Introduction to Women’s Studies
WS 2013
Fall 2004
M, W, F 11-11:50
CH 123
Dr. Lara Foley
Office: Chapman 210
Phone: 631-2050
E-mail: lara-foley@utulsa.edu
Office Hours: M, W, F 12-1 or by appointment
Website: http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~lara-foley/
Course Description
This course serves as a required course for Women’s Studies Certificate. It is also a Block II class.
Objectives:
The objectives of this class include, but are not limited to:
· To introduce students to the academic field of women’s studies and to gain an understanding of how women’s studies has evolved and affected viewpoints within the academic world and in wider communities.
· To relate the concepts and ideas presented in class to one’s own personal experiences.
· To analyze the intersections of gender, race, class and sexuality.
· To critically reflect on the viewpoints of the diverse materials presented.
· To develop one’s own critical perspective.
Required Texts and Materials
Instructor’s Expectations:
As a student in this course you will be expected to:
1. Attend class on a regular basis.
2. Be prepared for class: have a writing instrument and paper in your possession; have read the assigned material prior to class.
3. Show a basic level of respect and common courtesy to the instructor and your colleagues: arrive for class on time, remain quiet during lecture and when others are asking questions.
4. Participate in class: If something is covered in lecture or in the text which you do not understand, ASK A QUESTION (chances are at least one or more of your colleagues will have the same or similar question). The instructor is not a mind reader: the mere presence of confusion or confused expressions on students’ faces does not necessarily set off an internal alarm which warns her to go back over the material a second time. You will be held responsible for the assigned material on the examinations, so it is in your best interest to ask questions.
5. Participate in class: If you have a comment you would like to interject which is pertinent to the material being covered, make the instructor aware of this fact in a polite fashion and by all means share your insights, experiences, and opinions with the professor and your fellow students.
1. Discrimination, harassment, or intimidation will not be tolerated. Everyone has the right to their own opinion, but should also remember that others also have the right to a classroom free from hostility, ridicule, or embarrassment, and an atmosphere conducive to learning. Every student is expected to participate in a responsible and mature manner that enhances education. Any conduct that disrupts the learning process may lead to disciplinary action.
2. See the Student Handbook for the University of Tulsa’s policies on plagiarism and academic misconduct. You are responsible for understanding what plagiarism is and avoiding it. If you have questions, please ask me.
3. Students with disabilities should contact the Center for Student Academic Support to self-identify their need in order to facilitate their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Center for Student Academic Support is in Holmes Student Center, Room 59.
4. All students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with and take advantage of services provided by the Center for Student Academic Support such as tutoring, academic counseling, and developing study skills. The center for Student Academic Support provides confidential consultations to any student with academic concerns as well as to students with disabilities.
Course Requirements and Evaluation Criteria
Exam 1 35%
Exam 2 35%
Assignments (3@10%) 30%
Exams
The exams will consist of several short essay questions, covering all course material (lectures, readings, films, guest speakers).
Assignments
Students will choose 3 assignments (listed below). The assignments will be due on the Friday of the week we cover the chapter for which the assignment corresponds. For each assignment you will turn in a 2-page page (12-point font, double spaced). Many of the assignments require “collecting data” and so it would be UNWISE to wait until the night before the assignment is due to begin.
List of Assignments:
Week one: Watch at least six different kinds of sporting events on television. Maintain a log of your observations about gender and bodies. You may wish to include factors such as race and age of the participants. Did you observe situations where participants were expected to engage in “masculine” or “feminine” behavior, such as “male bonding” in football, or feminine attire, heavy use of makeup, and seductive choreography for you female figure skaters or gymnasts? If you are watching a co-ed sport, are there different ways that men and women present themselves or are seen by others? Pay attention to what the commentators say - are their comments gendered?
Week two: Learning Activity p. 61
Week three: Learning Activity p. 124
Week four: Learning Activity p. 161
Week five: Learning Activity p. 204
Week six: Write a woman-centered anti-abortion argument. Be careful. This assignment might look “easy” at first glance, but it is actually one of the most difficult. The pro-life/anti-abortion discourses “available” to us in our culture are NOT women centered, so you will have to be very creative and move away from the typical arguments you hear in the media or at church or in your communities.
Week seven: Learning Activity p. 290
Week eight: Watch several romance-based reality shows. Pretend you are Chrys Ingraham (author of White Weddings) and write a commentary/critique of these shows.
Week nine: Learning Activity p. 327
Week ten: Learning Activity p. 386
Week eleven: Learning Activity p. 431
Week twelve: Start with the information on p. 475 (Women in Prison) and then using the Internet explore even further to find out more about women in prison in Oklahoma. Describe how Oklahoma compares to the rest of the country. Were you surprised by what you learned? Why are women’s rates of incarceration rising? What types of crimes are women committing for which they are being incarcerated? What are the consequences of a rising incarceration rate for women? Do these rates of incarceration make sense? If yes, explain your answer. If no, what steps could be taken for change?
Week thirteen: Learning Activity p. 521
Week fourteen: Complete any of the “ideas for activism” throughout the text and write a paper about your experience.
Grade Translations
A: Outstanding, Superior, the Best that there is. Written work is presented at the college level, using standard English, with the very minimum of spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors. Shows clear grasp of concepts and demonstrates ability to synthesize material from both inside and outside the classroom. Meets deadlines. Goes beyond description to analysis. A papers are both creative and logical.
B: Very Good. Clearly above average. Written work is presented at the college level, but might have an occasional confusing spot, sentence or spelling mistake, and a somewhat less developed or less creative analysis.
C: Good. Average. These papers might reveal that the writer probably understand the concepts, but the quality of writing is confusing or underdeveloped so that these essays would not teach concepts to an uneducated audience. These are essays that offer only the author’s opinion or summarize the readings with no attempt at analysis.
D/E: Below expectations. Below what one
would normally expect from a student at their level. Writing marred by
mechanical problems. Papers will fail if the level of writing is so confusing,
underdeveloped, or error ridden that the reader cannot tell what the writer
knows or means.
Tentative Schedule*
Monday, August 23
Wednesday, August 25 – Chapter 1 “Women’s Studies: Perspectives and Practices”
Friday, August 27 – readings 1, 2, 4 and 6
Monday, August 30 – Chapter 2 “Systems of Privilege and Inequality in Women’s Lives”
Wednesday, September 1 – readings 8-12
Friday, September 3 – readings 13-16
Monday, September 6
Wednesday, September 8 – Chapter 3 “Learning Gender in a Diverse Society”
Friday, September 10 – readings 17-23
Monday, September 13 – chapter 4 – Sex, Power, and Intimacy”
Wednesday, September 15 – readings 24-27
Friday, September 17 – readings 28-31
Monday, September 20 – Chapter 5 “Inscribing Gender on the Body”
Wednesday, September 22 – readings 32-35
Friday, September 24– readings 36-39
Monday, September 27 - Chapter 6 “Health and Reproductive Rights
Wednesday, September 29 – readings 40, 41, 42, 45, 47
Friday, October 1 –Exam 1
Monday, October 4 – Chapter 7 “Family Systems, Family Lives”
Wednesday, October 6 – readings 48-50
Friday, October 8 – readings 51-53
Monday, October 11 – White Weddings chp. 2
Wednesday, October 13 – White Weddings chp. 3
Friday, October 15 – White Weddings chps. 4-5
Monday, October 18 – – Chapter 8 “Women’s Work: Inside and Outside the Home”
Wednesday, October 20 – readings 54-56
Friday, October 22 – readings 57-60
Monday, October 25 - Chapter 9 “Women Confronting and Creating Culture”
Wednesday, October 27 - readings 61-64
Friday, October 29 readings 65, 67, 68
Monday, November 1 – Chapter 10 “Resisting Violence Against Women”
Wednesday, November 3 – readings 69-72
Friday, November 5 – readings 73-76
Monday, November 8 chapter 11 “State, Law, and Social Policy”
Wednesday, November 10 – readings 77-80
Friday, November 12 – readings 81-83
Monday, November 15 – Chapter 12 – Religion and Spirituality in Women’s Lives
Wednesday, November 17 – readings 84-87
Friday, November 19 – readings 88-91
Monday, November 22
Wednesday, November 24
Friday, November 26
Monday, November 29 – Chapter 13 “Activism, Change, and Feminist Futures”
Wednesday, December 1 – readings 92-94
Friday, December 3 – readings 95-97
Monday, December 6 - TBA
Final exam – Tuesday, Dec. 14 – 8:00-10:25