Please note: This syllabus is for an intro course, which satisfies a gen ed requirement and regularly enrolls 5-6 sections of 35 students per semester. WOM 101: Gender, Race, and Class Fall 1998 Tuesday-Thursday, 11:30-12:45 Instructor: Ellen Cronan Rose Office: WRI 199. Phone: (702) 895-0837 Fax: (702): 895-0850 Office Hours: After class or by appointment, ambush, or e-mail E-Mail: ecrose@nevada.edu The central category of analysis in Women's Studies is gender, the socially constructed and historically variable understanding of what it means to be a woman or a man. In this interdisciplinary introductory course, we will examine the contemporary American construction of gender as it interacts with other constructions--of race, social class, and sexual preference--to create a sense of personal identity. We will also explore the experience of belonging to a privileged or stigmatized gender, race, class, or sexual identity, and conclude by considering the ways in which social institutions convey ideologies that give meaning to these categories. The goals of the course are 1) to clarify basic concepts such as sex vs. gender, essentialism vs. constructionism, dichotomous thinking, privilege, stigma, and ideology, 2) to integrate personal experience into theoretical and analytical frameworks, 3) to develop critical thinking skills in order to analyze and interpret data and recognize bias and faulty reasoning, and 4) to develop confidence in expressing ideas both orally and in writing. Text: Rosenblum, Karen E., and Toni-Michelle C. Travis. The Meaning of Difference: American Constructions of Race, Sex and Gender, Social Class, and Sexual Orientation. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1996. (Hereafter referred to as MD) On discussion: Class time will be devoted to discussion of the assigned readings and the issues they raise. I regard discussion as a collaborative enterprise in constructing knowledge: we are all both teachers and learners. I urge you to express your thoughts and reactions freely and honestly. There is no such thing as a stupid question or perspective, so it is important to state your mind. Do not be concerned, however, if I or someone else contradicts or disagrees with something you say. Our object in class discussion is to push ourselves to think and reflect further. Honest discussion will help you try out and develop your ideas. It also improves our listening and reasoning skills. Think of others in the class as colleagues who will help you become smarter, not as rivals with whom you need to compete. Disagreement will enrich the class and stimulate our thinking, but it requires us to develop ways to talk to each other that allow us to disagree without attacking anyone personally. Here are some suggestions for how to contribute and respond to class discussion: 1 Describe your reaction with "I" statements. For example, instead of saying "Your comment made me feel uncomfortable," say "I was uncomfortable when you said . . ." 2. Be as specific as possible, e.g., relate what you are saying to what has been said already, state reasons for your position, and avoid grand generalizations. 3. Concentrate on sharing information and experiences, rather than giving advice, making judgments, forcing agreement. 4.. Check with others frequently to insure that you have a shared understanding of what is being communicated. Course requirements and grade distribution percentages: * Regular, conscientious, class participation. I expect you to attend class regularly, read assigned material prior to class, and come prepared to discuss, question, argue, and thus contribute to the production of knowledge. More than three unexcused absences will lower your final grade. Absences must be excused in advance, not after the fact. Because not everyone may have a chance to contribute to discussion in class, you will be required to participate at least once a week in an Electronic Forum, which you will be able to access from any computer from which you can access your e-mail (you must have a Pioneer account in order to participate in the Electronic Forum). Each week you must 1) read a minimum of 10 entries, 2) respond to at least one, and 3) contribute one of your own, at least 300 words long. In your entry, identify one positive learning experience you have had that week and explain a disagreement or problem you are having with some of the material. (15%) * Journal. A journal is a systematic and analytical record of your reflections. It is not a diary, which is meant to contain thoughts usually not intended to be shared with others, or a log, which is merely a record of events or readings, with no personal analysis. To meet the journal requirement, you must comment analytically on assigned readings and class discussions and integrate what you are learning in this course with your experiences of gender, race, class, and sexuality in society. Some of the topics for analysis will be assigned; other entries should include reading entries and diary entries in about equal proportions. Reading entries function as an opportunity to examine, interpret, support, and challenge what you learn from readings. Diary entries examine personal experiences, current events, or reactions to class discussions. The two kinds of entries often overlap. Typed/word processed journals are preferred, but hand written entries will be accepted if they are legible. Please date each entry and use paper clips, not staples, to fasten pages together. Due dates: I will ask to see five sample entries on October 1 and November 5, to assess your progress. Complete journals are due December 10. Your journal will be graded according to the following criteria: 1) the degree to which it reflects your understanding of the course material, 2) the degree to which it reflects a serious attempt to use ideas and concepts from the course to develop greater understanding of current events and your life experiences, and 3) the degree to which it reflects a serious attempt to write your journal entries clearly, intelligibly, and grammatically. (35%) * Three generations paper (6-8 pages). To further your understanding of the diversity of the lives and stories of women from different social classes, races, ethnic groups, sexual identifications, religions, and generations, you will undertake some ethnographic research. This project requires that you interview two women (of different generations, comparable in age to your mother and grandmother--or mother and daughter, or daughter and grand daughter) who are significant in your life, i.e., women in your community, church/temple, or family. You, the researcher, are considered the third generation. This project has four stages: 1) designing your study--choosing the women to interview, getting their consent to tape, and formulating interview questions; 2) interviewing; 3) generating an analysis that makes connections to readings and course materials, and 4) making a brief (5 minute) oral presentation of your research in class. Detailed instructions will be distributed well in advance of the assignment's due date. (35%) * Activism assignment. In the words of the preamble to the constitution of the National Women's Studies Association (NWSA), Women's Studies shares a vision of a world "free from sexism, racism, national chauvinism, class and ethnic bias, anti-Semitism as directed against both Arabs and Jews, ageism, heterosexual bias--from all the ideologies and institutions that have consciously or unconsciously oppressed and exploited some for the advantage of others." In other words, Women's Studies seeks not only to understand the world but to change it--starting right here in our own back yard (think globally, act locally). Each of you will write a series of letters (one to an editor, one to an advertiser or business executive, one to a politician) about a current issue of concern (e.g., protesting the renewal of Mike Tyson's boxing license, expressing your views on immigration policy or bilingual education or late term abortions). You may do this assignment at any time during the semester. Make two copies of each letter, one to mail and one to turn in for a grade. Your letters will be graded according to the following criteria: 1) the thoroughness with which you have researched the issue, 2) the persuasiveness of your rhetoric, and 3) the accuracy of grammar, spelling, and letter format. On Class Participation Reviewing a colleague's syllabus for a seminar she teaches at another university, I came across the following illuminating remarks that may clarify for you what I mean by "regular, conscientious class participation": What constitutes first-rate class participation? First of all, you have to participate. This doesn't mean verbal diarrhea, but it does mean more than merely showing up each day for class. I expect you to contribute regularly to the class discussion. More specifically, here are some of the things I look for in evaluating your performance: 1) Raising interesting questions for discussion 2) Offering informed, interesting answers to others' questions 3) Evidence of your having read the text with care My colleague asks her students to prepare for class as if they were the professor: As you read (and as you reflect after you read), think about what you would say about the work if you were responsible for the next class discussion--all 75 minutes of it. This doesn't mean you should prepare an hour-long lecture but rather that you should think carefully about topics for discussion. For example: important issues and themes key passages you feel deserve examination aspects of the text that trouble or perplex you aspects of the work that impress you connections to other assigned readings departures from other assigned readings reconsideration or continuation of points raised in previous classes You should prepare for each class in this way. And you should come to class with at least three provocative, well-focused questions for class discussion. Policy Regarding Student Absences for Observance of Religious Holidays It is the university's policy that any student missing class quizzes, examinations, or any other class or lab work because of observance of religious holidays shall be given an opportunity during that semester to make up missed work. It is the student's responsibility to notify the instructor--no later than the last day of late registration (September 4)--of her of his intention to participate in religious holidays that do not fall on state holidays or periods of class recess. Since every class meeting of WOM 101 involves essential class work, even when no quiz or examination is scheduled, you must obtain an excuse if you intend to absent yourself from any class this fall to participate in a religious holiday. Policy Regarding Students with Documented Disabilities If you have a documented disability that may require assistance, you will need to contact the disability Resource Center (DRC) for coordination in your academic accommodations. The DRC is located in the Reynolds Student Services Complex, room 137. The phone number is (702) 895-0866 (TDD 895-0652). Weekly Schedule What follows is a provisional map of our progress through the course. I want to build in enough flexibility to adjust the pace according to how demanding or interesting you find particular readings and topics. If we proceed through the text more rapidly than I have estimated, we can choose a supplemental work of imaginative literature to conclude with: a novel, selected short stories or poems, or a memoir. Possibilities that occur to me include Dorothy Allison's Bastard Out of Carolina, Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Sandra Cisneros's The House on Mango Street, Fannie Flagg's Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe, Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior, Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, Gloria Naylor's The Women of Brewster Place, Adrienne Rich's The Fact of a Doorframe, Anne Sexton's Transformations, Linda Hogan's Mean Spirit, Jeanette Winterson's Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit. Alternatively, if I have allotted too little time to a particular section or reading in the text, we will readjust the schedule to allow for full discussion of the issue, even if that entails omitting a work of imaginative literature. Week 1: September 1-3 Introduction to the course Some basic terms and concepts Reading: framework essay on constructing categories of difference, MD 1-34 Week 2: September 8-10 What is race? What is sex? Readings 1-5, MD 35-73 Week 3: September 14-16 What is gender? What is sexual orientation? Readings 6-7, 10-11, MD 73-96, 120-36 Week 4: September 22-24 What is social class? Readings 8-9, MD 97-120 FIRST JOURNAL ENTRIES DUE, Thursday, September 24 Week 5: September 29-October 1 More terms and concepts Reading: framework essay on experiencing difference and reading 12, MD 137-67 Week 6: October 6-8 First-hand accounts of experiencing difference I Readings 13-16, MD 167-93 Week 7: October 13-15 First-hand accounts of experiencing difference II Readings 17-20, MD 193-229 Week 8: October 20-22 More terms and concepts Reading: framework essay on the meaning of difference and reading 21, MD 231-72 Week 9: October 27-29 The meaning of difference in law, politics, and the economy Readings 22-28, MD 272-336 Week 10: November 3-5 How science supports ideologies of difference Readings 29-31, MD 336-81 SECOND JOURNAL ENTRIES DUE, Thursday, November 5 Week 11: November 10-12 How language and popular culture support ideologies of difference Readings 32-36, MD 382-431 Week 12: November 17-19 THREE-GENERATION PAPERS AND ORAL PRESENTATIONS DUE Week 13: November 24-26 THREE-GENERATION PAPERS AND ORAL PRESENTATIONS DUE No class Thursday, November 26: Thanksgiving Weeks 14, 15: December 3-10 To be decided. See introduction to the weekly schedule. Thursday, December 10: JOURNALS DUE; LAST DAY TO HAND IN ACTIVISM ASSIGNMENT Ellen Cronan Rose, Director, Women's Studies Program, UNLV 4505 Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV 89154-5055 PHONE (702) 895-0838, FAX (702) 895-0850 ecrose@nevada.edu