IDIS 280 -- Introduction to Women's Studies

Spring 1998

Instructor: Alyson Buckman
Class: MWF 2:30-3:20
e-mail address: buckmana@omni.cc.purdue.edu
Room: LAEB B242
Office: LAEB 2255
home page: http://members.aol.com/Cataria2/homepage.htm

Required Text: Kesselman, Amy, Lily D. McNair, and Nancy Schniedewind. Women: Images and Realities. California: Mayfield, 1995.

Course Description and Objectives:
This course is an introduciton to critical thinking about the construction of gender and the intersections of gender with race, ethnicity, class, and sexuality. We will be concerned with the ways in which these constructions and intersections shape women's lives. Our investigation will proceed through reading the work of a diverse group of, primarily, contemporary American feminist writers, researchers, and activists.

Course Requirements and Grading Policies:
Please remember: if you are having difficulties, talking with me is the best way to resolve them. I can't help you if I don't know what is going on.

Attendance:
Because this course is discussion oriented, attendance is necessary. Students are allowed three unexcused absences; missing more than three classes will lower your final grade. Excused absences will be handled on a case-by-case basis. If you do miss class, it is your responsibility to find out the assignments you missed and be prepared for the next class. Excessive tardiness will also affect your grade.

Late Papers:
You should submit your work on time (at the beginning of the class period). Late work will be lowered one grade for each day it is late; no paper will be accepted if it is more than three days late. Exceptions may be made to this policy if you consult with me prior to the class period in which the work is due.

Grading:
Students choose , within certain parameters, how they will construct their grades. Each one of the items listed under "Required" must be completed. Students will also choose 2 assignments from those listed under "Other Assignments." Each assignment may be completed only once. Hopefully, these choices will allow you to work towards your strengths and interests as well as allow you to demonstrate your knowledge of women's studies. All papers must be typed, with 1" margins, and double-spaced.

Required:
Participation: 15%
Discussion Questions: 20%
Group Project: 35%

Other Assignments: Choose 2 different assignments to make up remaining 30% of grade.
Book Review: 15%
Reflection Papers: 15%
Challenge Papers: 15%
Interview/Profile: 15%
Click here (Additional Assignment Info. ) to access additional information on these assignments

Participation:
To the dismay of some students, your participation grade is only slightly based upon your being in class. Warming a seat does not count as participation. Class will be run primarily as discussion, so come to each class prepared to talk about the readings assigned. Keep in mind that quality participation does not mean that all comments must be brilliantly insightful; this class is intended to foster critical thinking. Questions and incomplete thoughts about these issues contribute to this process of learning. Respect of other students is also essential. We will frequently be discussing sensitive topics, but discomfort or difficulty with these topics is not an excuse for disrespect of classmates or yourself. Critical thinking, a willingness to explore the ideas of others, and respect for others are essential to this classroom.

Discussion Questions:
Discussion groups will be assigned during the first two weeks of class. Each group will sign up to lead several discussions throughout the semester. The groups will be responsible for presenting the material assigned for that day and facilitating class discussion. The groups will then hand in their presentation materials and notes to me for evaluation. I will base the evaluations on how well the groups represent the issues from the readings in order to provoke critical thinking and significant class dialogue.

Group Project:
Topics such as images of women in culture, breast cancer, pornography, and ways in which the contemporary feminist movement has affected women's lives are possible. This project may be completed in a variety of ways, through such means as (but not limited to) videos, panels, or talk show formats. Research is involved.

Book Review: Read a novel from the list below and write a 3-5 page review analyzing the work in the context of the issues we've discussed in class.
Book Review List:
Possessing the Secret of Joy or The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
Woman on the Edge of Time, by Marge Piercy
The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood
The Woman Warrior, by Maxine Hong Kingston
Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston
The Awakening, by Kate Chopin
The Girl, by Meridel LeSueur
The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison

Reflection Paper:
Write about your participation in an outside activity related to the course. Possibilities might include participation in campus events or volunteering at a community organization that is based in women's issues. This assignment forges a connection between the classroom and activism. The paper should both summarize and critique the experience in relation to class readings. 3-5 pages.

Challenge Paper:
Challenge a mode of oppression and write about your experience doing so. This challenge could take the form of a talk with a friend about homophobia, date rape, sexism, etc. Important: make sure that you undertake this assignment in a way that is safe and legal. Do not put yourself or others in danger to complete this assignment. This assignment relates your life to the classroom and connects the classroom with activism. The paper should both summarize and critique the experience in relation to class readings. 3-5 pages.

Interview/Profile:
Interview or profile a woman who is different from yourself in terms of class, race, sexual orientation, age, and/or culture and write a paper based upon this experience. Your interactions with this other woman should, of course, be respectful of difference and experience. 3-5 pages.

Syllabus: Assignments subject to change at the discretion of the instructor.
I. Introduction to Women's Studies
M 01/12: Introduction to the class
W 01/14: "What is Women's Studies?" (pp. 7-13); Frye, "Oppression" (handout); hooks, "Talking Back"; Walker, "Womanism"; Rutenberg, "Learning Women's Studies"
F 01/16: Rich, "Claiming an Education"; Hunte, "Women's Studies as a Growth Process"

M 01/19: Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday
W 01/21: Yap, "Have You Ever Heard of Asian-American Feminists?"; Ferreira "Finding my Latina Identity Through Women's Studies"; Brown, "Cross-Cultural Studies of Women: Moving from the Exotic and Erotic to Center Stage"
Topics for first papers due
F 01/23: Hubbard, "Rethinking Women's Biology"

II. Becoming a Woman in our Society: Gender Constructions
M 01/26: "Becoming a Woman..." and "Dominant Ideas about Women" (pp 35-39); Weisstein, "Kinder, Kuche, Kirche: Psychology Constructs the Female"; Sadker and Sadker, "Sexism in the Schoolroom of the ‘80s"; Henley and Freeman, "The Sexual Politics of Interpersonal Behavior"
W 01/28 Bell, "Something's Wrong Here and It's Not Me: Challenging the Dilemmas that Block Girls' Success"; Gould, "X: A Fabulous Child's Story"; Piercy, "A Work of Artifice"; Minard, "The Gift"
F 01/30 Truth, "‘Ar'n't I a Woman?'"; Anzaldua, "Cultural Tyranny"; Schnur, "Blazes of Truth"; Kent, "In Search of Liberation"; Harris-Gray, "Coming of Age"

III. Gender and Women's Bodies
M 02/02 "Gender and Women's Bodies" and "The Female Body" (pp 89-92); Chapkis, "Changing Landscapes"; Wong, "When I Was Growing Up"; Hernandez-Avila, "To Other Women Who Were Ugly Once"
W 02/04 Berger, "Nose is a Country . . ."; Clifton, "Homage to My Hair"; Sears, "Bra One"; Marquardt, "Time to Eat"
F 02/06 Siebecker, "Women's Oppression and the Obsession with Thinness"; Delgado, "Arroz Con Pollo vs. Slim-Fast"; Clifton, "Homage to My Hips"; Walker, "Beauty: When the Other Dancer Is the Self"
One paper from "Other Assignments" due

M 02/09 Reath, "Making the Sexual Revolution Work for Women"; Thompson, "Reclaiming Our Bodies: When the Personal Is Political"; Deboer, "Living My Life: Thoughts on Sexual Identity"
W 02/11 Frye, "Lesbian ‘Sex'"; Adevlin, "The Shame of Silence"; Leonard, "Safe Sex is Real Sex"
F 02/13 Hugs, "Pleasures"; Bambara, "My Man Bovanne"

IV Institutions that Shape Women's Lives
M 02/16 "Institutions..." and "The Legal System" (pp 133-148); Miccio, "Women and the Law"; New York State Task Force..., "The Courts' Enforcement of Women's Economic Rights"
W 02/18 "Work" (pp 157-158); Marano, "Running Harder to Catch Up: Women, Work and the Future"; Main'ardi, "The Politics of Housework"; Brownmiller and Alexander, "From Carmita Wood to Anita Hill"; Harrison, "A Woman in Residence"
F 02/20 Dujon, Gradford, and Stevens, "Reports from the Front: Welfare Mothers Up in Arms"; Burgess, "African-American Women and Work: The Discriminating Difference"; Amott and Matthaei, "The Promise of Comparable Worth: A Socialist-Feminist Perspective"

M 02/23 "The Family" (pp. 183); Lehrer, "Family and Women's Lives"; Yamamoto, "Seventeen Syllables"; Jordan, "Don't You Talk About My Mama!"
W 02/25 Brant, "A Long Story"; Collins, "The Meaning of Motherhood in Black Culture"; "Health Care" (pp205)
F 02/27 Wallis and Klass, "Toward Improving Women's Health Care"; Katz, "‘You're a Doctor?'"; Byron, "Women and AIDS: HIV, the National Scandal"
V: The Differences Among Us: Divisions and Connections
M 03/02: Topics for second paper due; "Take a Closer Look: Racism in Women's Lives" (221); Mirikitani, "Salad"; Chrystos, "I Am Not Your Princess"; Castro, "Take a Closer Look"
W 03/04 Davis, "An Autobiography"; Silko, "Lullaby"; "The Legacy of Class" (pp230); Smedley, "The Birthday Party"
F 02/06: get in groups to decide topics for projects; Mennis, "Jewish and Working Class"; Neely, "Sisters"; Childress, "The Pocketbook Game"

M 03/09-03/15: Spring Break

M 03/16: "‘Are You Some Kind of Dyke?': The Perils of Heterosexism" (pp 246); Pharr, "Homophobia and Sexism"; Carter, "Cat"; Van Gelder, "Marriage as a Restricted Club"; Trujillo, "Chicana Lesbians: Fear and Loathing in the Chicano Community"
W 03/18 "Understanding and Valuing Difference" (pp 261); Pratt, "‘Who Am I If I'm Not My Father's Daughter?'"; McIntosh, "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack"; Lorde, "Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference"
F 03/20 topics for group projects are due

VI The Consequences of Sexim: Current Issues
M 03/23: One paper from "Other Assignments" due; "Aging" (pp 278); Older Women's League, "The Realities of Older Women's Lives"; Rich, "The Women in the Tower"; Meyerhoff, "The Women of The Aliyah Center"; Quevedo, "The Day Nani Fel and I Wasn't There to Catch Her"
W 03/25: "Rights and Choices: Reproductive Health" (pg. 291); Willis, "Abortion: Is a Woman a Person?"; Wells, "In Response to a ‘Moderate' View of Abortion"; Simmons, "Abortion: A Matter of Choice"; Feminist Majority Foundation, "Abortion Denied"
F 03/27 Connecticut State Legislature, "Testimony of William Bell"; NOW Legal Defense, "Abortion: Cost, Funding and Access"; Hubbard, "Using Pregnancy to Control Women"

M 03/30 "Violence Against Women in Intimate Relationships" (pg. 310); Martin, "A Letter from a Battered Wife"; Yamada, "The Club"; Anderson, "Violence in the Family"; Zambrano, "Social and Cultural Reasons for Abuse"
W 04/01"Rape and Sexual Abuse" (pg. 319); Griffin, "Rape: The All-American Crime"; Shange, "With No Immediate Cause"; Warshaw, "The Reality of Acquaintance Rape"; Glendenning, "Hey, Hey Annamae"
F 04/03

VII Changing Our Lives
M 04/06 "Growing Strong: Alone and Together" (pg. 341); Sanchez, "style no. 1"; Ismay, "Surviving"; Waters, "Journeys of the Mind"; Dreamdigger, "Wonderful Older Women"
W 04/08 Sanchez, "Dear Mama"; Vazquez, "The Stories Our Mothers Tell..."; Hogan, "Friday Night"; Dezzo, "Help from the Mothers' Group"
F 04/10 "Ways of Living" (pg. 355); White, "A Tree Alone"; Washington, "Working at Single Bliss"; Rich "Song"

M 04/13 Koedt, "Loving Another Woman"; Gomez, "I Lost It at the Movies"; Piercy, "The Turn On"; Shulman, "A Marriage Agreement"
W 04/15 Collins, "Sexual Politics and Black Women's Relationships"; Omolade, "It's a Family Affair: The Real Lives of Black Single Mothers"
F 04/17 Lorde, "Turning the Beat Around: Lesbian Parenting"; Davidson, "Communal Living"

VIII Changing Our World
M 04/20 "Feminism as a Social Movement" (392); Kesselman, "A History of Feminist Movements in the U.S."; "The Seneca Falls Women's Rights Convention"; Sarachild, "Consciousness Raising: A Radical Weapon"; Smith, "Introduction to Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology"; Garcia, "The Development of Chicana Feminist Discourse"
W 04/22 Shanley, "Thoughts on Indian Feminism"; Faludi, "Blame It on Feminism,"; Bunch, "Bringing the Global Home"
F 04/24 "Women Organizing: Many Issues, Many Voices" (pg. 436); Walker, "Becoming the Third Wave"; Yoshida, "Taking It Lying Down . . . In the Street!"; Kamen, "The Activists"

M 04/27: Group Project Presentations: Groups 1 and 2
W 04/29: Group Project Presentations: Groups 3 and 4
F 05/01: Group Project Presentations: Groups 5 and 6
F 05/01: Last class

M 05/04: Exams begin

S 5/09: Semester ends