WOMEN'S BODILY EXPERIENCE Lisa Heldke Office: Old Main, Rm. 106A Office Hours: M 10:30-11:30; W 11:30-12:30; by appointment What's it like living through/in/with/as a woman's body? In this course, we'll explore this question as feminist philosophers, by considering such topics as pregnancy/childbirth, body image, and sexual violence. Exploring women's embodiment will naturally and necessarily also lead us to explore women 's oppression (through considering rape, pornography, domestic abuse, and other things which happen to women because we are women); and women's creativity, power and resources for survival (by considering sexuality, pregnancy, athletic skills, etc.). We'll be looking at women's embodiment from women's perspectives. (This may seem an obvious thing to do, but until very recently considering women's perspectives on anything was anything but obvious!) Some of the women we'll read are philosophers in the "strict" sense; others are not. In addition to our readings, we'll use the experiences of ourselves and/or of women we know to ground our thinking and talking. By reading from a diversity of sources, and by calling upon our own experiences, we'll come to see something of how rich and varied women's lives are--and how complicated the whole issue of "having a woman's body" is. Texts Young, Throwing Like a Girl Chernin, The Obsession Lorde, Zami: A New Spelling of My Name Purchased texts will be supplemented by a large number of materials on reserve. Note that, when an assignment is from a book on reserve, you are legally entitled to make one photocopy of the material for your own use. Course Requirements Attendance and participation Your regular, active presence in class is expected. "Active presence" includes making productive contributions to discussions, and also being an engaged listener. Participation grades will be determined jointly by each student and me, based on goals you've set for yourself at the beginning of the term. For more information on this (and for your first assignment), see the handout "Class Participation: Goal Setting." Papers a. A brief (3-4 pp.) thought paper, exploring one's own experience of embodiment. Include a one-paragraph summary of your paper, to read to the class. (See handout for details.) b. A term paper (10-12 pp.), to be written on a topic of your choice relating to the course theme, and constructed in several installments: (1) A one-page description of your topic (2) A draft of one argument--one section of your paper (3) A full first draft (4) A final draft. Critiques You will be responsible for making formal, written responses to your classmates' work periodically during the semester. Those responses will include at least the following: a. Brief (one-paragraph) responses to the one-page topic descriptions of all your classmates (Assignment (1) above) b. Critiques of at least two classmates' drafts of arguments (Assignment (2) above) c. At least one detailed critique of one classmate's first draft (Assignment (3) above) NOTE: Keep all drafts, all critiques and all final papers you produce for the class in one folder. You'll turn this in to me at the end of the semester--and you may retrieve it from me in January. 4. Journals You will keep a journal, in which you record responses to readings, explore possible paper topics, draft arguments, and comment on issues relating to the class in the "wider world." Occasionally I will give specific journal assignments. I will collect journals periodically; you'll have a week's notice before I collect them. They will be marked "satisfactory" or "unsatisfactory." TENTATIVE SYLLABUS Note: Assignments are listed on the syllabus on the day they are handed out, with due dates listed later. Readings are listed for the days they will be discussed. September 4 Discussion: course requirements preliminary exploration of the course topic Assignments: 2-3 page reflection on being embodied DUE 9/6 Statement of class participation goals DUE 9/9 6 Discussion: Our discussion will spring from your reaction papers. BODY IMAGES, BODY CONCEPTIONS 9 Young, "Breasted Experience" in Throwing Like a Girl 11 Young, "Throwing Like a Girl" in Throwing Like a Girl MacKinnon, "Women, Self-Possession and Sport" in Feminism Unmodified 13 Bartky, "Foucault, Femininity and the Modernization of Patriarchal Power" in Femininity and Domination "Barbarous Rituals" in Sisterhood is Powerful 16 Young, "Women Recovering Our Clothes" in Throwing Like a Girl 18 Hanson, "Dressing Down Dressing Up" in Hypatia 5:2 Bordo, "Reading the Slender Body"in Body/Politics 20 Devor, "Living With Gender Blending" in Gender Blending 23 Paper day: selecting and shaping a topic for a final paper. Assignment: Write a one-page proposal. Due 10/4 SEXUALITY 25 Cohen, "The Feminist Sexuality Debate" in Hypatia 1:2 Watson, "Celibacy and Its Implications for Autonomy" in Hypatia 2:2 Lydon, "The Politics of Orgasm" in Sisterhood is Powerful 27 Frye, "Lesbian Sex" in Lesbian Philosophies and Cultures 30 Lorde, "Uses of the Erotic" (pamphlet) Lorde, Zami Oct 2 NO CLASS 4 Lorde, Zami ONE-PAGE PROPOSALS DUE 7 Lorde, Zami 9 Irigaray, "This Sex Which Is Not One" in This Sex Which Is Not One 11 CANCEL: NO NEW READING. Irigaray, "The Power of Discourse and the Subordination of the Feminine" in This Sex Which Is Not One 14 Dworkin, "Communion" and "Possession" in Intercourse (30 pp.) 16 Paper day: constructing a philosophical argument Assignment: Draft a (3-4 pp.) section of your paper, laying out one of the arguments in your paper.Due 10/28 18 READING DAY 21 READING DAY COMMODIFICATION OF WOMEN'S BODIES 23 Walker, "Coming Apart," in EITHER Changing Our Power or Take Back the Night "No More Miss America!" in Sisterhood is Powerful Strong, "The Hooker" in Sisterhood is Powerful Taylor, "For Battered Women," in Changing Our Power Cochran, "I Am Laughing" in Changing Our Power Howe, LeAnne, "An American in New York," in Spider Woman's Grandaughters Moran, Mary, "Thanksgiving Day During Pelting Season," in Gathering of Spirit 25 Hall, "`The Mind that Burns in Each Body': Women, Rape and Racial Violence," in Powers of Desire Omolade, "Hearts of Darkness," in Powers of Desire DRAFT OF AN ARGUMENT DUE 28 Longino, "Pornography, Oppression and Freedom: A Closer Look" in Take Back the Night Gardner, "Racism in Pornography and the Women's Movement," in Take Back the Night Morgan, "Theory and Practice: Pornography and Rape," in Take Back the Night 30 Adams, Chapters 1 and 2 from The Sexual Politics of Meat November 1 Dworkin, "Objects" in Pornography Benjamin, "Master and Slave: The Fantasy of Erotic Domina- tion" in Powers of Desire 4 Proposed Minneapolis Pornography Ordinance MacKinnon, "Francis Biddle's Sister" in Feminism Unmodified 6 Gustavus' proposed Sexual Harassment and Assault Policy EATING DISORDERS 8 Chernin, The Obsession 11 Chernin, The Obsession 13 Chernin,The Obsession 15 Chernin, The Obsession 18 Bordo, "Anorexia Nervosa as the Psychopathology of Popular Culture" (photocopy) 20 Bordo, "The Body and the Reproduction of Femininity" in Vider, Body, Knowledge 22 Curtin, "Food, Body, Person" (typescript) REPRODUCTIVE ISSUES 25 Garcia, "I Just Came Out Pregnant," in Powers of Desire Davis, "Racism, Birth Control and Reproductive Rights" in Women's Voices Black Women's Liberation Group "Statement on Birth Control" in Sisterhood is Powerful FIRST DRAFTS DUE--HAND IN TWO COPIES 27 Ladd, "Women in Labor" in Hypatia 4:3 Young, "Pregnant Embodiment" in Throwing Like a Girl 29 THANKSGIVING December 2 The Woman in the Body, Chapter 5 4 The Woman in the Body, Chapters 6 and 7 6 The Woman in the Body, Chapters 8 and 9 9 Levesque-Lopman, Chapter 7 in Claiming Reality (photocopy distributed in class) 11 Conclusion 16 Final papers due BIBLIOGRAPHY These materials are available on closed reserve in the library. You are entitled by law to make one photocopy of any selection from these texts for your personal use. In cases where materials are assigned for class, I would advise that you take advantage of this right. Adams, The Sexual Politics of Meat. New York: Continuum, 1990. al-Hibri and Simons, eds. Hypatia Reborn. Indiana U.P. 1990. Allen, Paula Gunn. Spider Woman's Granddaughters. New York: Fawcett Columbine, 1989. Bartky, Sandra. Femininity and Domination. New York: Routledge, 1990. Bordo, "Anorexia Nervosa as the Psychopathology of Popular Culture." Brant, Beth. A Gathering of Spirit. Ithaca: Firebrand, 1988. Brownmiller, Susan. Against Our Will. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1975. Cochran, Langston and Woodward, eds. Changing Our Power. Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt, 1988. Curtin, Deane. "Food, Body, Person." Personal copy de Beauvoir, Simone. The Second Sex. New York: Random House, 1974. Delacoste and Newman, eds. Fight Back! Minneapolis: Cleis, 1981. Devor, Holly. Gender Blending. Bloomington: Indiana, 1989 . Dworkin, Andrea. Intercourse. New York: Macmillan, 1987. -----. Pornography: Men Possessing Women. New York: Dutton, 1989. Figes, Eva. The Seven Ages. New York: Pantheon, 1986. (A somewhat mystical novel about childbirth in various ages.) Griffin, Susan. Rape, the Power of Consciousness. -----. Woman and Nature. New York: Harper and Row, 1978. Gubar and Hoff, ed. For Adult Users Only. Bloomington: In diana, 1989. Hoy, Schor and DiYanni. Women's Voices. Personal copy Hypatia, following issues: 1:2; 2:2; 4:3; 5:2 Personal copy Irigaray, Luce. This Sex Which Is Not One Jacobus, Keller and Shuttleworth, eds. Body/Politics. New York: Routledge, 1990. Jaggar and Bordo, eds. Gender, Body, Knowledge. New Brunswick: Rutgers, 1989. Lederer, Laura, ed. Take Back the Night. New York: William Morrow, 1980. Levesque-Lopman, Louise. Claiming Reality. Totowa: Rowman and Littlefield, 1988. Lorde, Audre. "Uses of the Erotic." MacKinnon, Catharine. Feminism Unmodified. Cambridge: Harvard, 1987. Martin, Molly, ed. Hard-Hatted Women. Seattle: Seal Press, 1988. Merchant, Carolyn. The Death of Nature. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1980. Minneapolis Pornography Ordinance (proposed). Personal copy Morgan, Robin.Sisterhood is Powerful. New York: Random House, 1970. Rich, Adrienne. Of Woman Born. Snitow, Stansell and Thompson, eds. Powers of Desire. New York: Monthly Review, 1983. van Esterik, Penny. Beyond the Breast-Bottle Controversy. New Brunswick: Rutgers, 1989. Vance, Carole. Pleasure and Danger Wolf, Naomi. The Beauty Myth Young, Iris. Throwing Like a Girl. Bloomington: Indiana, 1990 CLASS DISCUSSION GOAL SETTING About Discussion Being able to discuss an idea with others--being able to follow a line of argument, to contribute relevant information, to formulate and express an opinion--is an extremely important skill to develop in order to understand philosophy, and also to understand just about any other body of knowledge. To be able to talk about something with others (as opposed to simply mouthing vague generalities), you must understand it. Furthermore, if we are rigorous and honest with each other in our discussions--demanding clear, well-thought-out answers--we can come to have an even deeper understanding of what we believe. Just as writing clearly makes us think more clearly, so too do speaking clearly and listening carefully. In this class, one of the arts on which we are going to work is the art of discussing in organized, clear, thoughtful and thought-provoking ways. Discussion and Your Grade: Your Assignment Because I consider discussion to be such a central part of doing philosophy, and because one of the ways I can show that it is important is by grading it, I calculate class participation into your final grade. (It will be worth roughly 25% of that grade.) However, because I also believe that I am not always in the best position to know the ways in which a student is contributing to the class discussion, I ask students to assess themselves, and to tell me the grades they believe they have earned. Working on your skills as a participant in discussion, and assessing your progress in developing those skills will be projects in which you engage all semester long. To give yourself a starting point for thinking about participation, write, in a page or two, an analysis of what makes a good discussion, and what makes someone a good participant in discussion. Then assess your own abilities in light of this analysis. What do you do well? What would you really like to do better? Be specific. Keep one copy of this for yourself, and turn another copy in to me on MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9. Look back on this document over the term. Jot down ways in which your definition of good discussion changes, and also how you see your own abilities developing. Then use this analysis, with its revisions, to grade your self at the end of the term. Give me your grade, along with a one-page rationale explaining how you arrived at it, g In writing your initial analysis, be specific. Give yourself concrete, particular aims toward which to strive in addition to more general goals. Be realistic. Think about what you can actually accomplish in a semester, and place that in the context of larger, longer-term goals you may have for yourself. Be creative and thoughtful in describing what discussion is. What sort of discussion do you really find most helpful for understanding difficult concepts, most stimulating, most thought-provoking? Try to describe that--and then think about how you can bring that about in the rather artificial climate of the classroom.