WS 205 Women in Western Civilization Prof. Mary Kelly Office: AH 3174, 594-1011 Office hrs: Mon/Weds 9:30 -11:30 and/or by appointment Course Objectives: To examine the roles, status and accomplishments of women in Western traditions; to review beliefs about women perpetuated by major thinkers and institutions and to examine how these beliefs influenced women's lives and opportunities; to explore the contributions of female writers and artists to our present culture. Texts: Kinnear, Daughters of Time Hedges and Wendt, In Her Own Image Photocopied Reader (marked on syllabus by asterisk). Texts are available at KB Books on College Ave. 1. Allen, "Grandmother of the Sun" 2. Hollis, "Women in Ancient Egypt" 3. Bell, "Women in the Ancient World," sections A. and B. 4. Dexter, "Greek Goddesses" 5. Bell, "The Legacy of Judaism," section A. 6. Pagels, Selections from The Gnostic Gospels 7. Griffin, Poems to Our Mother 8. Johnson, "Finding Their Place" 9. Perry, "Black Madonna of Montserrat" 10. Anzaldua, "Entering into the Serpent" 11. Ruether, "Witches and Jews" 12. Merchant, "Nature as Female" 13. Wright, "Eve to Her Daughters" (poem) 14. Ruether, "Woman/Body/Nature" 15. Schnorrenberg, "The Blue Stocking Assembly" 16. Wollstonecraft, Selections from Vindication of the Rights of Woman 17. Lorde, "Age, Race, Class, and Sex" Requirements: You are responsible for taking good lecture notes. Participation in class discussions is also very important--students hovering between two grades will be given the higher grade for thoughtful participation. Quizzes will be given over the lectures and readings--dates of the quizzes are clearly marked on the syllabus. There are two exams, which MUST BE TAKEN AT THE SCHEDULED TIME. In lieu of a final exam, you will participate in a group presentation (to be explained at the end of the syllabus). You are responsible for finding out what happened in class when you are absent--this includes class notes, changes in the schedule, etc. Grading: Short quizzes 100 pts. (10 each) There will be 11 short quizzes but you may drop your lowest grade. NO MAKE-UP QUIZZES, including if you arrive late or leave early. Two exams 200 pts. (100 each) THIRTEEN #20788-ERI ParSCORE TEST FORMS, ONE #20787-ERI ParSCORE STUDENT ENROLLMENT FORM, ONE #2 PENCIL, AND TWO BLUEBOOKS ARE NEEDED FOR THE QUIZZES AND EXAMS--IF YOU FAIL TO BRING THEM, DO NOT ASK FOR EXTRA TIME OR CONSIDERATION. Group projects 100 pts. You will work together in small groups to present some aspect of women's art to the class. Detailed instructions on this project are given at the end of this syllabus. Critique of group projects 25 pts. (also explained at the end of the syllabus) Total grade 425 pts. Exams will cover lectures, readings, special presentations-- anything that occurs in class. They may include objective (fill in the blanks, multiple choice, true/false, identification of terms), short answers and essays. The following scale applies to grades: 90-100% = A, 80-90% B, 70-80% C, 60-70% D, below 60% F. Plus and minus grades will be given. CREDIT/NO CREDIT grades mean that you must have completed all course requirements with a grade of C or better to receive credit for the course. INCOMPLETES are not given except in catastrophes and you must have completed 2/3 of the course requirements to qualify. PLEASE DON'T ASK TO DO EXTRA CREDIT. Dates Week Assignments/Topics Aug 30 1 Introduction Sept 1 Women in Prehistory Read Kinnear, pp. 1-6 Sept 3 Primal/Ancient Cultures of the West Read Kinnear, pp. 7-22, *Allen, "Grandmother of the Sun" and *Hollis, "Women in Ancient Egypt" Quiz #1 on this week's lecture and reading Sept 6 2 Holiday--NO CLASS Sept 8 The Classical World of Greece and Rome Read Kinnear, pp. 23-47, *Bell, "Women in the Ancient World" and *Dexter, "Greek Goddesses" Sept 10 Quiz #2 on lecture and reading Sept 13 3 Judaism and Early Christianity Sept 15 Read Kinnear, pp. 48-60, *Bell selections, *Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels selections and *Griffin poems Sept 17 Quiz #3 on lecture and reading Sept 20 4 Read Hedges and Wendt, Part 1, pp. 1-74 Group 1 presentation Sept 22 Group 2 presentation Sept 24 Quiz #4 on Women and Art, Part 1 Sept 27 5 The Middle Ages Sept 29 Read Kinnear pp. 61-76 and *Johnson, "Finding Their Place" Oct 1 Quiz #5 on lecture and reading Oct 4 6 The Middle Ages Oct 6 Read *Perry, "Black Madonna of Montserrat" and *Anzaldua, "Entering into the Serpent" Oct 8 Review and discussion for exam Oct 11 7 FIRST EXAM (includes everything except week 4) Oct 13 Film Oct 15 Read Hedges and Wendt, Part 2, pp. 75-165 Group 3 presentation Oct 18 8 Group 4 presentation Oct 20 Film Oct 22 Quiz #6 on Women and Art, Part 2 Oct 25 9 Renaissance Humanism and the Reformation Oct 27 Read Kinnear pp. 78-90 and *Ruether, "Witches and Jews" Oct 29 Quiz #7 on lecture and reading Nov 1 10 The Early Modern World and the Rise of Science Nov 3 Read *Merchant, "Nature as Female," *Wright, "Eve to Her Daughters" (poem) and *Ruether, "Woman/Body/Nature" Nov 5 Quiz #8 on lecture and reading Nov 8 11 Read Hedges and Wendt, Part 3, pp. 167-235 Group 5 presentation Nov 10 Group 6 presentation Nov 12 Quiz #9 on Women and Art, Part 3 Nov 15 12 The Enlightenment and the Salon Nov 17 Read Kinnear, pp. 91-102 and *Schnorrenberg, "The Blue Stocking Assembly" Nov 19 Quiz #10 on lecture and reading Nov 22 13 Discussion and review Nov 24 NO CLASS Nov 26 Holiday--NO CLASS Nov 29 14 Rights and Revolution Dec 1 Read Kinnear, pp. 104-111, *Wollstonecraft, Vindication of the Rights of Woman selections and *Lorde, "Age, Race, Class, and Sex Dec 3 SECOND EXAM (includes weeks 9-14, except week 11) Dec 6 15 Read Hedges and Wendt, Part 4, pp. 237-301 Group 7 presentation Dec 8 Group 8 presentation Dec 10 Quiz #11 on Women and Art, Part 4 Final exam period Write critique of group presentations: Dec 13 (8-10 am) Section I, meeting at 9AM Dec 15 (10:30-12:30) Section II, meeting at 12PM Instructions for class presentations In order to make the learning experience in this course less passive for you, I have substituted a group project/presentation for a final exam or term paper. The class will be divided into 8 groups (on a random basis, so that you can meet and get to know more people in the class) of 4-6 people. You will work together to present to the entire class aspects of women's art and culture related to the assigned reading. Each group will be assigned one of four sections in Hedges and Wendt, In Her Own Image (which means that there will be two groups working on each section of the book). Each section is organized around a particular theme--how women's household work has resulted in art for use in everyday life, how women have faced the problems and challenges of becoming artists, how women have defined and discovered new images of themselves through creating art, and how women's art has effected social change. In each of these sections of the book you will encounter various artists and writers and examples of their work. Your class presentation should be somehow related to the theme of your group's section of the book, but YOU SHOULD NOT PRESENT INFORMATION THAT IS ALREADY IN THE BOOK. Find out something new about women artists and their work. You will be free to present your material in any form you choose, such as slides, art work you bring to class, films, videos, dramatic reenactments, readings--whatever you think will make your subject come alive for the rest of us. If you need special equipment such as VCRs, projectors, etc., I will be happy to help you get them--but please let me know what you need at least two weeks in advance. Ideally each person should contribute equally and significantly to the group's project. Anyone with unusual obstacles to meeting with a group should see me immediately. You will also be asked to participate in the grading of these presentations. A one-page, typed statement describing your contribution to your group's project will be due the day of your class presentation. You will be responsible for giving copies of this statement to each member of your group at that time. You will then read your group members' statements and give each of them a grade based on the quality of the contribution. If anyone has misrepresented her or his contribution to the group effort, you should also note that in your grading of the statements. You have one week from the day of your presentation to hand in your copies of these statements, complete with grade and brief comments. In addition, during the final exam period each person will write in class your own critique of each group's presentation (other than your own group). This means will have had to take notes on the group presentations the day they happen, or you may not remember them well enough to evaluate them effectively. Attendance during the group presentations is thus imperative. Anyone who misses more than two classes will be docked a half grade for the group project. If you must be absent, have someone tape the session for you. You will be graded on your critiques and any person who fails to show up for the final exam period to write these critiques will be considered not to have completed the course. The critiques are worth 25 pts. and will determine the grades you get for the presentations. Similarly, your grading of each other's individual contributions to the group effort will count in the final grade each person receives. The presentations are worth 100 pts. Do not ask me your grade for the group project since it will be determined by your classmates at the end of the course. Assignment to groups and any questions, anxieties, or confusions will be handled during the second week of the course.