1
Spr10
Women’s Studies 1130:
Introduction to Women’s Studies
Dr. Nancy Turner Office hours: MW 12-1, 2-3PM
Office: 152 Gardner Hall T 3-4PM
Office phone: 342-1789 Th 1-5PM
E-mail: F 12-1PM
and by appt.
The purpose of gender studies is to help students come to a better understanding of themselves as responsible individuals operating within a gendered cultural context, paying special attention to perspectives involving women. A course that meets liberal arts requirements in gender studies will enable students to engage in personal reflection and explore the implications of: 1) the cultural constructs that create and perpetuate gender-based stereotypes and unequal power relationships; 2) the contributions of diverse populations of women and persons of varied sexual orientations in transforming knowledge; 3) the influence that students’ gender and experiences have on their attitudes toward others.
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES: Women's Studies as a field seeks to theorize, document, uncover, and revise our existing knowledge about women. By its very natureit isan interdisciplinary field; therefore, using the lenses of the social sciences, history, science, journalism, and the humanities, this course will explore the ways in which gender limits, as well as expands, women's experiences of family, work, health, sexuality, and social relationships. It is a major goal of this course to "shake you up"—to alter your view of the world (at least a little) as you are forced to think more deeply about what it might have meant in the past to be a woman, what it means today to be a woman, and what it may mean in the future to be a woman. The course will also explore why particular things are gendered “feminine” or “masculine” in a particular society.
TEXTS: There are four books assigned for this course, each of which can be found in the University Textbook Center. They are:
IF= Ruth, Sheila. Issues in Feminism, 5th Edition. Mayfield Publishing, 2001.
Ward, Martha C. A World Full of Women, 4th Edition. Allyn and Bacon, 2005.
Valenti, Jessica. Full Frontal Feminism, Seal Press, 2007.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Infidel, Free Press, 2007.
Handouts provided by the instructor.
EXAMS: There will be 2 (1-hour) exams in this course. Each exam will consist of 8-10 identification/definition items and one short essay. The examswill cover the material presented in the readings, lectures, and the films/videos. There will also be one take-home exam dealing with the information presented in the textbook A World Full of Women.
GROUP POWERPOINT PRESENTATION: Each student will participate with 2 to 3 other students in preparing in a group PowerPoint presentationof a chapter fromMartha Ward’s book ,A World Full of Women. Each presentation will be no more than ten minutes long, summarizing for fellow students their chapter’s mainpoints.
READING QUIZZES: A portion of most class periods will be devoted to a discussion of the assigned readings or issues raised by the instructor. Each student is expected to participate actively in the discussions and to ask and answer questions. Obviously this requires each student to do the readings assigned for each class period and to pay attention in class. To encourage students to keep up with the assigned readings, there will be 7announced quizzes over specific assigned readings. The format of these reading quizzes will be 3-4 short answer questions.
REACTION PAPER: One 2-3 page, double-spaced reaction paper is required. For this paper, students mustselect one of the topics concerning women we have covered (for instance: patriarchy, nature vs. nurture, women as wives and mothers, women and work, women and social class, sexual harassment, abortion, rape, domestic violence, women and body image, women in the Muslim world, or the early life of Ayaan Hirsi Ali) and write up, in paper form, their detailed reaction to the topic as it was presented in class.
ATTENDANCE POLICY: Attendance will not be officially taken, but attendance at all scheduled class periods is necessary and expected. If a student misses a class, s/he is responsible for finding out what material was covered and what assignments or handouts were distributed during the missed class period.
GRADING:7 reading quizzes @ 9pts each =63pts
2 In-class exams @100pts each =200pts
1 Take-home exam =100pts
1 Group Chapter presentation =50pts
1 In-class paper =50pts
1 Reaction Paper =50pts
Total 513pts
Schedule of Assignments:
January 20 Introduction
25 RDG QUIZ Shira Tarrant, “The Men’s Auxiliary: A Brief History of Men
and Feminism” (handout)
27 Patriarchy:"Basic Concepts"(IF 28-30);"Conceptions of Patriarchy" (IF61-64;
73-74); “Discrimination: the Effects of Sexism on PublicInstitutions”
(IF 344-354)
February 1 RDG QUIZ Nature vs. Nurture: Judith Lorber, “ ‘Night to his Day’: The Social
Constructionof Gender” (handout); Karin A. Martin, “Becoming a Gendered
Body: Practices of Preschools” (handout); “Girls’ mathfears may start with female
teachers” (handout)
3 Women as Wives and Mothers:"The Effects of Sexism on Women's Private
Lives" (IF 249-258); Friedan, "The Problem That Has No Name" (IF 570-574);
Hochschild, "The Second Shift" (handout);Judy Seyfer , “Why I Want a Wife”
8 RDG QUIZ Women and Work: “Legal changes open doors to working women”
(handout); “Women and the Business World” (handout); “Study finds you’ve come
too far onTV, Baby” (handout); “Many moms assume burden of child-care costs”
(handout);“Increasingly, wives earn more than husbands” (handout); “Men more
likely to leave spouse who has cancer” (handout);
10 Sexual Harassment: Ellen Bravo and Ellen Cassedy,"What Sexual Harassment
Is—andIs Not" (handout); “The ‘new’ sexual harassment ismore subtle”
(handout); “Military more likely to kick out lesbians” (handout); Women and
SocialClass: Dorothy Allison, “A Question of Class” (handout)
15 Abortion: If These Walls Could Talk(video)“Letters to a Young Feminist on Sex
and Reproductive Freedom” (IF 320-324)
17 RDG QUIZ“Abortion” (IF 267-274); Voss “The Easiest Choice I Ever Made”
(handout); Newsweek “The Abortion Evangelist” (handout)
22 IN-CLASS EXAM #1
24 Rose Weitz, “A History of Women’s Bodies” (handout); Rape:“Rape: The Power
of Consciousness” (IF pp. 329-340);“Rape victims offer advice to today’s college
women” (handout); “Girl, 9,details rape in Congo tophotographer” (handout);
March 1 Ward Group presentations
3 Ward Group presentations
8 Ward Group presentations
10 RDG QUIZ Domestic Violence; “Violence” (IF 274-280); Full Frontal
Feminism Chapter 4
March 15-19 Spring Break
22 “Witnessing the Death of Love” (IF341-343)
24 Ward Take-home Exam due;Women and Body Image: Killing Us Softly II—video
29 Women and Islam
31 “Muslim Women Uncover Myths about the Hijab” (handout); “Under the Abbaya:
Female TV Producers in Saudi Arabia” (handout);
April 5 NO CLASS
7 RDG QUIZ; G. Brooks “Whom No Man Shall Have Deflowered Before Them”
(handout); Bible passages
12 IN-CLASS EXAM #2
14 Infidel pp. 1-88
19 RDG QUIZ; Infidel pp. 89-122; pp. 134-144; pp. 163-180
21 Infidel pp. 183-211; pp. 237-260
26 Full Frontal FeminismIn-Class writing
28 Full Frontal Feminism
May 3 RDG QUIZShira Tarrant “Constructing Masculinity: Putting the How and
the Why in the XY” (handout)
5 Reaction Paper Due