INTRODUCTION TO WOMEN'S STUDIES Massey University Women's Studies Programme 70.101 Introduction to Women's Studies Semester one, 1995 Co-ordinator : Dr. Lynne Alice, Director of Women's Studies at Massey University. Social Sciences Building, Room 8.26 (8th floor) Tel. (06) 350.4938 (via the Women's Studies Secretary, Sharon Nikora) Email : L.C.Alice@massey.ac.nz Introduction to Women's Studies This interdisciplinary course introduces students to the key areas of Women's Studies, including current debates in feminist theory and the changing roles of women in New Zealand and the Pacific. It is a wide ranging course, utilising the theoretical perspectives of sociology, literature, media studies, education, psychology, philosophy and Maori Studies, to examine the lives, experiences and representations of women in society. Introduction to Women's Studies provides all students (of any discipline) with a serious and scholarly way to become familiar with a vast body of knowledge that has historically been neglected: the conditions and circumstances affecting the lives of women. Our study will use a range of feminist analyses to shed light on the past and envision possible futures. This is a basic survey course and is intended as an introduction, as its name indicates. We will cover a wide range of issues, some of them controversial. Students who are interested in furthering their study from the perspectives can find other Women's Studies courses at this university. We will be giving you information later in the course about how you can do this. The course has three main foci: *it offers a feminist critique of the construction of knowledge in traditional disciplines; *it provides an introduction to the major social issues and theoretical debates in contemporary feminism; *it emphasises the experiences of women living in New Zealand and the Pacific. These foci will be addressed as themes for each lecture in the course. The course has four main aims: The three foci of the course (see above) will provide common threads for lectures, tutorial discussions and your reading. Some of the perspectives, topics and theorists we will consider will appeal to you more than others. You will be able to concentrate on your interests in reading exercises and essays. I hope however that you will read as widely as possible and explore areas you have not been introduced to previously. Broadly the course aims : *to stimulate your reading and viewing of a range of books, films and commentaries about women's lives and the position of women in New Zealand society. *to enable you to develop understandings of the assumptions and standpoints of various feminist perspectives as they are and have been developed in particular social contexts and times. *to encourage you to be confident and effective communicators in this topic area, and to develop critical capacities, independent viewpoints and research skills. *to encourage you to think about the ongoing connections between university-based academic studies of women and women's postions in society. Assignments and Assessment Three assignments must be completed and submitted : *an annotated bibliography *a research essay : women's lives *a summary essay Assessment in this course is 100% internal. It is designed to : (1) teach students a range of research and writing skills through a specific structuring of course content; (2) provide the continual assessment of student performance through the entire period of each course; (3) ensure continual assessment of the suitability and communicability of course materials and teaching methods in the light of student performance and response. Assignments (1) a bibliographic OR on-line resources exercise (20%), up to 1000 words. Due at the end of third week of March. (2) a research essay (50%), up to 2500 words. Due at the end of the first week of May. (3) an essay about what you have learnt in the course (30%), up to 2000 words. Due at the end of the first week of June. Textbooks and other reading matters The following texts will be on reserve in the Massey University library. The textbook is referred to throughout the course and you will find it very useful. It is not necessary to purchase recommended texts, but they are excellent resources and we encourage you to refer to them. Required Text Du Plessis, Rosemary, et al (1992) Feminist Voices: Women's Studies Texts for Aotearoa/New Zealand Auckland: Oxford University Press Recommended Texts Cahill, Maud and Christine Dann (1991) Changing Our Lives: Women Working in The Women's Liberation Movement 1970-1990 Wellington: Bridget Williams Books Cox, Shelagh (1987) Public And Private Worlds: Women In Contemporary New Zealand Wellington: Allen And Unwin Dann, Christine (1985) Up From Under: Women And Liberation In New Zealand 1970-1985 Wellington: Allen And Unwin Eisenstein, Hester(1984) Contemporary Feminist Thought Sydney: Allen And Unwin Grimshaw, Patricia (1987) Women's Suffrage In New Zealand Auckland: Auckland University Press Te Awekotuku, Ngahuia (1991) Mana Wahine Maori: Selected Writings On Maori Women's Art, Culture And Politics Auckland: New Women's Press Tong, Rosemary (1989) Feminist Thought: A Comprehensive Introduction Boulder, Col.: Westview Press The programme week by week 1. What is Women's Studies ? Readings Bowles, Gloria And Renate Duelli Klein. (1983). Introduction (Course Reader) Te Awekotuku, N. (1992). He Whiriwhiri Wahine: Framing Women's Studies for Aotearoa (Course Reader) 2. What is feminist theory ? Readings Jones, A. & Guy, C. (1992). Radical Feminism in New Zealand: from Piha to Newtown. in Feminist Voices Gross, E. Conclusion: What is Feminist Theory? (Course Reader) 3. Maori women's lives in New Zealand history Readings Irwin, K.. (1992). Towards Theories of Maori Feminism, in Feminist Voices Te Awekotuku, N. (1992). Kia Mau, Kia Manawanui - We will never go away: Experiences of a Maori Lesbian Feminist. in Feminist Voices Awatere, D. (July August 1982). Wahine Ma Korerotia. (Course Reader) Pere, R. P. (1987). To us the dreamers are important . (Course Reader) Te Awekotuku, N. (1991). Whakaaro Noa Iho: Some ideas for Maori Women. (Course Reader) 4. Women, history and protest: suffrage to feminism(s) Readings MacDonald, Charlotte, ed. (1993) The Vote, The Pill and the Demon Drink; (Course Reader) Grimshaw, P. (1987) Post-Mortem on the Suffrage, from Women's Suffrage in New Zealand. (Course Reader) 5. The politics of difference in New Zealand Readings Munford, R. (1990). The hidden costs of caring: The experiences of woman caregivers. (Course Readser) Hyman, P. (1992). The Use of Economic Orthodoxy to Justify Inequality: A Feminist Critique in Feminist Voices. 6. Women and the media in Aotearoa Readings Star, L. (1992). Undying Love, Resisting Pleasures: Women Watch Telerugby in Feminist Voices Marshment, M. (1993). The picture is political; representation of women in contemporary popular culture. (Course Reader) 7. Women and writing in Aotearoa Readings Potiki, R.. (1992). Confirming Identity and Telling Stories: A woman's perspective on Maori Theatre. in Feminist Voices McLeod, A. (1987).Private Lives and public functions, (Course Reader) 8. The politics of production: paid and unpaid work; Readings Habgood, R. (1992). On his Terms: Gender and the Politics of Domestic Life. in Feminist Voices Horsfield, Anne. (1988). Conclusion of Women in the economy (Course Reader) 9. Women and Health Readings Hockey, J. (1993). Women and Health. (Course Reader) Coney, S. and Bunkle, P. (June 1987). An unfortunate experiment; at National Women's. (Course reader) 10. Men, masculinity and feminism Readings Phillips, J. (1987). The bloke under siege,; 1950-86. ( Course Reader) Jensen, K. (1988). Naked Change. (Course Reader) Fasteau, M. (1974). Violence:; The primal test. (Course Reader) Gender and Violence Readings Maynard, Mary (1993) Violence Towards Women; (Course Reader) Segal, Lynne (1990) The Belly of the Beast (Course Reader) 11. Women and sexuality Readings Te Awekotuku, Ngahuia (1992) Kia Mau, Kia Manawanui - We Will Never Go Away: experiences of a Maori Lesbian Feminist in Feminist Voices: Rich, Adrienne (1980) 'Compulsory Heterosexuality And Lesbian Existence' (Course Reader) 12. Women in Education Readings Jones, Alison (1985) Which girls are 'learning to lose'? ;: gender, class and race in the classroom. New Zealand Women's Studies Journal August Pere, R. (1988). Te Wheke: Whaia Te Maramatanga Me Te Aroha. In Middleton (Ed.), Women And Education In Aotearoa. (Course Reader) Te Awekotuku, N. (1991). He whare tangata: He whare kura? What's happening to our Maori girls? (Course Reader). 14. Women, Careers and Equal Employment Opportunity Readings Du Plessis, R. (1992). Stating the Contradictions: The Case of Women's Employment in Feminist Voices Hyman, P. (1994). The History and Concepts of Equal Pay and Pay Equity; in New Zealand. (Course Reader) 15. Feminism and philosophy Reading Grimshaw, Jean. (1986). Feminism and philosophy(Course Reader) 15. Psychology to Psychoanalysis Reading Crawford, Mary and Jeanne Marecek (1989) Psychology Reconstructs the Female; 1968-1988 (Course Reader) 16. Women, religion and spirituality Readings Rita M Gross (1977) Menstruation and Childbirth as Ritual and Religious Experience (Course Reader) Alice, L. (1992). Another pair of eyes: Women's spirituality and feminist politics. in Feminist Voices Benland, C. (1987). Womb makers and womb breakers: Women and religion (Course Reader) 18. Women and mathematics Readings Hyde, J. Fennema, E & Lamon, S. (1990). Gender differences in Mathematics performance; A meta-analysis. (Course reader) Campbell, P. (1986). What's a nice girl like you doing in a Math class?; (Course reader) 19. Feminism and science Readings Bunkle, P. (1992). Becoming Knowers: Feminism, science and medicine. In Du Plessis in Feminist Voices Curran, L. (1980). Science education: Did she drop out or was she pushed? (Course reader) Rosser, Sue V. (1988) Good Science, can it ever be gender free?(Course reader) 20. Feminism in Aotearoa You have reached the end of the course. To end the course, read Prue Hyman's paper (below) given to a conference about international feminisms and published in Feminist Studies in Aotearoa Electronic Journal. Reading Hyman, Prue New Zealand Feminist Theory And Activism Over The Last Ten Years : A Preliminary Assessment by Prue Hyman (Course Reader) This course consists of two, one hour lectures a week and a one hour tutorial. A class Marae visit is compulsory. Copies of Course materials (which contain tutorial questions and lecture outlines and other study exercises) are available from the Women's Studies office, PO Box 11-222 Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand : Internal (on campus) Course Reader, Study Guide = NZ$ 60 (incl. postage) Extramural (by mail) Course pack = NZ$90 (incl. postage)