Syllabus
| Instructor: Betsy Erbaugh
Class meets: T/Th 9:30-10:45am, Humanities 309 Website: www.unm.edu/~erbaugh |
Office Hrs: T/Th 11:00-12:00 & by appt.
Office: MVH 2137, phone 277-7535 Email: erbaugh@unm.edu (please use email to contact me) |
Course Objectives:
This course introduces students to women studies as an interdisciplinary
field of knowledge. Issues and questions we will discuss include:
· identity and social construction (who and what do we think
“women” are?)
· gender socialization (how do people become “women?”)
· the ways race, ethnicity, class, (dis)ability and other social
dynamics intersect with gender
· the ways social and cultural systems privilege and oppress
women and men
· myths and realities of women’s lives—personally, locally and
globally
· feminist and other transformative visions for social change
As an instructor, I aim to create a learning atmosphere that fosters critical and scholarly thinking, writing, and discussion. I want you as students to go beyond merely digesting other people’s ideas to actively engage with the material and to critique both commonly held assumptions and scholarly theories about women and the conditions of women’s lives.
I will do everything I reasonably can to help you meet your goals in this course and to maintain a respectful classroom atmosphere. I expect you to do the same. Please see me or contact me by email to talk about any questions, revelations or problems with the material, my presentation of it, or classroom dynamics.
Course Outcomes:
Active engagement with classmates and course material will allow students
to:
· become familiar with fundamental concepts and debates in the
field of women studies
· gain new skills for analyzing how social dynamics at local,
national and global levels affect people’s lives
· understand connections among race, gender, class and disability
· identify major theorists and bodies of thought in feminism
· expand thinking, speaking and writing skills with an emphasis
on narrative, voice and critical analysis
· move on to upper level courses in women studies and other
fields to further explore and critique theories, methodologies, histories
and movements for social change
Required Texts:
1. Reading Women’s Lives Reader. Available at UNM Bookstore.
2. hooks, bell. 2000. Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate
Politics. South End Press. Available at UNM Bookstore and at
half.com. You may want to check the Textbook Outlet also.
3. Additional readings available on E-Reserves or in class.
Website and email: You are required to use the web and email for this class! You will need a CIRT ID and password. There is a website for the class which you should check regularly (see address above). The syllabus and most assignments will be posted on the website. I will email you with important announcements, changes to readings, additional assignments, etc. Questions about the course? Please check the website first, then email me.
Attendance and Participation: This course is constructed to revolve around discussion of the readings, small group work, lecture, guest presentations, videos, and other relevant information. The class is designed to encourage dialogue; therefore your attendance, preparedness, and participation are essential. Constructive dialogue requires preparing for class, respectfully joining in discussions, and courteously listening to others. Students are expected to come to class regularly and on time. Attendance will be taken at random. You are responsible for any and all material missed because of absences. Get the emails and phone numbers of a few other students in the class and if you miss a class, ask them to review what was covered and/or lend you their notes. (Do not ask me what was covered, or if we did/will do anything important on a given day.) More than two unexcused absences will negatively affect a student’s class participation grade. Students with more than four unexcused absences will be dropped from the class.
Grading:
2 short papers 30%
Biography paper & presentation 10%
Midterm Exam 20%
Final Paper & Presentation 25%
Participation & other assignments 15%
Accessibility Accommodations: Any student who, because of disability,
may require accommodations in order to meet course requirements should
contact me as soon as possible to make necessary arrangements. It
is the responsibility of the student to request accommodations for individual
learning needs. UNM and I will make every attempt to accommodate
all students with disabilities. For further information, contact
Student Support Services at (505) 277-3506.
Policy on Academic Dishonesty: Each student is expected to maintain
the highest standards of honesty and integrity in academic and professional
matters. The University reserves the right to take disciplinary action,
up to and including dismissal, against any student who is found guilty
of academic dishonesty or who otherwise fails to meet the expected standards.
Any student judged to have engaged in academic dishonesty in course work
may receive a reduced or failing grade for the work in question and/or
for the course. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, dishonesty
in quizzes, tests or assignments; claiming credit for work not done or
done by others; hindering the academic work of other students; misrepresenting
academic or professional qualifications within or without the University;
nondisclosure or misrepresentation in filling out applications or other
University records. (The Pathfinder, 2002- 2003)
Course Schedule: Given that dynamics and issues raised in class
will likely affect the pace of the course, the course schedule gives a
tentative outline of the material we will cover. You should complete
the readings indicated by class time on the dates specified.
Week 1
T 8/26 Review syllabus, discuss course objectives and expectations
Th 8/28 Feminist Pedagogy; subjective v. “objective” voices
Lorde*, “The Transformation of Silence…” (RWL 205-210)
“Feminist Education for Critical Consciousness” (hooks 19-24)
Field Trip to Women Studies
Week 2
T 9/2 Who and what is a woman? Gender, race, class &
disability
Lorde, “Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference”
(RWL 31-42)
Cofer, “Myth of the Latin Woman” (RWL 107-114)
Danticat*, “Women Like Us” (115-120)
King, “The Other Body” (RWL 441-448)
Th 9/4 Class
Allison*, “A Question of Class” (RWL 75-96)
“Feminist Class Struggle” (hooks* 37-43)
Week 3
T 9/9 Privilege & Oppression
McIntosh, “White Privilege” (RWL 43-50)
Moraga*, “From Loving in the War Years” (RWL 69-74)
Silko*, “Border Patrol State” (RWL 97-106)
Th 9/11 The biology and politics of sex and gender
Video & discussion: Intersex: Redefining Sex
Fausto-Sterling*, “The Five Sexes” and “Five Sexes Revisited” (E-Reserves)
Coventry, “The Tyranny of the Esthetic” (E-Reserves)
Week 4
T 9/16 Gender socialization
de Beauvoir* (1952), “Introduction” (RWL 1-14)
Lorber, “Night to His Day” (RWL 15-30)
Th 9/18 Gendered institutions: Education
Pollitt*, “Why Boys Don’t Play with Dolls” (RWL 217-220)
Sadker et al, “Gender Equity in the Classroom” (RWL 221-230)
LaDuke*, “NITZITAPI and the Blackfeet Community College” (RWL
211-215)
Paper #1 Due – Gender Socialization
Week 5
T 9/23 Visit Women’s Resource Center – Summer Little
Th 9/25 Early feminisms
“Feminist Politics: Where We Stand” (hooks 1-6)
Wollstonecraft* (1792), “Vindication of the Rights of Women” (RWL 163)
Seneca Falls Convention (1848), “Declaration of Sentiments…” (RWL 121-26)
Painter, “Sojourner Truth’s Defense…” (RWL 173-78)
Truth* (1851), “Ain’t I a Woman?” (RWL 179-180)
Week 6
T 9/30 Founding Black Feminists
“Race and Gender” (hooks 55-60)
Cooper* (1892), “The Status of Woman in America” (RWL 141-152)
St. Pierre Ruffin (1895), “Address to the 1st Nat’l Conf. of Colored
Women” (RWL 181-86)
Wells* (1900), “The Law of Lynching” (RWL 153-62)
Th 10/2 Contemporary Feminisms
Zinn & Dill, “Theorizing Difference from Multiracial Feminism”
(RWL 127-136)
“Consciousness-Raising: A Constant Change of Heart” (hooks 7-12)
A. Walker, “Womanist,” (RWL 199-200)
R. Walker, “Becoming the 3rd Wave” (RWL 201-204)
Final Project Proposal Due
Week 7
T 10/7 Black Feminist Thought
Combahee River Collective (1977) “A Black Feminist Statement”
(RWL 187-198)
Hill Collins*, excerpt from Black Feminist Thought (E-Reserves)
Th 10/9 Bridging Borders – Guest lecturer Patricia Perea
Anzaldúa*, “Towards a New Consciousness” (RWL 51-68)
Anzaldúa, excerpt from This Bridge We Call Home (E-Reserves)
Inda, “Biopower, Reproduction, and the Migrant Woman’s Body” (E-Reserves)
Week 8
T 10/14 Midterm Exam
Th 10/16 No class – Enjoy Fall Break!
Week 9
T 10/21 Popular Culture & Representation
Video & discussion
Lu, “The Representation and Resistance of Asian Women” (E-Reserves)
Additional reading on E-Reserves:
Th 10/23 The Body
Wong, “When I Was Growing Up” (RWL 373-76)
Delgado, “Arroz con Pollo vs. Slim Fast” (RWL 377-380)
Piercy, “Barbie Doll” (RWL 381-384)
Cisneros*, “Guadalupe the Sex Goddess” (E-Reserves)
Lopez* website: http://www.almalopez.net/
Week 10
T 10/28 Sexualities
“Liberating Marriage & Partnership” and “A Feminist Sexual Politic”
(hooks 78-92)
Lorde, “Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power” (RWL 353-64)
Start video: Live Nude Girls…Unite!
Th 10/30 Sexualities cont.
Gomez, “I Lost it at the Movies,” (RWL 315-320))
Sharonrose, “Myths/Realities of Bisexuality” (RWL 321-24)
Takagi, “Maiden Voyage” (RWL 345-52)
Live Nude Girls…Unite! Continued
Revised Final Project Proposal, Bibliography, Methodology Due
Week 11
T 11/4 Disability – Laura Sachiko Fugikawa
Review King, “The Other Body” (RWL 441-448)
Tilley, “Sexuality in Women with Physical Disabilities” (RWO 325-44)
Hunter, “Sexual Dissent & the Family” (RWL 345-52)
Th 11/6 Politics of Health & Medical Care
Krieger & Fee, “Man-Made Medicine & Women’s Health”
(RWL 385-410)
Ramsay, “Lesbians & the Health Care System” (RWL 411-424)
Davis*, “Outcast Mothers and Surrogates” (RWL 425-440)
“Our Bodies, Ourselves” (hooks 25-30)
Week 12
T 11/11 Violence
Anderson, “Recovery from Violence” (RWL 449-456)
Anonymous, “Anishinabe Values” (RWL 457-460)
Espada, “The Puerto Rican Dummy and the Merciful Son” (E-Reserves)
Warsaw, “Intro to I Never Called it Rape” (RWL 467-76)
“Wheels” (E-Reserves)
Th 11/13 Ending Violence – Self defense with Elissa Breitbard
Walker, “Why I Fight Back” (E-Reserves)
“Confronting Aggression,” “Confrontation Strategies,” “Every Human’s
Bill of Rights” (E-Reserves)
“Ending Violence” (hooks 61-66)
Allen & Kivel, “Men Changing Men” (RWL 461-466)
Week 13
T 11/18 Work, Economy and Social Welfare
“Women at Work” (hooks 48-54)
Bem, “From the Lenses of Gender” (RWL 233)
Woo, “The Gap Between Striving and Achieving,” (RWL 283)
Baca Zinn*, “Family, Feminism and Race in America” (RWL 297-310)
IWPR, “Few Welfare Moms Fit the Stereotypes,” (RWL 241-46)
Paper #2 Due – Response Paper
Th 11/20 Globalization
Enloe*, “The Globetrotting Sneaker,” (RWL 261)
NCRW, “The Feminization of Immigration” (RWL 273)
“Global Feminism” (hooks 44-47)
Final Project Outline Due
Week 14
T 11/25 Catch up
(Optional Project Draft Due)
Th 11/27 No class – Break for Turkey Consumption.
Week 15
T 12/2 Final Presentations
Th 12/4 Final Presentations
Week 16
T 12/9 Final Presentations
Th 12/11 Final Presentations
Final project due Tuesday, December 16 in Women Studies by 5pm.