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.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
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.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
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.)
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.)
Monday, January 11, 2010
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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