Women in American Culture
                            Women's Studies 201
Fall 1996

Professor: Karen Chandler
Office Phone: (502)852-5568
E-Mail Address: knchan01@athena.louisville.edu

Content:
This course will examine women's various roles in nineteenth- and
twentieth-century American society.  The course will particularly
examine women's psychological and social development in 19th and 20th
century America.  In exploring representations of childhood,
adolescence, and mature womanhood, we will consider the influence of
class, race, ethnicity, age, religion, sexuality, and other forces in
shaping feminine identity.  The course will draw on the disciplines of
English, history, psychology, and sociology, among others, to explore
the nuances of women's experience in American society.

Goals: 
By committing yourself fully to the work of this course, you can
anticipate increasing your knowledge of women's diverse means of
asserting their presence within the United States.  You can also expect
to enhance your skill at critical thinking and writing.

Women's Studies Requirement:
Both the Women's Studies major and minor require this course, because it
features topics of study and modes of inquiry and analysis that are
central to the mission of Women's Studies.  These topics of study
include women's socialization and women's changing role in society.  The
modes of inquiry are interdisciplinary, bringing together methods of
analysis drawn from the social sciences and the humanities.

General Education Requirement:
Women's Studies 201 meets a general education requirement in the social
and behavioral sciences through its focus on individuals' and groups'
behavior and psychology.  The course will also provide students with
opportunities to improve their skill at analysis.
 
Texts:
Barrett, Eileen and Mary Cullinan. American Women Writers: Diverse
Voices in Prose Since 1845.

Ballentine, Susan Frank and Jessica Barksdale Inclan.  Diverse Voices of
Women.
 
Also recommended:
1.  a folder (for keeping track of handouts)
2.  a college dictionary
3.  Kerber, Linda and Jane Sherron De Hart. Women's America.
 
Course Requirements:
1.  At a minimum, read the material assigned in the syllabus.  Be sure
to also read the biographical headnotes that accompany the selections in
American Women Writers and Diverse Voices of Women.  Also, be sure to
watch the videos listed on the syllabus.  The assigned readings and
videos will be covered on exams.

2.  Note the recommended, but not required, readings from Women's
America, which is available in the bookstores and among reserved
materials in Ekstrom.  The recommended readings are presented in
brackets below.  Although these readings are not required, they most
likely will extend your knowledge and enhance your preformance in classs
discussions and on exams.

3.  Be familiar with the ideas and terminology that I present in class. 
Exams will also cover this material.

4.  Participate in class discussion groups and other in-class
activities.  Participation is essential to success in this course.  You
can expect me to pay attention to your active contributions to class
discussions.  Oral participation based on informed preparation is
important, but respectful listening is also necessary for fruitful
discussion.  In addition to standard participation during class
discussions, you will be expected to:
      * report on work done in small groups
      * lead part of a class discussion and to write a short report
(one         to two pages) outlining this contribution to class
      * report on the status of your research project at various stages.
 
5.  Write two one-to-two page position papers on assigned readings of
your choice, developing your impressions of an idea or method that you
discover in a writer's work.  Position papers should not simply describe
a writer's view, but rather present an argument about that view or the
means by which it is asserted.  Another option is that you develop your
own argument on a topic that an assigned writer treats in a different
way.

* Each position paper should treat one assigned work and be handed in at
the beginning of the class in which that work will be discussed.  Late
papers will not be counted toward the grade.

6.  Write an expository essay of six to eight pages, in which you
present your research on a topic relevant to teh course.  Among the
suitable topics are women's education, women in entertainment, women in
sports, images of women's bodies, family management and women's rights
movements.

7.  Be present in class to take quizzes, which cannot be made up.

8.  Take the midterm and final examinations, which will cover readings,
class discussions, videos, and related material.  Failure to take an
exam will result in an F in the course.

Grading Policy:
- Essay: 25%
- In-class writing assignments, participation, work in discusssion    
groups, position papers: 15%
- Exams: 20% each

  In evaluating student's work, I consider my basic grade to be a B.  A
B grade goes to work that is consistently well-organized and thoughtful,
though lacking the originality or depth characteristic of A-quality
work.  A B would also go to work that shows original thought, but lacks
sustained development or substantiation of ideas.  
  An A reflects independence of thought and scope in ideas and
applications.  
  A C is given for work which demonstrates some basic ability, but
features gaps in knowledge or garbled arguments.  
  A D is reserved for work that as a whole presents a poorly
defined or inconsistently developed subject.  Such work usually shows
little insight.  
  An F paper or exam offers no evidence of command of the assigned
material.