PSY 304 FF: SYLLABUS FOR FEMINISM AND WOMEN'S SEXUALITY Instructor: Naomi B. McCormick, Ph.D., Professor Department of Psychology, SUNY Plattsburgh Beaumont 210 Office Tel. 3382; Messages (Psy. Dept.) 3076 Electronic Mail Address: mccormnb@snyplava (bitnet) (internet): mccormnb@splava.cc.plattsburgh.edu Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday: 9-9:50 am Tuesday and Thursday: 11-11:50 am The junior seminar, Feminism and Women's Sexuality, will link the new feminist scholarship on women's sexuality to social scientists' and therapists' emerging work in the area. Required Reading: Available at College Store: Bailey, Beth L. 1989. From front porch to back seat: Courtship in twentieth-century America. Baltimore: John Hopkins Press. [Referred to as FFPTBS below] Faderman, L. 1991. Odd girls and twilight lovers: A history of lesbian life in twentieth-century America. NY: Columbia Univ. Press. [Referred to as OG below] Available from Instructor: Tiefer, L.. 1988. A feminist critique of the sexual dysfunction nomenclature. From E. Cole and E. D. Rothblum, eds. Women and Sex Therapy. New York: Haworth, pp. 5-31. [Referred to as AFC below] From Copy Post at 34 Oak Street: Preliminary drafts from six chapters of Dr. McCormick's forthcoming book (under contract with Praeger of New York)-- Sexual Salvation: Affirming Women's Sexual Rights and Pleasures are already available at Copy Post, Tel. 561-6555. Each chapter should have 3 holes punched in it, ready for a three- ring binder. Later in the semester, the instructor will deposit Chapter 7 (still in the writing stages) at Copy Post. She will let you know when it is available for your purchase. [Sexual Salvation is referred to as SS below]. Please note that the bibliography from SS is on reserve at Feinberg. On Reserve at Feinberg: Several references, have been put on reserve for Psy 304 FF students including two of the required books, From front porch to back seat: Courtship in twentieth-century America, and Odd girls and twilight lovers: A history of lesbian life in twentieth century America. Most references, listed below, are not required reading but might be helpful to students doing in-depth research on a particular topic. McCormick, N. B. 1992-93. Bibliography from Sexual Salvation. Allgeier, E. R., and McCormick, N. B. (eds.) 1983. Changing boundaries: Gender roles and sexual behavior. Ehrenreich, B., Hess, E., and Jacobs, G. 1987. Re-making love: The feminization of sex. Irvine, J. H. 1990. Disorders of desire: Sex and gender in modern American sexology. Kitzinger, C. 1987. The social construction of lesbianism. Faderman, L. Surpassing the love of men: Romantic friendship and love between women from the Renaissance to the present. Falco, K. 1991. Psychotherapy with lesbian clients: Theory into practice. Hutchins, L., & Kaahamanu, L. (eds.) BI any other name: Bisexual people speak out. Bullough, V., and Bullough, B. 1987. Women and prostitution: A social history. Pheterson, G. (ed.). 1989. A vindication of the rights of whores. Williams, L. 1989. Hard core: Power, pleasure, and the frenzy of the visible. Cole, E., & Rothblum, E D. (eds.) 1988. Women and sex therapy. [There are other useful chapters in here besides the required reading by L. Tiefer]. Delacoste, B. F., and Alexander, P. 1987. Sex work: Writings by women in the sex industry. Other Resources at Feinberg: Each student is expected to become an expert on one topic in this course. This topic will be the subject of a midterm and final term paper as well as a talk given in class to other students. Feinberg Library has many references in addition to those placed on reserve that you may want to consider using. Some are books; others are scholarly and professional journals. For those who plan ahead (hurrah for you), inter-library loan resources can also be quite helpful. Remember, a literature search for material held in other libraries won't do you much good unless it is done at the very beginning of the semester (to allow time to receive material from inter-library loan). The computerized Psychology (PsyLIT) and Education (ERIC) Databases are gold mines for scholars. For your needs in this course, I also highly recommend using Sociological Abstracts and Women Studies Abstracts (which are in book form). Course Requirements Attendance Psy 304 is not a correspondence course! Department policy links passing this course to prompt and regular class attendance is required. To receive a passing grade (D), students are allowed an absolute maximum of five absences during the semester (for any reason). Regardless of class average, here are the maximum number of absences you can have for each of the following grades: A- to A = maximum of two absences. B- to B+ = maximum of three absences. C- to C+ = maximum of four absences. D to D + = maximum of five absences. Students who are obliged to miss a particular class for religious observances (e.g. Passover which is Tuesday, April 6) will have an opportunity to make up for the missed class by attending and writing a brief report on any of a number of Women's Studies Forums or related events during the semester. Please let the instructor know that you will be substituting a Women's Studies program for one day's worth of class attendance as soon as possible. Class Participation Class participation accounts for 15% of the final grade. At the beginning of each class, the instructor will involve students in a verbal, warm up exercise which will foster everyone's participation. Before coming to class, prepare a 3 x 5" index card with your name, the date, and a brief phrase or sentence which summarizes something about the assigned reading that you want to share. Class participation cards will be used during the class warm up. Next, during informal group discussion, outline other contributions that you have made to class discussion on the same card. When there is no required reading for a particular class period, prepare a class participation card anyway. In this situation, your card will documents the issues you would like to (or succeeded in bringing up) during class discussion. Class participation cards are due at the end of each class. You will not receive class participation credit for classes you were absent from or for those that were not documented on a card. Class participation grades are allocated as follows: A (95) = participation in 22 or more classes. B (85) = participation in 19-21 classes. C (75) = participation in 16-18 classes. D (65) = participation in 13-15 classes. E (55) = participation in 10-12 classes. E (45) = participation in 7-9 classes. E (0) = participation in 6 or less classes. Daily Reading Diaries Students are expected to prepare 10 brief, double-spaced, word-processed papers (length = 2 to 3 pages) based on the day's reading assignment. With some exceptions which are noted below, Daily Reading Diaries can be turned in on either Tuesday or Thursday of a particular week. Each Daily Reading Diary is worth 5% of the final grade (the total being worth 50% of the final grade). Students will have an opportunity to improve their initial letter grade if they revise the paper as suggested by the instructor within one-week's time of receiving it. For any revised paper, the student's grade will be an average of the scores on the first and second drafts. Third drafts are not permitted. Generally, Daily Reading Diaries will not be accepted later than the Thursday class period during which a particular assignment is due. However, students who are unable to comply with this requirement as a result of a medical or other emergency can have this requirement waived a maximum of two times during the semester, with the instructor's permission. It should be understood that the instructor will not accept second drafts of Daily Reading Diaries which had been handed in late originally. Here are some guidelines for Daily Reading Diary papers: At the top of the diary, select a brief passage or quote from the required reading that made you think or generated a strong emotional reaction. Make sure that you indicate the source and page numbers of this passage. To save space, the passage or quote can be single spaced. Your essay, however, must be double-spaced. Now, express your own feelings or opinions. These can take any or all of the following forms: Challenges or Criticisms--Examples: What does the author mean by...? The author doesn't say enough about...I disagree with the author's point of view because...This gives an incorrect impression of...because...I was really upset by this because...This is really a disservice to women [or men] because...This really got me angry because... Affirmations--Examples: I agree with this idea because...I liked or sympathized with this point of view because...This appeals to me because I have had similar experiences such as...I know what the author is talking about because...This reminds me of...This really tickled my sense of humor because...I was deeply moved by this since... Questions--Examples: This really puzzles me because...I think that the typical reader would be confused by this because...This doesn't make any sense for the following reasons...I am lost because this contradicts what we learned in class in the following ways... However you choose to respond to the passage or quote, do your best to eliminate spelling and grammatical errors and develop each idea fully. Support each major point with logical arguments and/or relevant examples. Writing Skills Lesson The best way to learn something is to have to teach it to others; just ask your instructors. Each student will give one writing skills lesson in this class. Your writing skills lesson will be assigned to you by the instructor based on a frequent error or problem observed in your earliest papers. Your job will be to provide a 5 to 10 minute lesson for other students on identifying and correcting this problem. You are welcome to use the chalk board or provide students with handouts for this lesson. If you want the instructor to make copies of a handout, make sure you provide her with your handout at least one week before the lessons are given. Your writing skills lesson is worth 5% of your grade. Mid-Length Paper The next 10% of the grade is based on the instructor's evaluation of one mid-length paper (5-7 word-processed, double- spaced pages). The due date for this mid-length paper, which is a short version of your major paper, is specified below. The paper should include at least one outside reference if an original scholarly book is cited or at least three outside references if journal articles are cited. You may also cite one of the required texts. Please note that you are not permitted to cite text books or popular magazine articles in this paper. Full reference citations (authors, dates, title, journal or book, volume and number if applicable, and inclusive page numbers) should be provided under the heading, References, at the end of your paper in the style of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 3rd Edition. The Publication Manual is in Feinberg Library. Remember to use the author-date method of citation in the body of your paper. Paraphrased material is marked by citations which include sources and dates only. Citations for direct quotes also indicate page numbers. An example of paraphrased material included in an essay follows. Radical feminists argue that the sexual revolution has brought women nothing more than an increased risk for becoming victims of men's sexual violence (Tiefer, 1983; Zeiss, 1992). In contrast, liberal feminists believe that sexual freedom is an essential prerequisite for women's social and political equality (McCormick, 1992). Here are a few examples of APA references that should be in Reference section (final pages) of your midterm and major term papers. Journal Article Sprech. M. L., & Joseph, N. G. (1992). Coming to terms with sex discrimination: Implications for courtship. Journal of Fictitious Feminist Research, 9(2), 27-55. Chapter in Edited Book Astroho, M. G., Smith, L. G., & Baraku, S. (1987). Sexual dysfunctions in victims of rape and child sexual abuse. In. A. W. Gweson (Ed.), Sexual Coercion: Clinical Implications (pp. 478-598). New York: Brunner/Mazel. Book Wonderlo, T. S., & Hernadez, B. (1987). Radical feminists look at pornography (4th ed.). New York: Women's Press. Major Paper The final 20% of the grade is based on the instructor's evaluation of a major paper (10-20 double-spaced pages in length, excluding references and the title page). This major paper will be an expanded version of the mid-length paper. Students are expected to be working on this project throughout the semester. This paper should include at least eight outside references (journal articles and/or books). The scholarly guidelines for this paper are identical with those specified for the mid-size paper (please see above). During the final two weeks of the semester, each student will present a 5 to 10 minute summary of his/her paper and lead a 5 minute class discussion. Students should not read their papers aloud during these presentations. Plan on being concise, informal, and lively. Effectiveness in summarizing the paper and encouraging class discussion will contribute to a student's eventual grade. That is, grades on the major paper will be elevated or lowered by 5 points (or kept the same) as a function of the instructor's evaluation of a student's presentation skills. With the exception of documented medical or personal emergencies, students who are absent on the date of their scheduled presentation date will have their major paper grade lowered by 15 points. For both the mid-length and major papers, students will have an opportunity to revise their work in line with the instructor's suggestions. Second drafts of each paper must be handed in no later than one week after the first draft was returned in the case of the mid-length paper and as specified below, in the case of the major paper. Late mid-length and major papers forfeit 25 points for each day they are overdue. For all papers, including Daily Diaries, a student's grade on a paper is the average of his/her grade on drafts #1 and #2. Students who submit late first drafts are not permitted to revise their paper a second time to be considered for a higher grade. ASSIGNMENTS 1/26 FFPTBS, Introduction; Calling Cards and Money. Open discussion of topics for research papers. Instructor will provide advise on resources. Students are expected to come to class with ideas for three possible topics. 1/28 FFPTBS, The Economy of Dating; Daily Reading Diary #1 due today. Our seminar will meet next door in Feinberg 302 to get help from a reference librarian in using data bases and doing a literature search. Be prepared with questions and put these on your daily class participation card. 2/2 FFPTBS, The Worth of a Date; Daily Reading Diary #2 due today or 2/4. 2/4 FFPTBS; Sex Control. Assignments for your writing skills lessons will be given out today if you hadn't received same earlier. 2/9 FFPTBS; The Etiquette of Masculinity and Femininity; Daily Reading Diary #3 due today or 2/11. 2/11 FFPTBS; Scientific Truth...and Love; Epilogue. This is the deadline for students to supply the instructor with handouts you would like her to duplicate for your writing skills lessons next week. 2/16; 2/18 No Required Reading but each student will be giving their writing skills lessons this week. 2/23 Mid-Length Paper due today. No required reading. We will discuss your papers in class informally. 2/25 SS, ch 1; Daily Reading Diary #4 due today. 3/2 SS, ch 2; Daily Reading Diary #5 due today or 3/4. 3/4 SS, ch 3. 3/9 SS, ch 4; Daily Reading Diary #6 due today. Spring Break: 3/11-3/21. 3/23 OG, ch 1; Daily Reading Diary #7 due today or 3/25. 3/25 OG, ch 3. 3/30 OG, ch 5; Daily Reading Diary #8 due today or 4/1. 4/1 No Required Reading. Bring rough drafts of your major paper for discussion and consultation. 4/6 OG, ch 6. 4/8 OG, ch 9. First draft of Major Paper due today. 4/13 SS, ch 5 up to "Sexual Slavery and Juvenile Prostitution. 4/15 SS, ch 5 to end. Instructor will assign students dates and times for their presentations. 4/20 SS, ch 6 up to "Bitter Arguments Among Feminists Over Pornography." Students' graded initial drafts of their Major Papers will be returned today if not earlier. 4/22 No class. The instructor is attending a professional meeting. Use this time to revise your Major Paper. 4/27 SS, ch 6 to end; Daily Reading Diary #9 due today. 4/29 SS, first part of ch 7 [more exact instructions will be given later]. Second Draft of Major Paper due today; make sure to make a photocopy for yourself to help you outline your class presentation. 5/4 SS, AFC; SS, second part of ch 7 [more exact instructions will be given later]; Daily Reading Diary #10 due today. First day of students' presentations. 5/6 Second day of students' presentations. 5/12 Final Exam Week--tentatively: Wed, 9:40-11:40 am; final day of students' presentations. Students will also evaluate the course today.