Instructor: Dr. Patricia L. N. Donat
Office: MWF: 330 Education and Human Sciences; T Th: 102B Reneau Hall
Phone: MWF: 329-7190; T Th: 329-7138
E-mail: pdonat@muw.edu
Office hours: To be posted on door and by appointment

Catalog description:

An introduction to basic concepts and interdisciplinary perspectives in women's studies scholarship. The course will foster a critical analysis of
the social and structural factors that shape women's lives and an appreciation for the diversity of women's experiences.

Course objectives:

This course is shaped by four themes. First, sex and gender are distinguished throughout. Second, the importance of thinking critically about language and the power of naming is emphasized. Third, the diversity of women is acknowledged and respected. Fourth, the connection between academic knowledge and social change to benefit women is explored. Goals for students include: increased knowledge of women's studies scholarship; the development of the ability to think critically about method and theory in these areas; new understanding of the inequities faced by women; and increased empathy for women in all their diversity.

The actual classroom experience is designed to facilitate these goals by serving as a model where learning takes place in different ways: listening, reflecting, thinking, and interacting with others. Perhaps the most important element in developing a "learning community" is that each member assume responsibility for his/her learning and support the learning of others. Assuming responsibility means being prepared, asking for help, responding to classmates, and respecting differences; basically caring enough about yourself and others to further the academic and personal development of each member of the classroom community. These expectations also apply to me as the instructor.

Required readings:

Shaw, S. M., & Lee, Janet (2001). Women's voices, feminist visions. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield.

Requirements:

1. Class attendance and informed participation

Class attendance and participation in class activities and discussion are important aspects of this course. This class is scheduled to meet on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 11:00am - 11:50am. Students are expected to attend class ON TIME. Arriving late to class or leaving early is disruptive to the class.

Attendance at all scheduled class meetings is expected. When you do not attend class, you miss an integral part of the learning experience provided in this course. Regardless of the reason for your absence, that learning experience can not be replaced. If you are not able to attend class, you retain responsibility for obtaining notes, handouts, and assignments from classmates.

Class preparation and participation are expected of everyone. I expect that you will come to class each day prepared to contribute constructively to class discussion and activities based on your reflection of the assigned readings. Constructive participation includes, but is not limited to:

1. Providing an informed response to discussion questions related to the readings.
2. Answering questions posed by the instructor and/or classmates.
3. Sharing unique knowledge of course material with the class.
4. Raising questions that indicate you have read, understood, and thought about the text material.

To support each student's ability to contribute actively in class discussions, each students must bring a 3x5 card to each class. This card should include two comments or questions based on the reading materials assigned. At first it may be difficult to construct critical thinking questions. To assist you in writing questions, below are some examples of possible question frames.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of ...?
What is the difference between ... and ...?
Explain why ... (Explain how ...).
What would happen if ...?
How could ... be used to ...?
What are the implications of ...?
How does ... affect ...?
How does ... tie in with what we learned before?
What does ... mean?
Why is ... important?
How are ... and ... similar?
How does ... apply to everyday life?
What is a counter-argument for ...?
What is the best ..., and why?
Do you agree or disagree with this statement: [insert quote]? What evidence is there to support your answer?
What is another way to look at ...?

A total of 80 points may be earned through class attendance and participation.

• Learning Activities:

 

• Quests

Grading Policy:

Below are the levels of sophistication in paper, discussion, and assignments:

Level 0 (Disorientation): focuses on ideas that, for the purposes of this course, are relatively unimportant.
Level 1 (Recognition): identified the relatively significant material in a body of ideas, but deals with it in a superficial way; successfully discriminates between central and peripheral ideas, but does not display much depth of understanding or thought.
Level 2 (Comprehension): uses ideas presented by an author or instructor that are both central and complex; demonstrates an understanding of important abstractions that are not highly self-evident, but does not display additional analysis by the student.
Level 3 (Analysis): deals in connections, integrations, explanations, application, illustrations, evaluations, etc., not specifically provided by authors or instructor; displays a recognition of the more important material and a grasp of someone else's complex ideas, but also the student's additional processing of those ideas using critical thinking skills.

There are a total of 500 points available in the course:

Class participation 80 13.3%
Learning activities 320 53.3%
Quests                 200 33.3%
                            600 100 %

Students with disabilities: It is the responsibility of students who have professionally diagnosed disabilities to notify the instructor so that necessary and/or appropriate modifications can be made to meet any special learning needs.

Smoking policy: MUW has a no smoking policy in all buildings.

Academic support: Students are encouraged to access the academic support services available at MUW.

Children in the classroom: Children may not be left in the lobby or hallways while you attend class. Children also should not be brought into the classroom. Any exceptions will be for one day only and must be cleared through the Division Office.
 

Date	Topic	Reading/Assignment
8/19/02	Introductions
8/21/02	Course planning day
8/23/02	Women's Studies: Perspectives and practices	Chapter 1 (p. 1-17)
8/26/02		Chapter 1 readings (p. 18-44)
8/28/02		Chapter 1, cont.
8/30/02		Chapter 1, cont. Quest #1
9/2/02	Labor Day Holiday
9/4/02	Systems of privilege and inequality in women's lives	Chapter 2 (p. 46-56) Learning activity: Matriarch interview optional draft due
9/6/02		Chapter 2 readings (p. 57-105)
9/9/02		Chapter 2, cont.
9/11/02		Chapter 2, cont. Quest #2
9/13/02	Learning gender in a diverse society	Chapter 3 (p. 107-118) Learning activity: Matriarch interview final paper due
9/16/02		Chapter 3 readings (p. 119-143) Learning activity: Examining privilege optional draft due
9/18/02		Chapter 3, cont.
9/20/02		Chapter 3, cont. Quest #3
9/23/02	Inscribing gender on the body	Chapter 5 (p. 185-196)
9/25/02		Chapter 5 readings (p. 197-220) Learning activity: Examining privilege final paper due
9/27/02		Chapter 5, cont. Learning activity: Children's movies/books/cartoons optional draft due
9/30/02	Video: Still Killing Us Softly	Chapter 5, cont. Quest #4 Dr. Donat at NACADA Conference
10/2/02	Video: What Makes A Family	Chapter 7 Dr. Donat at NACADA Conference
10/4/02	Family systems, family lives	Chapter 7 (p. 268-280)
10/7/02		Chapter 7 readings (p. 281-302) Learning activity: Children's movies/books, cartoons final paper due
10/9/02		Chapter 7, cont. Quest #5
10/11/02	Women's work inside and outside the home	Chapter 8 (p. 304-316) Learning activity: Harlequin romance optional draft due
10/14/02		Chapter 8 readings (p. 317-352)
10/16/02		Chapter 8, cont.
10/18/02		Chapter 8, cont. Quest #6
10/21/02	Resisting violence against women	Chapter 10 (p. 395-406) Learning activity: Harlequin romance final paper due
10/23/02		Chapter 10 readings (p. 407-434) Learning activity: Looking good, feeling sexy, getting a man optional draft due
10/25/02		Chapter 10, cont.
10/28/02		Chapter 10, cont. Quest #7
10/30/02	State, law, and social policy	Chapter 11 (p. 435-450)
11/1/02		Chapter 11 readings (p.451-480) Learning activity: Looking good, feeling sexy, getting a man final paper due
11/4/02		Chapter 11, cont. Learning activity: What makes a family optional draft due
11/6/02		Chapter 11, cont. Quest #8
11/8/02	Activism, change, and feminism	Chapter 13 (p. 520-531)
11/11/02		Chapter 13 readings (p. 532-559)
11/13/02		Chapter 13, cont. Learning activity: What makes a family final paper due
11/15/02		Chapter 13, cont. Quest #9
11/18/02		Chapter ___ Learning activity: Who does the work at your school and in your home optional draft due
11/20/02		Chapter ___ readings
11/22/02		Chapter ___, cont.
11/25/02		Chapter ___
11/27/02	Thanksgiving Holiday
11/29/02	Thanksgiving Holiday
12/2/02		Chapter ___ readings Learning activity: Who does the work at your school and in your home final paper due
12/4/02		Chapter ___, cont.
12/6/02	Celebrating our journey
12/11/02	Final exam period: Group service project	11:30pm - 2:30pm

Learning Activity: Matriarch interview

Interview an older woman in your family (e.g., grandmother, aunt, mother) using the questions provided below. Videotape or audiotape your interview so that you may reference these responses as you prepare a written summary of the interview. Include in the typed summary your critical reflection regarding areas of change and areas of consistency in the lived experience of women in your family. An optional draft of this assignment is due September 4, 5:00pm; the final paper is due September 13, 5:00pm.

• Growth and development

• Dating and marriage

• Work history

• Activities

• Contributions to society

• Problems

Learning activity: Examining Privilege

Following the example by Peggy McIntosh in her article, "White Privilege and Male Privilege," identify TWO areas in which you experience privilege (e.g., White, middle or upper class, male, young, heterosexual, able-bodied, Christian) in our community. Construct two separate lists (include 10-20 items per list) of specific circumstances and conditions in which you have experienced unearned privilege based solely on your group membership. Following your lists, include a typed critical reflection of your personal experience of power, privilege, and oppression. An optional draft of this assignment is due September 16, 5:00pm; the final paper is due September 25, 5:00pm.

Learning activity: Children's movies/books/cartoons

Choose either two children's movies, two children's books, or two children's cartoon series. Collect data regarding the following:
 

Number of characters:

Male:

Female:

Roles	Male	Female
Aggressive
Rescuing others
Submissive
Passive
Being rescued
Comic roles
Domestic roles
Positions of authority
Emotional
Concerned with physical appearance
Physically fit
Overweight
Professional occupation
Service occupation
Other (describe)

Are males and females represented with equal frequency in children's media? In what roles are females and males likely to be portrayed? What attributes do they share? Is there a difference in terms of which characters play more active or passive roles? What clothing do the characters wear? What role does the physical attractiveness of the characters play? How is attractiveness defined for female characters? For male characters? What are children being taught about the appropriate gender roles for boys? For girls? What conclusions can you draw about gender stereotyping in children's media based upon your observations? Discuss each of these questions and the implications for children who watch/read these materials. Based upon your observation, what suggestions would you have for parents concerned about exposing their children to gender stereotypes? An optional typed draft of this assignment is due September 27, 5:00pm; the final paper is due September October 7, 5:00pm.

Learning activity: Harlequin romance

Romance novels account for 25% of all paperback sales in the United States, forming a $250 million industry each year. Each month, 120 new titles are published (Brown, 1989). Read a harlequin romance. How are the central male and female characters described in the book? What messages are presented about masculinity, femininity, love, romance, and sexuality? Discuss gender stereotypes, gender identity, and gender roles. What are the personality traits of the heroine and hero? What are their material resources and social status? How is falling in love experienced by each? What is the relative importance of love versus work? How are women's multiple identities as daughter, sister, friend, worker, and romantic partner portrayed as integrated or separate? What were the sexual backgrounds and experience of the female and male characters? Did sexual coercion occur in the novel? Were the issues of sexually transmitted diseases and contraception discussed? How do romantic stereotypes and scripts, like those presented in the novel, impact readers' interpretation of their personal experiences? Why do you believe these books are so popular among female readers? An optional typed draft of this assignment is due October 11, 5:00pm; the final paper is due October 21, 5:00pm.

Learning activity: Looking good, feeling sexy, getting a man (p. 364)

Collect four different women's magazines, such as Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Glamour, Elle, Mirabella, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, Oprah, Rosie, and Women's Day. Read through the magazines and fill in the chart listing the number of articles you find about each topic. Who is pictured on the cover? What 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., Time, Newsweek)? 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? An optional typed draft of this assignment is due October 23, 5:00pm; the final paper is due November 1, 5:00pm.
 

Magazine Title	Makeup	Clothes	Hair	Sex/  Dating	Dieting/  Exercise	Food/  Recipes	Home Decoration	Work	Politics/ Current events	Self-  help

Learning activity: What makes a family (p. 270)

Conduct an informal survey of ten people in your residence hall or in an organization to which you belong about the structure of their family of origin. Who do they consider to be in their family? What relation do these people have to them? Did all of these people live in the same house? Who had primary responsibility for caring for them as children? Who was primarily responsible for the financial well-being of the family? For the emotional well-being of the family? Was the family closely connected to extended family? If so, which extended family members and in what ways?

Compare your findings with your own. What do your findings lead you to surmise about what makes a family? How closely do the families of your interviewees resemble the dominant notion of the nuclear family -- a husband and wife (in their first marriage) and their two or three children? 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. An optional typed draft of this assignment is due November 4, 5:00pm; the final paper is due November 13, 5:00pm.

Learning activity: Who does the work at your school and in your home (p. 306)

Use the following charts to collect data regarding who does various kinds of work at your school and in your home. What patterns do you notice? What do your findings suggest about how systems of inequality function in the institution of work, both inside and outside the home? An optional typed draft of this assignment is due November 18, 5:00pm; the final paper is due December 2, 5:00pm.
 

Who does the work at your school?
Job Description	White Men	White Women	Men of Color	Women of Color
Top Administration (President, Vice Presidents, Directors, Division Heads)
Faculty
Secretarial Staff
Physical Plant: Groundskeeping
Physical Plant: Janitorial
Physical Plant: Other
Food preparation
Security
Intercollegiate coaching

Who does the work in your home?
Job Description	Person in the family who generally does this job	Sex of person who generally does this job	Hours per week spent in doing this job
Laundry
Mowing the lawn
Maintaining the car
Buying the groceries
Cooking
Vacuuming and dusting
Washing dishes
Making beds
Cleaning bathrooms
Buying/sending cards/gifts
Scheduling medical/dental appointments