WOMEN AND LAW

15 WMST 350828

Spring Quarter 2009

Instructor:Adjunct Professor, Holly McEntyre, MA

Office Hours: By appointment only (phone 513.293.8423 or email )

Class Meetings: Sundays, Apr 5, Apr 26, and May 24, *9am-4pm, at Raymond Walters College

*We will have a working lunch & leave by 4PM; BRING YOUR OWN LUNCH & SNACKS

Course Description

In this course, we will explorehow gender and related identity categories, such as race and sexuality, are informed and affected by aspects of the U.S. legal system, including legislation, litigation, and legal language, and critically examinesocio-cultural discourses about women, gender, and law. Feminist and other theorists share a central belief that law and culture both shape and reflect past and present oppressions – including patriarchy, racism, nationalism and xenophobia – to serve specific interests and maintain the status quo. We will identify and critique how the law shapes our lives in ways that support or reduce patriarchy, racism, sexism, and other ideologies and systems that impact our daily lives.Readings for this course will help frame our discussions of language, power, history, racism, capitalism, sexism, heterosexism, nationalism, patriarchy, and their relations to our understandingsof the many ways that we are affected by law, law creators, and law enforcers – primarily in the United States, but also with an eye toward global politics and social construction.

In this class, we will read and discuss academic, legal, and news articles, Constitutional law and other cases, as well as otherwritten and audio-visual works to better understand how law and society are co-constructed and how the law informs our lived experiences.The readings will serve as reference and jumping off points to inform our discussions, and students are expected to contribute their own knowledge, experience, and opinions. All students should endeavor to speak respectfully to one another, although they may disagree firmly with one another’s opinions. Any information shared in class is to be kept confidential and should not be divulged to others.

Required Readings

There is no required textbook for this course. All required and optional readings will be posted on Blackboard; an anticipated schedule of readings is posted at the end of this syllabus.Some of the readings may be upsetting, so please practice self-care when reading/discussing them.

Performance Requirements

Because the class only meets three times during the quarter, attendance at each seven-hour class is mandatory. Failure to attend any of the class meetings will result in failure of the course.

Grades will be based upon:

In-class Discussions/Participation10%

In-classPresentation30%

Response/Reflection Papers (4/5, 4/26, 5/17)30%

Final Paper (4/26, 5/17, 6/7)30%

UC Blackboard

Studentsare responsible to check the announcements regularly on Blackboard and to check their email on a regular basis. Please ensure that your email address is correct in the Blackboard system.The instructor is not responsible for any course communications that you miss due to technical problems or your lack of attention to Blackboard, email, or other communications.

Adult Scholars Accelerated Program (ASAP)

All weekend courses offered through the Adult Scholars Accelerated Program (ASAP) require that enrolled students have a strong academic record in order to assure that they can undertake the rigors of independent scholarship as well as the intensity of the weekend experience itself. Students are required to have completed specific readings and other assignments prior to each class meeting. ASAP courses also require a commitment on the part of all students to attend all class sessions. If you have any questions, please see the Attendance and Withdrawal policy statements in your ASAP packet on Blackboard.

Because of the topical organization of each session, you will need to approach each class session prepared to contribute to the discussion of those topic areas. Having a working knowledge of the readings will greatly enhance your ability to make critical connections between those readings and the materials and ideas you will encounter during the course. In addition, outside reading undertaken as part of your research for the in-class presentation and the final paper will be valuable sources from which you can draw and share with others during in-class discussions.

All components of the sessions – video clips, lectures, in-class discussions and presentations, and the response papers – are valuable contributors to your overall understanding of the coursework and you may reference any or all of these resources in the composition of your final paper.

Academic Integrity

Students should be familiar with the University of Cincinnati (UC) Student Code of Conduct, which is available online at Among those policies included in the Code that are especially applicable to this course are those regarding Academic Misconduct, including cheating, fabrication, and plagiarism. I enforce a zero-tolerance policy for Academic Misconduct: any student caught in Academic Misconduct will automatically receive an “F” in this course and may face further disciplinary action by UC. Contact me in advance with any questions that you have regarding proper citations, etc., in preparing your in-class presentations and final papers.

In-class Discussions/Participation

Students should endeavor to participate in all class discussions, whether led by the instructor or by peers. Students should be attentive whenever the instructor or their peers are speaking, during class viewing of films or presentations, etc. Use of laptop computers is permitted solely for the purpose of taking notes or giving one’s in-class presentation in case the school computers are not functioning properly. Except in case of emergency, at NO time is it appropriate for any student to be using a mobile/cell phone, instant messaging (IM) or any other electronic communications in class. You can use these devices before and after class, as well as during break times.

Response/Reflection Papers. Each student will be responsible to write three response/reflection papers on any three of the weekly topics of their choosing, one per class (4/5, 4/26, and 5/17).

Response/Reflection Papers should be:

  • Two pages in length (8½” X 11”), double-spaced, with 1” margins,
  • Typed in Times New Roman 12 pt or comparable font,
  • Responsive to one or more of the topical readings assigned for class that day, and
  • Turned in at the end of class (4PM)on each of the three days that the class meets.

Response/Reflection Papers will be graded on proper grammar, spelling, word usage, and clarity or persuasiveness of argument; papers will NOT be graded on student’s opinions. Students may want to keep their papers handy for reference during the day’s discussion. Alternatively, students may have thoughts or opinions that they do not feel comfortable sharing in class; the response/ reflection papers provide a possible outlet for these opinions.

In-class Presentation. Students will select and rank in order of preference their top four options for an in-class presentation topic (see below) and submit these to the instructor by email before 12 noon on Wednesday, 4/1/09. The instructorwill randomly assign topics from those selections and reply with assignments that day, so that students who present at the first class meeting, on 4/5/09, have several days in which to prepare their presentations. Each presenter will have 15-20 minutes of class time in which to present on their topic in a method of their choosing.

In-class Presentation must include:

  • One or more readings assigned for class, plus
  • Research conducted by the student in advance of the presentation,
  • At least 10 minutes of presented material,
  • At least 5 minutes of discussion and/or question & answer, and
  • A final product (electronic or hard-copy) submitted to the instructor at the end of class (4PM) on the day of presentation

Presentation formats may consist of nearly any form of professional or creative written and oral communication, such as:

  • Presentation and Discussion ofOptional Reading
  • PowerPoint Presentation
  • Poster Presentation
  • Poems, Songs, or Rap Lyrics
  • Op-Ed Pieces or Blog Compositions
  • Manifesto
  • Draft of Proposed Policy or Legislation

Your presentation must be your own work presented in your own format (e.g., you cannot use someone else’s lyrics or poetry in place of your own work, although you may “sample” briefly from another’s work, provided that you cite it accurately and attribute it properly to them). In-class Presentations will be graded on the professionalism and/or creativity of your work, ability to engage the class in discussion/participation, and fulfillment of the above-detailed criteria.

Contact the instructor at least three days IN ADVANCE of your presentation with any questions about your topic, format, etc.

In-class Presentation & Response/Reflection Paper Topics:

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Week One (4/5/09):

  • Pregnancy and Motherhood
  • Child Care and Elder Care
  • Divorce and Custody
  • Paternity and Child Support
  • Employment, Discrimination, and Sexual Harassment

Week Two (4/26/09):

  • Stalking and Sexual Assault
  • Domestic Violence and Child Abuse
  • Women and Crime
  • Pornography and Sex Work
  • Sexuality, Sexuality Expression, Sexual and/or Gender Identity

Week Three (5/17/09):

  • Women and Economics
  • Adoption and Surrogacy
  • Abortion
  • Reproductive Rights
  • “Title IX” and Women in Sports
  • Women in Politics and International Relations

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Your choice of topics for the in-class presentation are due by email to the instructor by 12 noon on Wednesday, 4/1/09. If you do not submit a list, your topic will be randomly assigned by the instructor from those remaining after your classmates have had their pick.

Final Paper.The Final Paper is due by 9PM on Sunday, 6/7/09.Each student will propose and produce a final paper that consists of a close reading oranalysisof any book or film.

The FinalPaper must:

  • Be 7-10 pages in length (8in length (8½” X 11”), double-spaced, with 1” margins,
  • Be typed in Times New Roman 12 pt or comparable font,
  • Incorporate one or more of the assigned readings for this course, plus two or more articles that the student has found in their own research,
  • Focus on a female character (or characters), and
  • Consider how law and gender (and/or other identity categories) intersect to affect or produce her experiences of herself and one or more aspects of her legal, social, or cultural systems
  • For example, a close reading of the film The Accused (starring Jodie Foster) might focus on how language is used inside the courtroom to shape jurors’ opinions about rape victims and perpetrators. An analysis of the book The Secret Life of Bees might focus on the marital status of the characters and how that affects their sense of self, as developed in narrative and dialogue.

Students also are expected to:

  • Submit a typewritten final paper proposal at the second class meeting (4/26/09), containing
  • the proposed topic (book or film to analyze), and
  • a list of at least three (3) resources that will be used in composing the paper; and
  • Submit a typewritten outline or first draft the final class meeting (5/17/09), and
  • incorporate feedback from the instructor on such outline or first draft into the final paper.

The final paper may be submitted in electronic format to the “Digital Drop Box” on the Blackboard site for the course, as an email attachment to the instructor, or in hard-copy in the instructor’s mailbox on UC’s main campus (620T Old Chem).

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Anticipated Schedule of Readings

(subject to change)

Due for April 5, 2009

Readings:

Wendy Williams – “The Equality Crisis”

Lucinda Finley – “Breaking Women’s Silence in Law”

Kimberlé Crenshaw, “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex”

Sumi Cho – “Converging Stereotypes in Racialized Sexual Harassment”

Nell Irvin Painter – “Hill, Thomas, and the Use of Racial Stereotype”

  • Optional: White – “Subordination, Rhetorical Survival Skills, and Sunday Shoes”
  • Optional: DeGraffenreid v. General Motors
  • Optional: Geduldig v. Aiello

Due for April 26, 2009

Readings:

Monique Wittig – “One is Not Born a Woman”

Angela Davis – “The Legacy of Slavery: Standards for a New Womanhood”

Patricia Williams – “On Being the Object of Property”

Susan Estrich – “Rape”

Michelle Sanders – “To Serve and Protect?”

Wikipedia summary of the “2006 Duke University lacrosse case” (online)

Pat Parker – “Where Will You Be?”

Lawrence v. TexasorBowers v. Hardwick

Dorothy Allison – excerpts from Skin: Talking About Sex, Class And Literature

Staci Haines – excerpts from The Survivor’s Guide to Sex

  • Optional: Uma Narayan – “Contesting Cultures”
  • Optional: Adrienne Rich – “Compulsory Heterosexuality”
  • Optional: Frances Olsen – “Statutory Rape: A Critique of Rights Analysis”
  • Optional: Patricia Williams – “Alchemical Notes”
  • Optional: Angela Harris – “Loving Before and After the Law”
  • Optional: Loving v. Virginia

Due for May 17, 2009

Readings:

Moira Brennan– “She Says: Dorothy Roberts” (online)

Cornelia Hughes Dayton – “Taking the Trade”

Laura Kaplan – excerpts from The Story of Jane

Alex Kuczynski– “Her Body, My Baby”(online)

Thomas Frank – “Rent-a-Womb Is Where Market Logic Leads” (online)

Landes and Posner – “The Economics of the Baby Shortage” (skim)

Audre Lorde – “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House”

  • Optional: Ho, Powell, and Volpp – “(Dis)Assembling Rights of Women Workers”
  • Optional: Azizah al-Hibri – “Islam, Law and Custom”
  • Optional: Hernández-Truyol– “The Latindia And Mestizajes” (LatCrit)
  • Optional: Dorothy Roberts – “Punishing Drug Addicts Who Have Babies”
  • Optional: Roe v. Wade

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