Women and Politics PSC 190 Fall 2004
Wednesday, Friday 2:20-3:35, Monroe Hall 204
Professor Kimberly Morgan
Office: Funger Hall Ste 507F
Phone: 994-2809
Email:
Office Hours: Wednesday, Friday, 11:00-12:00
Or by appointment
This class will examine the role of women in political life. The first section of the course will investigate the notion of women’s interests – do women have a set of common interests? What are forces that unify and divide women, and how does this affect their place in politics? The second section will look at the access women have to the political system and how women behave once in office. Topics will include: political participation, the gender gap in voting, and the behavior of women as candidates and officeholders. The third part of the class will discuss some specific public policy issues, with a particular focus on the role of women in shaping these policies. Topics covered include: abortion; sexual discrimination and harassment; child care and parental leave; and welfare. The overall focus of the class will be on the United States, but there will be some comparative readings as well.
This class is also part of the “writing in the discipline” program that is being developed at GW. The program aims to improve student writing ability through smaller courses that focus on writing. This means that the class will involve extensive writing – with a research paper and three shorter papers. Two of the shorter papers will be subject to peer review and graded on both content and writing. Should you wish to re-write and re-submit these papers for a better grade, you will have the opportunity to do so. There will be no midterm or final exam.
The course requirements are the following:
(1) Active class participation: 20% of your grade.
(2) A series of writing assignment: worth 80% of your grade.
Reaction papersto the reading (two): 30% total (15% for each paper)
Compare and contrast paper: 15%
Research paper: 35%
Writing assignments
First, students will write two reaction papers (3-4 pages each) to the readings. Due dates:
Wednesday, October 13: Jane Mansbridge reading on representation
Wednesday, November 17: Gwendolyn Mink book on sexual harassment
Be warned that the Mansbridge reading is difficult; you should not wait until the last minute to read this.
Second, students will write one“compare and contrast” paper (4-6 pages), that will be due on Friday, September 24, in class. This will involve comparing and contrasting women’s organizations from different ends of the political spectrum, analyzing similarities and differences in their political and ideological orientations.
The two reaction papers are due by 10 p.m. on the above dates and you must post them on Blackboard. Late papers will be docked ½ grade per day, starting at 10:01 p.m. The reason for this strict deadline is that other students will download and read some of these papers. This will form the basis of a peer review session in class about the quality of the writing, and a larger class debate about the substantive issues raised by the readings.
Third, students will write a research paper (15-20 pages)on a theme in the class, or investigating an issue that we do not address. A one-page summary of the topic, with a list of sources, will be dueOctober 29. If you’d like, you may submit a draft of this paper; the deadline for drafts is Monday, December 6, and drafts will be returned by Thursday, December 9. The final paper is due on Monday, December 13, 5 p.m. Late papers will be docked ½ grade per day, starting at 5:01 p.m.
The reaction papers and compare-and-contrast paper may be re-written and re-submitted following peer review and my initial assessment. The final grade on each will be the average of the first and second grade. Due dates for re-submitted papers:
Compare and contrast paper: Friday October 6 (in class).
Reaction paper #1: Friday, October 22 (in class).
Reaction paper #2: Wednesday, December 1 (in class).
More information about the writing assignments can be found in the Writing Resources tab on blackboard.
Readings:
As this is a seminar, you must keep up with the reading so that we can have meaningful class discussions. It is up to you to read and think critically about what you’ve read before coming to class. Most readings are available on blackboard; a few are on reserve. There are three books that are available for purchase (listed below) at the GW Bookstore. With the exception of the book by Gwendolyn Mink, we will not be reading these books in their entirety. For that reason, you may want to access these from the library reserve desk.
Nancy E. McGlen et al. Women, Politics and American Society, 4th edition.
Gwendolyn Mink, Hostile Environment: The Political Betrayal of Sexually Harassed Women
Cindy Simon Rosenthal, Women Transforming Congress.
COURSE TOPICS AND SCHEDULE
Defining Women’s Interests
September 1: NO CLASS, prof out of town.
September 3: NO CLASS, prof out of town. Please read for next week.
September 8, 10:The notion of women’s interests; historical perspectives: women’s suffrage
September 8: Introduction; what is gender and does it matter for politics?
Judith Lorber, chp. 1, Paradoxes of Gender, pp. 13-36.
Roberta Sigel, chp. 6 “Minority Consciousness and Politics,” pp. 122-40.
Carol Gilligan, “Concepts of Self and Morality,” pp. 64-105.
September 10: suffrage movement, early women’s movement.
McGlen et al., pp. 1-15, 21-42.
Kristi Andersen, “Women and Electoral Politics after Suffrage,” pp. 141-70.
September 15, 17: The women’s movement and its effects
September 15: The modern women’s movement: origins, evolution.
McGlen et al. chp. 1, pp. 42-64.
Jo Freeman, “The Women’s Liberation Movement: Its Origins, Structure, Ideas,”
September 17: The effects of the women’s movement.
Susan M. Hartmann, “The Impact on Public Policy,” pp. 99-129.
Christina Wolbrecht, “Of Presidents and Platforms,” pp. 23-72.
September 22, 24: Contemporary women’s activism; conservative women.
September 22: Contemporary women’s activism.
Barbara Epstein, “What Happened to the Women’s Movement?” Monthly Review 53, 1 (May 2001), 1-13.
Sara Ruddick, “Rethinking ‘Maternal’ Politics,” pp. 369-81.
Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, “What’s Feminism Got to Do with It?” pp. 9-57.
Amy Schriefer, “We’ve Only Just Begun: Translating Third Wave Theory to Third Wave Activism,”
Compare and contrast paper due Friday, September 24, in class.
September 24: Conservative women; discussion of papers.
Ronnee Schreiber, “Injecting a Woman’s Voice: Conservative Women’s Organizations, Gender Consciousness, and the Expression of Women’s Policy Preferences,” Sex Roles (October 2002).
September 30, October 1 Ethnicity and Race.
September 30: Intersectionality and the complex identities of minority women.
Claudine Gay and Katherine Tate, “Doubly Bound: The Impact of Gender and Race on the Politics of Black Women,” Political Psychology 1998, 19(1): 169-84.
Esther Ngan-Ling Chow (1993) ‘The feminist movement: where are all the Asian women?” pp. 212-19.
Carol Hardy-Fanta, “Latina Women and Political Consciousness: La Chipsa Que Prende,” pp. 223-37.
October 1: African-American women and politics.
Johnetta Betsch Cole and Beverly Guy Sheftall, “Collisions: Black Liberation Versus Women’s Liberation,” pp. 71-101.
Jane Mansbridge and Katherine Tate, “Race Trumps Gender: The Thomas Nomination in the Black Community,” PS: Political Science and Politics 25, 3 (1992): 488-93.
Edith J. Barrett, “Black Women in State Legislatures,” pp. 185-204.
Women and the Political System
October 6, 8: Women’s political participation: voting and political engagement.
October 6: patterns of political participation; accounting for differences.
McGlen et al., pp. 68-90.
Burns et al., chp. 4, “The Political Worlds of Men and Women,” in The Private Roots of Public Action, pp. 99-136 (Blackboard).
October 8:The gender gap in voting.
Ronald Inglehart and Pippa Norris, “Gender Gap in Voting and Public Opinion,” pp. 75-100.
Anna Greenberg, “A Gender Divided: Women as Voters in the 2000 Presidential Election.”
CAWP Fact Sheet on the Gender Gap (Blackboard)
CAWP Fact Sheet on the gender gap in the 2000 elections
October 13,15: Questions of representation
Reaction paper to Mansbridge due Wednesday October 13 by 10 p.m., post on blackboard. Remember: this is a hard article, so don’t leave this to the last minute. Come see me if you have difficulties.
October 13: women’s representation worldwide; the parité movement.
McGlen et al. pp 90-102.
Pippa Norris, “Women’s Representation and Electoral Systems.”
Jill M. Bystydzienski, “Norway: Achieving World-Record Women’s Representation in Government,” pp. 55-64.
Jill Lovecy, “’Citoyennes à part entière?’ The Constitutionalization of Gendered Citizenship in France and the Parity Reforms of 1999-2000.” Government and Opposition 35, 4 (2000): 439-62.
October 15: Discussion of Mansbridge.
Jane Mansbridge, “Should Blacks Represent Blacks and Women Represent Women?”
October 20, 22:Women as candidates and party members
October 20: Women running for office.
Irwin N. Gertzog, “Women’s Changing Pathways to the US House of Representatives,” pp. 95-118 in Rosenthal ed.
Richard E. Matland and David C. King, “Women as Candidates in Congressional Elections,” pp. 119-145 in Rosenthal ed.
Carole Kennedy, “Is the United States Ready for a Woman President? Is the Pope Protestant?” pp. 131-43.
October 22: Women and the parties.
Barbara C. Burrell, “Sex and Money: The Finance of Women’s and Men’s Campaigns for the US House of Representatives, 1972-92,” pp. 101-30.
Jo Freeman, “Lots of Show but Little Substance at the 2000 Republican and Democratic conventions,”
October 27, 29: Women and the media
October 27: The treatment of women in the media.
Caroline Heldman, Susan J. Carroll, and Stephanie Olson, “Gender Differences in Print Media Coverage of Presidential Candidates: Elizabeth Dole’s Bid for the Republican Nomination,” 16 pages.
Mary Douglas Vavrus, “From Women of the Year to ‘Soccer Moms’: The Case of the Incredible Shrinking Woman,” Political Communication 17 (2000): 193-213.
October 29: Women’s use of the media in politics.
Kim Fridkin Kahn and Ann Gordon, “How Women Campaign for the US Senate: Substance and Strategy,” 59-76.
Dianne Bystrom and Lynda Lee Kaid, “Are Women Candidates Transforming Campaign Communication?” pp. 146-169 in Rosenthal, ed.
ONE-PAGE SUMMARY OF YOUR RESEARCH PAPER IS DUE, OCT. 29, IN CLASS.
November 3, 5: Women in government : do they make a difference?
Rosenthal, ed., chps. 8-14 (pp. 170-395).
AnnTowns, “Understanding the Effect of Larger Ratios of Women in National Legislatures: Proportions and Gender Differentiation in Sweden and Norway,” Women and Politics 25, 1/2 (2003): 1-29.
Women and Public Policy
November 10, 12:Abortion.
November 10: The evolution of abortion policy.
McGlen et al., pp. 259-77.
November 12: Actors and debates.
Carol Maxwell, “Gender Differences in Motivation,” pp. 214-39.
Yael Yishai, “Public Ideas and Public Policy: Abortion Politics in Four Democracies,” Comparative Politics 25, 2 (January 1993): 207-28.
Jean Reith Schroedel and Tanya Buhler Corin, “Gender Relations and Institutional Conflict Over Mifeprisone,” Women and Politics 24, 3 (2002): 35-60.
November 17, 19 Sexual discrimination and harassment
Reaction paper to Mink book due Wednesday November 17, 10 p.m. Post on blackboard.
November 17: Background on sex discrimination and sexual harassment
McGlen et al., 196-21.
November 19: Sexual Harassment as a political issue; discuss Mink book.
Gwendolyn Mink,The Political Betrayal of Sexually Harassed Women, entire book.
Week of November 22, December 1: SCHEDULE MAKE-UP CLASS
Week of November 22: Background on work-family issues.
McGlen et al., pp. 178-96; 221-27.
December 1: Child care and family policy: the US and comparative perspectives.
Stephen K. Wisedale, “The White House and Congress on Child Care and Family Leave: From Carter to Clinton.”
Sharon L. Kagan, and Lynda G. Hallmark, “Early Care and Education Policies in Sweden: Implications for the United States,”Phi Delta Kappan, Nov2001, vol. 83(3).
“Discovering Motherhood” and “What Do Parents Want?”
December 3, 9: Welfare Reform
December 3: Background on the American Welfare System
R. Kent Weaver, “Welfare as We Knew It,” in Ending Welfare As We Know it (Brookings, 2000): 9-22.
Alan Weil, “Ten Things Everyone Should Know About Welfare Reform.” Urban Institute, May 2002,
December 9 makeup class: Welfare reform and feminism
Gwendolyn Mink, “Feminists, Welfare Reform, and Welfare Justice,” Social Justice 25, 1 (spring 1998).
FINAL RESEARCH PAPER DUE MONDAY DECEMBER 13, 5 PM. Late papers will be docked ½ grade for every day that the paper is late, starting at 5:01 p.m.
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