transgressive art. Create an art project in which you attempt to transgress a particular notion, idea, or norm. What norms would you choose to transgress? Gender norms? Sexual norms? Norms surrounding public and private behavior? Think of your art as an advertisement that would be posted around your local community. How would that community respond? What kinds of transgressive collages would be particularly provocative in your community? That is, what kinds of transgressive tactics would be politically useful without so alienating community members that they simply ignore your message?” (Meem, Gibson, & Alexander, 2010, p. 300).

Your Gendered and Transgressive Art Project can take many different forms. Some examples include:

1)A collection of your poetry (minimum of 4 poems)

2)A video you create (write, direct, and edit that is a minimum of 10 minutes in length)

3)A painting

4)A performance art piece (of your creation/design that MUST be performed in class about 10 minutes in length)

5)Other ideas are encouraged but MUST be approved by the instructor in ADVANCE

In addition to creating your Gendered and Transgressive Art Project, you will write a 4-5-page paper critically analyzing how this project relates to, or helps us better understand, one of the themes from this course.

Field Journal Reflection: 10 points

This will represent the final entry in the Field Journal, and provides you with an opportunity to reflect on your learning in the entire course. Pedagogical research shows that reflective assignments focus, “on students’ awareness of how they interact with the content rather than solely on what the content is…. [and] that following the journal process, students are better able to anchor their new learning in experience and have the opportunity to solve actual problems” (Pavlovich et al. 2007). Here you will have an opportunity to demonstrate the cumulative knowledge you acquired throughout the course, and to discuss how your thinking on this topic has changed and/or advanced as a result of participating in this course. The Field Journal Reflection should be 4 double-spaced pages in length. A more detailed description of this assignment will be posted on Courseweb and discussed in-class near the end of the semester.

Additional Requirements:

Photo-Elicitation Project: 20 points

Choose a topic from the list below (or suggest a new topic to the instructor for preapproval before you commence this project), and collect photo documentation throughout the semester as your research data from at least five different locations. Each location will contribute to your knowledge on the one topic you have chosen for this assignment (all the photos from all 5 locations should support your research into a single topic/theme). You will then write a 7-8-page paper on what these photographic data illustrate about your topic/theme. Describe the five locations you chose and why. How can we better understand this theme through the photographic evidence you collected? What types of photographs did you anticipate taking, and what photographs were you able to take once you arrived at your destination? How do the photos taken at the various locations combine to help us learn more about the topic as a whole? Compare and contrast the photographs taken at the various locations. You will turn in your selection of photographs (printed with at least 5 from each location), with brief captions for each photograph, as well as your 7-8-page paper on the topic. Captions should indicate where the photo was taken, what the photo shows, and why you included this photo in your selections for this assignment. This should be very brief—no more than 3 sentences per photo. Don’t forget to link your paper reflections to the course readings. We will have time in-class for peer review, and you will turn in a draft of your paper to your instructor. You will receive feedback with plenty of time for revision, and with time to incorporate instructor feedback into the further development of your project. During the last week of class you will also present your photos and discuss your project with the class. More information on the presentation requirements will be provided closer to the end of the semester.

Possible topics for this project:

a)Gender, Sexuality and Health—How do we engage in gendered health behaviors and practices? What types of health products are targeted at women and men and why?

b)Gender, Sexuality and Science—Consider different ways technology and biomedicine are challenging our understandings of gender and sexuality. How important is science to discussions of gender and sexuality? How does science shape LBGTQ discourse?

c)Gender and Education—How are educational events gendered? Think about different educational activities (not just formal education but seminars or extra-curricular events) and how they influence gender constructs in our society.

d)Gender and Political Action—How do people engage in politics, social movements, and action on gendered themes or in gendered ways?

e)Gender and Food—Think both about femininity and masculinity, how do people shop, prepare and consume food in gendered ways?

Attendance, Preparation and Participation: 20 points

Attendance is VERY important to your success in this course! You will notice that this is 20% of your grade. Simply showing up is not enough to earn an A. You can earn up to 20 points for attendance, preparation and participation, and 15 of those points are based on your active participation in discussions. You will be expected to contribute meaningful reflections and questions on the reading assigned and materials presented in this course. There are no stupid questions, and everyone is to be respectful of others’ comments and questions. You are allowed two (2) free absences but every additional absence will result in a subtraction of 10% of your total grade. Students who miss 5 or more class periods will not pass the course. Please be respectful of both our time and yours, and be punctual to classes and meetings. Excessive tardiness will result in a reduction of points from your attendance grade. Many of the films used in this class are not available at Hillman library. You are responsible for all the class content you miss due to an absence. If you are absent, it is your responsibility to obtain any information regarding the missed class from your classmates.