Gender, Propaganda, and War

Thanks to classmates Christine Bowden, Rebekah Glover, and Rebecca Nesbitt for this link to a 1950s British newsreel film that represents the Kenyan freedom fighters, known as Mau Mau, as terrorists. The reel was produced while Britain held colonial control over Kenya, and the newsreel is clearly intended to drum up anti-Mau Mau support for continued British occupation. Based on our discussions on gender, war, and militarism, what questions come to mind about gendering terrorism, war, and the military when you view this newsreel?

Sierra Leone Legalizes Free Health Care for Mothers, Infants

This news release from Medicins sans frontieres/Doctors Without Borders details Sierra Leone's new national law, which mandates free health care as of April 27, 2010, to the nation's most vulnerable groups: pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and children under the age of five. These groups represent the highest rates of mortality in the nation, and the new law seeks to reduce these numbers by improving access to preventive and urgent medical care that many cannot otherwise afford.

Film: Searching for Angela Shelton, 4/27, Keezell G3, 7pm

To raise awareness for Sexual Abuse Prevention Month, one of my world literature service project groups will screen the documentary Searching For Angela Shelton. The film's director, Angela Shelton, searched for women who share her name only to find that over half, like herself, have been sexually abused. Soon her journey turns into a vivid and moving commentary on both sexual and child abuse in society today, as Shelton confronts the man who abused her. The film will be shown Tuesday, April 27th, in Keezel Hall room G3 at 7:00pm. I hope you'll attend.

National Equal Pay Day is April 20th

Next week, the average U.S. woman will finally have earned, by working through all of 2009 and through most of 2010, what the average U.S. man earned in 2009. This article by the National Women's Law Center seeks to raise awareness of the continuing gendered wage gap. This relates to our recent class discussions.

Is Body Hair Only for Men?

This New York Times article on recent spottings of celebrities who do not shave their legs and/or armpits is a great discussion of the cultural pressure in the United States to perform certain beauty rituals that alter the body. These practices ultimately create more work that women and girls must perform in order to be socially acceptable. How does this track with your learning in this course? Reactions?

Backstreet Abortions: Few Other Options in Kenya

Thanks to classmate Rachael Capone for bringing this article to my attention, particularly as it's timely to our recent discussions about the State's regulation of women's reproduction. The connection between restricted abortion access and the maiming and/or deaths of mothers and fetuses is not a U.S.-only epidemic. I hope you'll read this troubling article in CNN.com.

Myth of "Gay Lifestyle" Fuels Discrimination

As we've discussed in class, terminology is political. Take, for example, the term "gay lifestyle," which suggests that homosexuality is a chosen, aberrant, way of life that differs dramatically from the "natural" heterosexual way of being. LZ Granderson's essay on CNN.com takes issue with this use of a mythology of difference as a means for discrimination. What's your reaction, vis-a-vis our course?

SMAD Spring Diversity Lecture 4/5, 7pm, 1261 Harrison

"A Space for Hate: The White Power Movement’s Adaptation into Cyberspace." The white power movement is steadily adapting its racist agenda into "user-friendly" cyber formats, ranging from social network websites to information databases. Adam Klein will discuss his research on twenty-six leading white power websites and their use of the Internet. Klein is SMAD Diversity Fellow for the spring 2010. He is a Ph.D. candidate in the Mass Communication & Media Studies program at Howard University. He is the author of numerous research articles and papers and the forthcoming book, A Space for Hate (Litwin Books). The presentation is sponsored by the Office of Diversity, the Honors Program, and the School of Media Arts & Design.

The Clothesline Project 3/26, 12-6, Transitions

The Clothesline Project is actually a series of clotheslines displaying thousands of tee-shirts, each made by a sexual assault survivor or survivor ally. The shirts bear witness to both the pervasiveness of sexual violence in our nation and the extent to which violence harms physically and psychologically. Walking among the shirts, reading the stories, I am overwhelmed by the sheer number of shirts--so many testimonials of pain, anger, and strength. Today, our class will visit the Clothesline Project. Please take as much time as you can so that you can fully experience the point of the Project. You are also welcome to make a shirt if you feel so moved. Information about campus and community resources on sexual assault prevention, education, and support will be available. This event is sponsored by Residence Life and UHC's Student Wellness & Outreach.

Assignment: By Monday, 3/29, at 5:00 p.m., please post a reply to this blog entry that will serve as your commentary for next week. Your commentary should draw a connection between your experience of the Clothesline Project and one of the assigned essays from Chapter 10, "Resisting Violence Against Women." Your commentary must quote the essay as per the usual commentary assignment. Your commentary may either advance an original idea or respond to one previously posted here.

Unwanted Touching, Race, and Gender

Allison Keye's essay on National Public Radio, "Keep Your Hands Off the Hair," is about the frequent and strange compulsion of others to touch her hair. An African American who does not chemically straighten her hair, Keyes seeks to understand and explain the relationship of a 400-years-old racialized history of assumed permission to her recoil. The essay does not discuss the aspect of gender as another assumption of free access to her body, but it surely exists and is germane to our recent discussions in class.

Gandhi Center Internship for Fall 2010

The Mahatma Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence at JMU invites rising Juniors and Seniors (and exceptional rising sophomores) with strong leadership and academic backgrounds to be part of affecting change at the local, regional, and national levels through promoting nonviolence understanding, appreciation, and practice. Application materials and details are on the Center's website.

Busting the Media Myth that Feminism Is Finished

Susan J. Douglas's new book, Enlightened Sexism: The Seductive Message that Feminism's Work is Done is reviewed and excerpted on National Public Radio's website this week. I hope you'll take a look because Douglas considers the same questions we've been asking lately in our class--on women's under-representation in the upper echelons of the work force and in government; and on whether women who choose to be objectified in media representations are actually exercising autonomous sexual power. Plus, Douglas is wickedly funny. Her tone is imminently readable while simultaneously reminding female readers of the dangers of sounding dumb.

First Step Shelter Benefit Show 3/22, 7pm, TDU

Support the local domestic violence shelter with donations and non-perishable food items. See JMU and local performers. Sponsored by JMU Now. Contact: jmunow@gmail.com. This is an event supported by one of our class groups' community activism project.

House of Privilege: Chandler 3/22-24

In this experiential museum, participants are led through rooms of a house and observe scenes that highlight how privilege creates inequities in our society. Following the 20-minute tour of the house, participants take part in a brief facilitated reflection. Each room also contains “Windows of Opportunity” which share ways participants can act to level the playing field and embrace difference in their own lives.

Group sign-ups guarantee tours of up to 12 people. HOP can split larger groups into back-to-back tours. TIMES: 6 pm to 9 pm with tours leaving every 15 minutes. Pre-arranged group reservations take precedent over walk-ins; upon arrival individual walk-ins will be given a ticket with an assigned time for the nest available tour. Groups of five or more are invited to sign up for reserved times. To sign up for a slot, or to get more information, please contact Greg Meyer, meyergi@jmu.edu, 540-568-6218. To volunteer, click here.

VA Attorney General Bans Anti-Gay Discrimination

This article from the Associate Press continues our class discussion from Friday on legalized discrimination against the LGBTQ community: the Virginia Attorney General recently ordered state universities and colleges to remove sexual orientation from their anti-discrimination policies.

NPR Series on Campus Rape: Repeat Offenders, Failed Justice

NPR has been running a series of interviews, articles, and exposes on the continuing problem of rape on college campuses. The latest installment cites a recent study that finds 9 out of 10 campus rapists are repeat offenders, not single-incident occurrences. You can follow the links along this article's left and right margins to see other reports in the series. Given the upcoming Take Back the Night event here at JMU, and given our class discussions on women's sexuality and our culture's prevalence of gendered violence, I hope you'll take the time to read and comment on these articles.

TAKE BACK THE NIGHT 3/23, 6-10pm: The Commons

Take Back the Night is a night dedicated to raising awareness about ending sexual assault and violence against both men and women on college campuses and around the world. The event increases community awareness about sexual assault, serves as a voice for men and women to speak out about their experiences, and empowers each of us to take action.

6pm: Musical and dramatic performances
6:45pm-7:30pm: Dr. Rachel Griffin, Keynote Speaker. The speech is a PASSPORT EVENT. The keynote speech will be followed by a speak-out and a candle-lit march around campus. Dr. Griffin's research spans gendered violence, performance, Black masculinity, and critical race theory. Her work addresses notions of power, privilege, and voice.

The Vagina Monologues: 2/14 & 2/15

Tickets for this Valentine's Day feminist tradition are available online here. Please try to go, and let us know how it relates to this course.

Sponsored by Sister Speak, NOW, and the Student Wellness Office, The Vagina Monologues is a play by Eve Ensler meant to empower women and work toward ending sexual assault and other violence against women. Proceeds from the show will benefit the national cause, the plight of women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; FirstStep, a local domestic violence shelter; and the Collins Center, a local rape crisis center. Shows are on February 14 and 15, Memorial Hall Auditorium at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10.

Extra Credit Quiz

I will raise the lowest commentary grade by one (1) letter for the first five (5) people who answer any of the following questions about chapter 3 correctly. You can submit answers to all of the questions, but I will only raise one (1) commentary grade per respondent. Submit your answers as "comments" to this post. Answers must quote textual evidence and use proper citations. Here are the questions:

1. According to the readings, why do we need to accommodate more than two genders?

2. According to the readings, what limitations does the two-gender system impose? On whom?

3. How early does gender performance training occur, in the U.S. context, according to the readings? What form(s) do(es) such early gendering take?

4. In your day-to-day activities and interactions this past week, in what two ways were you rewarded for performing your gender correctly? In what two ways, if any, were you penalized for for not performing your gender correctly?

Course Schedule Changes Due to Recent University Closings

Updated 2/11, 1:27 p.m.

Please note the following schedule changes to accommodate the recent university closings. I have made these changes to the online version of our course schedule, available on this blog (see the January blog archive).

1. Due: online commentary on the readings for chapter 3, "Learning Gender in a Diverse Society." Please reply to my blog post of the same name, below, by Friday, 2/12, by 5pm EST.

2. During our next class meeting, we will discuss the chapter 3 readings. I expect this to be on Friday, 2/12.

3. We will discuss the introduction and readings for chapter 5, "Inscribing Gender on the Body," on Monday, 2/15.

4. Please note the following assignment date changes. Due:
M 2/15: Learning Activity: Thank a Feminist final paper
F 2/12: Learning Activity: Examining Privilege optional draft
F 2/19: Learning Activity: Tomboys and Sissies optional draft
M 2/22: Learning Activity: Examining Privilege final paper

6. Group Activism Project proposals are due on Wednesday, 2/24. See the January blog archive for the assignment. I will distribute hard copies of the assignment and take questions during our next class meeting. You should begin thinking now about possible group and project forms.

7. As we discussed in class, I have changed the League of Women Voters Learning Activity on the course schedule into a handout. The blog version of the Learning Activity handout reflects this change (see this blog's January archive or search the blog for "Assignments").

Learning Gender in a Diverse Society Online Commentary

In addition to our classroom discussion, we are holding a blog discussion on the readings from chapter 3. Please post your commentaries here as "Comments" to this blog item. Remember: your commentary may either initiate a discussion thread or continue an existing one. Commentaries, whether initiating or continuing threads, must comport to all other assignment parameters. Due date: Wednesday, 2/10/10, at 5pm EST.

Same-sex Marriage and Adoption in Mexico City

This article from the New York Times on the state's attempt to regulate who can make a family in Mexico is timely now. It will inform our later unit on family formation, same-sex marriage, and adoption.

Systems of Privilege and Oppression Online Commentary

Thank you for your willingness to enter what is, for many of you, a new realm of interdisciplinary study in transnational feminisms and women's experiences around the globe.

In addition to our classroom discussion, we are holding a blog discussion on the readings from chapter two, in systems of privilege and oppression, this week. Please post your commentaries here as "Comments" to this blog item. Remember: your commentary may either initiate a discussion thread or continue an existing one. Commentaries, whether initiating or continuing threads, must comport to all other assignment parameters. Due date: Friday, 1/29/10, at 5pm EST.

Mothers and Work in Germany

This article from the New York Times relates to our later unit on women and work, but I want to share it with you now. It will be interesting to revisit later the reactions you post now.

MLK Lecture in Global Nonviolence, Tuesday, 01/19/10

The Center for Multicultural Student Services and the Mahatma Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence present the first Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Lecture in Global Nonviolence. Please attend the Rev. James Lawson's address, "Nonviolent Action for Civil Rights,” on Tuesday, January 19, at 6:30 pm, in Room 2301, HHS. Admission is free and all are invited.

Rev. Lawson's profile: A counterpart of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., James Lawson was the leading theoretician and tactician of nonviolence in the U.S. Civil Rights movement, and continues today as an advocate for the power of collective nonviolent struggle in furtherance of campaigns for peace, justice, freedom, equality, and human rights. Dr. King called James Lawson "The leading nonviolence theorist in the world."

Rev. Lawson will also speak on Monday, January 18th, 2010, as the keynote for the formal MLK program: Wilson Hall Auditorium
7:00p.m. (Doors Open at 6:30p.m.)

Course Description

This course is a cross-disciplinary introduction to theories and scholarship in the study of women’s experiences across history and geography. The course examines various theoretical perspectives on the social constructions of gender and its interlinked relationships with other social constructs of difference (e.g., race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, ability, and age). Our central goal is to read and think critically about these networked systems which have shaped and influenced the historical, cultural, social, political, and economic contexts of women’s and other lives. Specific attention will be given to the ways in which gender affects access to opportunity, and to women’s modes of resistance to gendered inequalities. We will consider the various ways women have worked to create new systems of change by engaging in national and global transformational politics. This interaction between political activism and academic scholarship distinguishes Women’s Studies from other academic disciplines. Accordingly, the goals of this course include not just intellectual analysis, but personal and social change.

The Class as Learning Community

Class attendance and informed participation in class activities is crucial. This class is a learning community, and a key element in fostering community is member responsibility to both the self and the community. Each class member must assume responsibility for his or her learning and support the learning of others. Assuming responsibility means preparing for class, asking for help, responding to classmates, and respecting differences. These expectations also apply to me as your instructor.

I expect you to arrive on time and stay until each class meeting’s conclusion. Arriving late or leaving early disrupts everyone’s learning. If you do not attend class, you miss a crucial element of the community learning experience that is a key premise of this course and, conversely, the class misses your unique contributions. Whatever the reason for an absence, the missed learning experience is irreplaceable. If you miss class, you are responsible for obtaining notes, handouts, and assignments from classmates and not from me. More than three recorded absences (one week) will lower your final course grade by one letter. More than six recorded absences (two weeks) will lower your final course grade to an F.

The classroom community can best learn if everyone participates. I expect you to attend each class prepared to contribute productively to discussion and other class activities. Preparation is your reflection on the assigned readings. Productive participation includes, but is not limited to: informed responses to discussion questions related to the readings; thoughtfully answering questions posed in class discussions; sharing your unique perspective or knowledge of course material with the class; and posing questions or offering comments that demonstrate your comprehension and reflection on assigned readings.

Course Readings, Films, and Online Resources

Required Text: Shaw, Susan, and Janet Lee. Women’s Voices, Feminist Visions, 4th edition.

Required Photocopied Readings (reserved at Carrier Library; see schedule):
Hochschild, Arlie, et al. Global Women: Nannies, Maids, and Sex Workers in the New Economy, Introduction.
Shah, Sonia. “Presenting the Blue Goddess: Toward a National Pan-Asian Feminist Agenda.”
Steady, Filomena Chioma. “African Feminism: A Worldwide Perspective.”
Tlali, Miriam. “Fud-u-u-a.”
Truth, Sojourner. “Ain’t I a Woman?”

Required Online Readings (Terisa Turner. Mau Mau Women. ; see schedule):
Foreword (Interview with Muthoni Likimani), Mau Mau Women
Abstract for “Feminism in the Mau Mau Resurgence.”
Comic: “Nakedness and Power.”

Required Films (reserved at Carrier Library and online via LEO; see schedule):
Killing Us Softly 3 (DVD #1686).
Florence & Robin (videotape #5081).

Required Online Resources:
Daily access to the course blog for assignments, links, discussion, and announcements.
A JMU email account whose inbox and junk folders you check at least every other day.

Required Writing, Exams, and Evaluation

10%: Class Participation and Commentaries. To foster reading comprehension and analytical skills via working together as a group, you will share a written commentary on current course material (film and written texts) at the beginning of our Wednesday class meetings (unless otherwise noted in the schedule). Each commentary must reference at least one current text or film and provide a quotation and proper citation. I will grade commentaries on relevance to the course, clarity of expression, depth of engagement with the material, and adherence to assignment directions. Examples of in-depth engagement with the material are striving for connections across course texts and attempting to answer your own difficult questions. Each week’s commentary will count as one class participation grade.

40% (4 x 10% each): Learning Activities. During the semester, you will complete four (of eight possible) learning activities. You will choose the four learning activities you wish to complete. Each learning activity is listed on the class schedule and must be completed by the listed due date. You may elect to submit a draft of any activity for review and feedback before the final paper is submitted. Optional draft due dates are listed in the syllabus.

30% (2 x 15% each): Exams. Mid-term and Final.

20%: Group Activist Project. During the semester, you will form a group with three others to design and carry out an activist project on campus and/or in the surrounding community that demonstrates your in-depth understanding of a theme or issue from the course. Groups will complete the project during the semester. They will then make a presentation to the class at the end of the semester which outlines (and, if applicable, displays) the project goals, methodology, outcome, and lessons learned. Projects should above all benefit the community, but projects and presentations must also be well planned, relevant, well researched, creative, and intellectually productive. Your project may originate from any of the approved Ideas for Activism lists on pages 139, 184, 241, 323, 388, 436, 507, 569, 623, and 712. More risky, but perhaps more rewarding, the group may elect to design and carry out an original project. Original projects must receive my approval to proceed, but I am happy to consult with students on both original and text-derived projects. Groups must meet with me and present a written project proposal and must receive approval before beginning any collaborative work for credit.

I use JMU’s four-point scale to record and compute grades.

Course Policies

Assignment Format: All written work must be typed, double-spaced, printed legibly in black ink, and follow MLA style. Use The MLA Handbook, 6th edition or later, available in the JMU library and in all local and online bookstores. Do not use online MLA style guides: these are usually incorrect. Unreadable or improperly formatted papers will receive an F.

Due Dates: I do not accept late or emailed work. All work is due in class at the start time. See me before the deadline if you do not understand any assignment or run into any other sort of difficulty. If you will be unable to submit your work at the assigned place or time, make arrangements with me before the deadline to submit it early. Work is submitted when I receive it in-hand, not when it arrives in my mailbox or under my office door.

The JMU Honor Code applies to all work completed in this class. Handing in work constitutes your pledge of academic honesty. Plagiarism will result in failing the course and referral for disciplinary action by the Honor Council and the College of Arts and Letters.

If you have a diagnosed disability, it is your responsibility to notify the Office of Disability Services and me so that we can work together to meet your learning needs.

I encourage all students to access the academic support services available on campus.

Office Hours: Please feel free to drop by or make an appointment to see me.

Inclement Weather: Class meets if the university is open. If I am unable to get to campus, I will notify the class via email and by having a notice posted outside our classroom door.

Course Schedule

This schedule is subject to change according to the needs of the class. You are responsible for all schedule changes announced in class and on this blog. Be prepared to discuss readings on the dates listed. Unless noted as “photocopy” below, readings are from Women’s Voices, Feminist Visions. We will view films in class.

M 1/11 Course Introduction.

Women's Studies: Perspectives and Practices

W 1/13 Women’s Studies, Global Feminisms, and Feminist Education. Chapter 1, pp. 1-24.

F 1/15 Chapter 1, pp. 25-31, 40-42, 54-57: Adrienne Rich, “Claiming an Education;” Jennifer Baumgartner and Amy Richards, “A Day Without Feminism;” bell hooks, “Feminist Politics: Where We Stand;” Deborah Rhode, “Denials of Inequality;” Anna Quindlen, “Still Needing the F Word.” Photocopies: Filomena Chioma Steady, “African Feminism: A Worldwide Perspective;” Sonia Shah, “Presenting the Blue Goddess: Toward a National Pan-Asian Feminist Agenda.”

M 1/18 Martin Luther King, Jr., Holiday. No class.

W 1/20 Chapter 1 and photocopied readings continued. Due: Commentary.

F 1/22 Chapter 1 and photocopied readings continued.

Systems of Privilege and Inequality in Women's Lives

M 1/25 Difference, Hierarchy, Oppression. Chapter 2, pp. 59-75. Due: Learning Activity (handout): Thank a Feminist optional draft.

W 1/27 Chapter 2, pp. 76-122: Patricia Hill Collins, “Toward a New Vision: Race, Class, and Gender as Categories of Analysis and Connection;” Marilyn Frye, “Oppression;” Lois Keith, “Tomorrow I’m Going to Rewrite the English Language;” Suzanne Pharr, “Homophobia: A Weapon of Sexism;” Peggy Mcintosh, “White Privilege and Male Privilege;” Gloria Yamato, “Something About the Subject Makes It Hard to Name;” Donna Langston, “Tired of Playing Monopoly?” Baba Copper, “Voices: On Becoming Old Women;” Susan Wendell, “The Social Construction of Disability;” June Jordan, “Report from the Bahamas.” Due: Commentary.

F 1/29 Chapter 2 readings continued.

M 2/1 Chapter 2 readings continued.

Learning Gender in a Diverse Society

W 2/3 Biology, Culture, and Gender Performance. Chapter 3, pp. 124-139. Due: Commentary.

F 2/5 University Closed -- snow day.

M 2/8 University Closed -- snow day.

W 2/10 Chapter 3, pp. 140-168: Anne Fausto-Sterling, “Two Sexes Are Not Enough;” Judith Lorber, “The Social Construction of Gender;” Pamela J. Bettis and Natalie Guice Adams, “Short Skirts and Breast Juts: Cheerleading, Eroticism and Schools;” Natalie Wong, “When I Was Growing Up;” Judy Wajcman, “Virtual Gender;” Debra Rosenberg, “(Rethinking) Gender;” “R. W. Connell, “Masculinities and Globalization.”

Inscribing Gender on the Body: Sex, Power, and Intimacy

F 2/12 Finish discussion of Chapter 3 readings. Due: Blog commentary on Chapter 3 readings by 5pm EST. Due: Learning Activity (handout): Examining Privilege optional draft.

M 2/15 Constructing “Beauty.” Chapter 5, pp. 223-243, 244-285: Amy Bloom, “Hermaphrodites with Attitude;” Joan Brumberg, “Breast Buds and the ‘Training’ Bra;” Gloria Steinem, “If Men Could Menstruate;” Lisa R. Rubin et al., “Body Ethics and Aesthetics Among African American and Latina Women;” Rose Weitz, “What We Do for Love;” Lisa Miya-Jervis, “Hold That Nose;” Courtney E. Martin, “Love Your Fat Self;” Maya Angelou, “Phenomenal Woman.” Due: Learning Activity: Thank a Feminist final paper.

W 2/17 Film: Killing Us Softly 3. Chapter 5 readings continued. Due: Commentary.

F 2/19 Heteronormativity, Race, and Class. Chapter 4, pp. 170-185. Due: Learning Activity (p. 125): Tomboys and Sissies optional draft.

M 2/22 Chapter 4, pp. 186-203, 204-208, 211-212: Pepper Schwartz and Virginia Rutter, “Sexual Desire and Gender;” bell hooks, “Romance: Sweet Love;” Jennifer Baumgartner, “What Is Bisexuality?” Cherrie Moraga, “La Guera;” Paula Gunn Allen, “Some Like Indians Endure.” Due: Learning Activity: Examining Privilege final paper.

W 2/24 Chapter 4 readings continued. Due: Commentary. Due: Group Activism Project proposal.

F 2/26 Mid-term Exam.

Family Systems, Family Lives

M 3/1 Film: Florence & Robin. Due: Learning Activity: Tomboys and Sissies final paper.

W 3/3 What Makes a “Family”? Chapter 7, pp. 378-395. Due: Commentary. Due: Learning Activity (handout): Read a Romance Novel optional draft.

F 3/5 Chapter 7, pp. 396-404, 408-418: Emma Goldman, “Marriage and Love;” Miranda Kennedy, “Cheaper than a Cow;” Lisa Miya-Jervis, “Who Wants to Marry a Feminist?” Charlene Gomes, “Partners as Parents: Challenges Faced by Gays Denied Marriage;” Audre Lorde, “Man Child: A Black Lesbian Feminist’s Response.”

M-F 3/8-12 Spring Break. No class.

Women’s Work Inside and Outside the Home

M 3/15 Gendering “Jobs” and the Risks of Transgression. Chapter 8, pp. 426-447. Due: Learning Activity: Read a Romance Novel final paper.

W 3/17 Chapter 8, pp. 451-464, 483-493: Sharlene Hesse-Biber and Gregg Lee Carter, “A Brief History of Working Women;” Martha Burk, “Power Plays: Six Ways the Male Corporate Elite Keeps Women Out;” Carrie N. Baker, “The Women’s Movement Against Sexual Harassment.” Photocopy: Arlie Hochschild and Barbara Ehrenreich, Introduction from Global Woman. Due: Commentary.

F 3/19 Chapter 8 and photocopied readings continued. Due: Learning Activity (handout): What Makes a Family optional draft.

M 3/22 Chapter 8 and photocopied readings continued.

Resisting Violence Against Women

W 3/24 Violent Relationships, Date Rape, and Violence Based on Race, Class, and/or Sexual Orientation. Chapter 10, pp. 555-577. Due: Learning Activity: What Makes a Family final paper. Due: Commentary.

F 3/26 Chapter 10, pp. 590-606: Debra Anne Davis, “Betrayed by the Angel: What Happens When Violence Knocks and Politeness Answers?” Joetta L. Carr, “Campus Sexual Violence;” Grace Caroline Bridges, “Lisa’s Ritual, Age 10;” John Stoltenberg, “Pornography and Freedom;” Helen Clarkson, “War Crimes.” Photocopy: Miriam Tlali, “Fud-u-u-a.”

M 3/29 Chapter 10 and photocopied readings continued. Due: Learning Activity (p. 427): Housework and Technology optional draft.

W 3/31 Chapter 10 and photocopied readings continued. Due: Commentary.

State, Law, and Social Policy

F 4/2 Government Representation, Affirmative Action Mythology, the Legal System, and Reproductive Rights. Chapter 11, pp. 611-649, 656-658: Susan B. Anthony, “Constitutional Agreement;” Catharine A. MacKinnon, “Law in the Everyday Life of Women;” Ellen Bravo, “What This Nation Really Thinks of Motherhood: Welfare Reform;” Bay Fang, “The Talibanization of Iraq.”

M 4/5 Chapter 6, pp. 296-325, 360-376: Jael Silliman, et al., “Women of Color and Their Struggle for Reproductive Justice;” Eleanor Cooney, “The Way It Was.” Due: Learning Activity: Housework and Technology final paper.

W 4/7 Chapter 11 and Chapter 6 readings continued. Due: Commentary.

F 4/9 Chapter 11 and Chapter 6 readings continued. Due: Learning Activity (handout): Looking Good, Feeling Sexy, Getting a Man optional draft.

Women Confronting and Creating Culture

M 4/12 Identifying, Reading, and Resisting Cultural Scripts for “Woman.” Chapter 9, pp. 498-514.

W 4/14 Chapter 9, pp. 515-527, 534, 549-553: Virginia Woolf, “Thinking About Shakespeare’s Sister;” Audre Lorde, “Poetry Is Not a Luxury;” Gloria Anzuldúa, “The Path of the Red and Black Ink;” Ariel Levy, “Female Chauvinist Pigs;” Aya de Leon, “If Women Ran Hip Hop;” Jessica Valenti, “Pop Culture Gone Wild.” Online: Terisa Turner, Foreword to Mau Mau Women (interview with Muthoni Likimani); the abstract for “Feminism in the Mau Mau Resurgence;” comic: “Nakedness and Power.” Due: Commentary.

F 4/16 Chapter 9 and online readings continued. Due: Learning Activity: Looking Good, Feeling Sexy, Getting a Man final paper.

M 4/19 Chapter 9 and online readings continued. Due: Learning Activity (handout): The League of Women Voters optional draft.

Activism, Change, and Feminist Futures

W 4/21 Feminist Education, Avenues for Activism. Chapter 13, pp. 707-721. Due: Commentary.

F 4/23 Chapter 13, pp. 722-725, 729-754: Lisa Hogeland, “Fear of Feminism: Why Young Women Get the Willies;” Michael Kimmel, “Real Men Join the Movement;” Dazón Dixon Diallo, “Reflections of a Human Rights Educator;” Alice H. Eagly and Lida L. Carli, “Women and Leadership;” Ruth Rosen, Epilogue: “Beyond Backlash;” Jenny Joseph, “Warning.” Photocopy: Sojourner Truth, “Ain’t I a Woman?”

M 4/26 Chapter 13 and photocopied readings continued.

W 4/28 Chapter 13 readings and photocopied continued. Due: Learning Activity: The League of Women Voters final paper.

F 4/30 Final Exam.

W 5/5 8:00-10:00 a.m. Group Activist Project Presentations. Course wrap-up, reflection.

Learning Activity Handout

These Learning Activity Assignments are not found in the course textbook.

Thank a Feminist. Read the box entitled “Thank a Feminist” on page 12. For four days and nights (two during the week and the weekend), make notes about the nature of your activities, acquaintances, the people you meet or simply talk to, memberships, where you go, and when all of these scenarios occur. Consider the ways in which your life would have been different one hundred years ago. Would you have been permitted in the same places? Would you have safely left your home at the same times? Performed the same activities? Why or why not? Would the labor in your household have been divided differently? Would your social life have been different? In what ways? Would your leisure time have been spent differently? How so? Why? Finally, what areas of your life have been made possible via feminism? Who might you thank, and how?

Examining Privilege. Following Peggy Mcintosh’s example in “White Privilege and Male Privilege,” begin to notice two ways in which you receive privilege (based on, e.g., your race, class, gender, age, sexual orientation, mental and/or physical ability, and/or religious affiliation). For each of the ways identified above, make a list of ten to fifteen current situations and/or conditions in which you receive unearned privilege due to your membership in that particular group. You should have two (2) lists of 10-15 examples each. Following your lists, write a two-page critical reflection essay of your personal experience with power, privilege, and oppression.

Read a Romance Novel. Romance fiction became the largest share of the consumer book market in 2007 with nearly $1.4 billion in revenue. Romance publishers released over 8,000 titles, a 26% increase over 2006 (Romance Writers of America). Read a romance novel by one of the genre’s top five publishers: Harlequin, Random House, Penguin, HarperCollins, or Kensington. As you read the novel, also read the way gender is portrayed in the narrative. How does the text describe integral female and male characters? Discuss the personality traits of the heroine(s) and/or hero(es). What are their economic resources and social standing? What messages does the novel advance, reinforce, or challenge about masculinity, femininity, love, romance, and sexuality? Discuss gender stereotypes, gender identity, and gender roles in relation to the text. How do the hero(es) and/or heroine(s) experience falling in love? Does the story rank falling in love and work? If so, how so? Does the ranking change for a male versus a female character? How are women’s multiple identities (e.g., as worker, friend, daughter, sister, and romantic partner) represented as linked or separated? Does the novel portray sexual intimacy? Between which genders? Is coercion involved? Do the sexually active characters consider the issues surrounding sexually transmitted disease or contraception? How does the novel’s engagement with social stereotypes and scripts influence readers’ understanding of their own experiences? What do you think makes this genre so popular among female readers?

Looking Good, Feeling Sexy, Getting a Man. Collect four different women’s magazines such as (but not limited to) Allure, Better Homes and Gardens, Cosmopolitan, Ebony, Elle, Glamour, O (The Oprah Magazine), Parents, Prevention, Redbook, Self, Vogue, W, and Women's Day. Read through the magazines and complete the chart below, listing the number of articles you find about each topic under each magazine title.

	1.	2.	3.	4.
Makeup
Clothes
Hair
Sex/Dating
Dieting/Exercise
Food/Recipes
Home Décor
Work
Politics/Current Events
Self-help

Read the magazine genre descriptions on page 509. Looking at your own research samples as a group, answer the following questions. Who is pictured on the cover? What article titles dominate the cover? What do you observe from your analysis? What messages about gender are these magazines presenting? What products are advertised in each magazine? How do these products differ from the products advertised in gender-neutral magazines (e.g., Newsweek, The Atlantic)? What do the visual images in the advertisements suggest? What do the words tell readers? What messages do these advertisements send about women’s bodies? (How) does this affect the way women are viewed by others?

What Makes a Family? Survey ten people in your residence hall or other organization on the structures of their families of origin. Whom do the interviewees consider to be in their families? What relation do these people have to your interviewees? Do (or did) all of their identified family members live in the same house? Who were the interviewees’ primary caregivers while they were children? Who was primarily responsible for the financial well-being of the family? For the emotional well-being of the family? Was the family of origin closely connected to extended family? If so, which extended family members and in what ways? Compare your findings with your own family model. What do your findings lead you to surmise about what makes a family? How closely do the families of your interviewees (and your own) resemble the dominant notion of the nuclear family (e.g., a husband and wife in their first marriage and their two or three biological, heterosexual children, all of the same race/ethnicity/religion/etc.)? What do you think is the impact of our stereotype of the nuclear family on social policy? How do you think this stereotype affects real families dealing with the real problems of everyday family life?

The League of Women Voters. Read the Learning Activity on page 615, “The League of Women Voters.” Choose one “project,” “issue,” or “take action” item from the website’s drop-down menus. Read around the LWV website to learn about the item you’ve chosen. What is LWV doing on this issue, project, or action item? Will you get involved? How so? Why? If you will not get involved, then why not? What other opportunity for activism, if any, might you explore next? Explain your reasoning.

Weekly Commentary Assignment

All students will share a written commentary on current course material (film and written texts) at the beginning of one class meeting per week.

Purpose: This exercise is designed to foster reading comprehension and analytical skills through your extended reflection on course materials, and through working together as a group. The goal is to advance everyone’s ability to offer productive discussion.

Requirements: Each student will share one typed commentary of no more than one to four sentences in length per week. The commentary must quote from or paraphrase the passage from the reading or film it considers and provide a correct MLA citation for that material. The commentary must identify the reading or film by author and title. Commentaries must be typed, dated, and contain the student author’s name. These may be single-spaced. A commentary may be: a question on current readings/films and evidence of attempting an answer; an answer to a current question the class is currently discussing; or early thinking about an upcoming writing assignment, but thinking that connects to current readings and film.

Here are some examples of possible critical thinking questions to ask yourself. The commentary would seek to answer these:
1. What is a particular strength or weakness of this argument?
2. What is the difference between the points made by two readings/films?
3. How (or why) is this argument or point especially relevant to our course? To the community? In a global context?
4. How could this argument be used in a different context?
5. What are the implications of this particular argument?
6. How does the condition described in the reading affect a different or related kind of group, community, or population?
7. How does this reading connect with what we have already learned?
8. What does this particular point/word/phrase/question mean?
9. Why is this point or argument important?
10. How are these two points/arguments/scenarios similar?
11. What is a counter-argument for this writer’s argument?
12. I agree (or disagree) with this statement: [insert quote] because …. The readings provide ... as evidence to support my claim.
13. What is another way to look at this particular point?

Format: Do not provide a question for your readers to answer. Your aim is not to generate discussion, but to demonstrate that you have been thinking about the readings or films under current consideration.

Evaluation: I will grade commentaries on relevance to the course, clarity of expression, depth of engagement with the material, and adherence to assignment directions. Examples of in-depth engagement with the material are striving for connections across course texts and attempting to answer your own difficult questions. Each week’s commentary will count as one equal fraction of your total class participation/commentary grade. See the course schedule for due dates.

Group Activist Project and Presentation

In our various readings and discussions of global women’s studies, we see that our scholarly research also has a larger, public purpose. We know that women’s and gender studies is educational and political. During the semester, each student will form a group with three other classmates to design and carry out an activist project in the community. The project should demonstrate the group’s in-depth understanding of the course material and objectives. Our premise is that a project that benefits women and/or girls will ultimately benefit the entire community. The project’s focus must arise from the group’s shared interest in a particular theme, issue, text, or film from the course.

Subject Area: Begin with a point or idea that relates to any course reading, class assignment, or discussion that the group would like to explore in a way that was not covered in class. How does the idea or topic relate to a need in any community of which you are a member? How might you translate this interest and identified need into a form of activism? What motivates your choices of group formation and for crafting your particular project? How will your group’s project achieve its purpose?

Format: Your project may assume one of three forms: (1) originate from any of the approved Ideas for Activism lists on pages 117, 156, 194, 237, 275, 310, 363, 402, 442, and 524; (2) design and carry out an original project; or (3) engage with an organized service program either at JMU or in Harrisonburg or Rockingham County. Consider: Does a service option exist in the JMU or surrounding community? (See the service links on this blog for some examples.) If a service does not exist to meet the need you identify, then what service could you design to do so? Because you are free to design your own project, your choice of available project formats is nearly limitless.

Project Purpose: The project is designed to help students to better understand the social issues and activist responses that we have studied by considering these questions: What social conditions motivate these activists to work toward benefitting the community? How do they choose the form of their activism, their specific audiences? How do they define “activism”? How might the lessons you learn from the activists we study—whose works benefit the community—inform your own community involvement?

Timing: All groups must submit a project proposal (see above), and projects must receive my approval to proceed. I am happy to consult during and beyond the proposal stage with groups on both original, text-derived, or university/community-sponsored projects. Please consult with me if you have any doubts or questions regarding an appropriate project topic, scope, or approach. After submission of and approval of a project proposal, the group will complete the project during the semester. The group will make a presentation to the class at the end of the semester in which you will describe (and, if applicable, display) your project. The presentation will outline the project’s goals, methodology, outcome, and lessons learned.

Evaluation: Projects should above all benefit the community, but projects and presentations should be well planned, relevant, well researched, creative, and intellectually productive.

Required Elements:

#1: The Proposal (due February 24, 2010): Your project proposal must be typed and include the following elements:
A. The names of all group members
B. The nature of the proposed project: its scope, timeline, research involved, type and amount of work required to complete the project, plan of each group member’s responsibilities toward the project, expected lessons learned
C. Is the project an original creation, does the group plan to join an established service organization, or is the project derived from the course text? Explain the reasoning behind the group’s choice. If you plan to join an established organization, then you should have already have their approval to participate in their work, and a clear understanding of exactly what each group member will do.
D. The particular community, as the group defines it, that will benefit from this project
E. The project’s purpose
F. The element from the course from which the project idea derived

#2: The Project (consider these when crafting the group’s proposal): Your project must include the following elements:
A. Educational and/or political purpose
B. Public benefit: that is, the project must benefit the community. If you organize a showing, reading, or performance, you must invite the rest of the class to attend.
C. Specific audience: who will benefit from your group’s work?
D. Collaboration: this course acknowledges the importance of community. Can you work both as part of a community (group cohesion) for the community?
E. Each group member must log ten (10) hours or more toward completion of this project.

#3: The Presentation (during our exam meeting; see course schedule): The presentation is your opportunity to report to the class on your project. Your presentation must include the following elements:
A. Presentations will be 10 minutes each
B. Audio-visual (e.g., music, film, art display or creation, overhead slides, etc.)
C. Evidence of research (provide bibliography)
D. An excerpt, summary, or sample of/from your project

Due Date: Your project must be completed in time for you to craft a well-planned presentation on it to deliver during your scheduled presentation time. You will sign up for presentation times after the midterm. There are no make-ups for missed presentation dates or times for any reason.

WMST 200 Essay Grading Criteria

Even though your essays will be focused, each should suggest new understandings of your subject. To do this, push your thinking to a deeper understanding of the question under consideration. Take risks. Your conclusion is the place to explain how your narrowly focused thesis has significant consequences for understanding the idea(s) under consideration.. Below are the levels of sophistication in written papers, discussions, and other written assignments in the humanities:

The A paper analyzes. It demonstrates thoughtful connections, explanations, and the application of course themes, ideas, or theory. This paper offers illuminations and evaluations not specifically provided by assigned authors or the instructor. It grasps the assigned author’s complex ideas but also demonstrates the student author's critical processing of those ideas. This paper is focused and developed with significant conclusions.

The A- paper is focused and fully developed.

A B+ paper is focused, but needs to be developed a bit more.

The B paper demonstrates understanding. It uses central and complex ideas, but is a reiteration of these as presented by an assigned author or the instructor. This paper demonstrates an understanding of the assigned text's or idea’s key complexities, but does not offer any significant depth of analysis. A B paper is focused, but not fully developed.

In a B- paper, the focus is good but needs to be narrowed a bit more.

A C paper shows recognition of the significant material in a body of ideas but deals with it in a superficial way. While the C paper can discriminate between central and peripheral ideas, its function is more reportage than any real depth of understanding. The C paper may advance an original idea but, because it remains on the surface, is not fully focused.

D and F papers are disoriented. These papers are usually unfocused or, if focused, are irrelevant to the course objectives or discussions. The D paper demonstrates no clear idea of its topic. An F paper may or may not be unclear, but it is always incomplete and/or off-assignment.