Issues of Gender, Race, & Class in Our Lives

WOMEN STUDIES 200

NorthSeattleCommunity College, Spring 2008

Class TimeTuesday and Thursday 11:00 am – 1:20 pm

Course Instructor:Karen Stuhldreher, 526-7007

Office Hours: Mondays/Wednesdays 3:00-4:00 and Tuesdays, 10:00-11:00 by appointment

Location:Math, Science, Social Sciences Division, IB 2330B

E-Mail Address

Web

Course Description This course examines the interplay of cultural and political constructions of gender, race, class and sexuality that shape women's diverse lives. While the course focuses on women’s experiences, it also includes discussion and examination of men’s lives as well. The course introduces students to diverse feminist perspectives and examines the power relations and social structures that cause women to occupy similar and different places in U.S. history and society. It provides a forum for students to critically examine the make-up of their own identities and explore how factors of race, class, gender and sexuality work to shape assumptions, beliefs, and behaviors that impact their relationships. Topics include women's histories and identities, families and work, sexual orientation, violence against women, body politics, health, empowerment, and resistance. As an introduction to Women Studies, this course is both a survey of women and society and an introduction to methods and concepts of Women Studies across the disciplines. The course will draw on articles, essays, poetry, personal narratives, films, lectures and guest speakers.

Course Learning Environment Women Studies derives from the daily lived experiences of men and women. Thus, a Women Studies course requires a setting that affirms and draws from students' diverse knowledge and experiences, as well as those of the instructor. This can best be achieved by forming a learning community in which students work cooperatively with the instructor to explore the texts, share their experiences and critically examine diverse perspectives in a way that is thoughtful and respectful. Dialogue is the primary tool of a learning community in that it allows diverse and competing perspectives to be explored with the goal of gaining deeper understanding of issues and experiences. Dialogue, like learning, requires that some risks be taken. I encourage you to take risks both by speaking out and by listening to one another in class. Sometimes asking a question or challenging a viewpoint is a risk. Sometimes listening to a new idea or a point of view that you do not share is a risk. Members of a learning community, like members of a democracy, must do both in a way that respects and appreciates the differences among us.

Class Format: The class time will be spent in a variety of ways including listening to lectures, watching films, and participating in both large and small group discussions. The syllabus will help to inform you about what you can expect each day when you come to class. It tells you what reading you need to do before coming to class, what you need to bring to class, and whether there will be a film. Some time each week—usually part of Thursdays--will be reserved for seminars in which together we will discuss and “mine” the texts of the readings assigned for the week. Our objective will be to gain a clearer understanding of what the writers are saying and to make new discoveries as we share our different insights and interpretations of the texts. Each week the syllabus includes a list of questions that will help to frame our discussions. You can ask any questions or raise any issues that you are concerned or unclear about. You will prepare weekly seminarpreparation papers that will help you to prepare for these seminar discussions. You will be taught necessary seminar skills and be expected to demonstrate development in this area.

Required Texts

1) Patricia Hill Collins and Margaret L. Andersen, eds. Race, Class and Gender, Fifth or Sixth Edition

2) Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed

2) Course Reader Packet

* These books are available at the North Seattle Community College Bookstore.

* The Course Reading Packet is available at Prestige Copy & Print located at 11023 8th Ave. NE. It is off Northgate Way just past the Washington Mutual and behind the Starbucks. You can enter from Northgate way at the Starbucks and go to the back parking lot. If you want to call first to make sure a Course Reader is available for you, call 365-5770.

Course Requirements

1) Attendance and Participation: (20%)

To meet the course objectives it is necessary for students to participate in class discussions and exercises and to do so actively and respectfully. In order to participate, you must come to class prepared, arrive on time, and stay for the entire class. You must take the risks of listening and speaking. Seminar discussions will be a central component of this course and your final grade will depend in part on your development in seminar skills and your participation in seminar. Attendance is also necessary since material presented in lectures and discussed in class will not always be duplicated in course readings. You will be responsible for the material presented in lectures and films when writing papers and exams. Your level of participation and understanding of the course material will be evaluated based on effective and active discussion of the texts and course topics, engaged listening, careful note taking and attendance.

2) Written Assignments and Exams

  • Politics of Location Paper: A short 2-3 page typed or word processed paper in which you will explore your own background as it relates to the politics of race, class, and gender. Given the nature of this assignment, you will receive points for completing these papers, but they will not be evaluated with a grade. However, the extent to which you complete this assignment thoughtfully and thoroughly will affect your final grade. It will be lowered if you fail to turn in this paper. DUE: Week 3. (5%)
  • Midterm Take Home Exam on Histories, Images, and Identities:. The purpose of this assignment is for you to think carefully about how women’s different histories and images have shaped their identities. You will draw on the readings, films and lectures from weeks 4 and 5 to discuss how historical occurrences helped to produce the images and identities of women. Your exam will need to be typed or word-processed. Questions will be handed out in class. Essays will be 3-4 pages in length. DUE: Week 6. (20%)
  • Final Take Home Exam: The purpose of this final written essay exam is to synthesize the material studied throughout the course and formulate an analysis to explain why women's situations in contemporary U.S. society are as they are. You will draw connections among some of the issues and ideas studied throughout the quarter to explain how women's lives are affected in different and similar ways. You will receive a handout in class. Essays will be 3-4 pages in length. DUE: on the scheduled final exam day. (20%)
  • In Class Terms and Concepts Quizzes: There will be two in class quizzes. You will receive study guides for each exam. (15%)

3) Weekly Reading Response/Seminar Preparation Papers/Portfolio: (20%)

Each week you will be responsible for writing and bringing to class a one-two page, double-spaced, typed/word-processed paper that follows the directions provided in the assignment hand-out. These papers will help to prepare you for our weekly seminars on the readings as well as help you to prepare for the take-home exams.Kept together, these papers will make up a portfolio that I will collect at the end of the quarter. For this reason you will want to keep your papers when I return them so that you can turn them in as a completed portfolio at the end of the quarter. NOTE: .5 will be subtracted from your portfolio grade for each missing paper. For example, a 3.0 Portfolio missing 2 papers will receive a grade of 2.0. This means that if you do not have your paper in class each week, you will lose .5 from your overall portfolio grade. No late papers will be accepted because the point of these papers is for you to have a basis for seminar discussions of the week's readings.

Extra Credit for Reading Portfolios: You may also receive extra credit for doing additional one page papers in which you write summaries and responses to activities and events announced in class. These may include public readings, plays, films, and lectures that pertain to the course and occur both on and off campus. Listen in class for announcements. Any of the Lectures in the Women's Center Lecture Series or the Crossroads Series on campus can be attended and written about for extra credit. You may also write summaries and responses to any of the Suggested Readings listed in the syllabus. Place these additional papers in a separate section at the end of your Reading Notebook. Limit:: No more than 5 extra credit notebook entries will be given extra credit.

Taking Notes: The material you will be responsible for learning in class will be presented in a variety of formats that include films, lectures, small group discussions, and sometimes guest lectures and panels. You should treat all of these as resources that you will draw on in writing your midterm exam and quizzes, just as you will the course readings. This means that you should take careful notes as you view the films and listen to the lectures. Information and interesting insights don’t only come from lectures and films but also from you and your experiences. The work done in women studies derives from the lived lives of women and men in society. Thus what your classmates have to say in class discussions will also be important to make note of. For help on taking notes effectively, please ask me.

Asking for Assistance: I want to make myself as available to you as possible to help you to succeed in this course. My office hours are for the purpose of providing you with any assistance you need in understanding the course material and requirements, as well as in articulating your ideas verbally and in writing. Please don’t hesitate to call or e-mail me, or to come by my office with any problems or concerns that arise during the quarter. You are encouraged--and it is your responsibility--to use my office hours and e-mail address if you have any questions or if you find yourself falling behind in your work for any reason, I am open to any suggestions you might have for improvement in all aspects of the course and will be asking for your feedback.

Student Responsibility: In addition to contacting me about problems or suggestions, it is your responsibility, as a member of a learning community, to work cooperatively with both myself and your classmates in and outside of the classroom. To this end, I encourage study groups outside of class so that you can continue discussions beyond the bounds of the classroom and also so you can help prepare yourselves and each other for the course assignments. Working cooperatively and respectfully in a learning community also means:

  • Coming to class on time and prepared
  • Participating in all class discussions and exercises
  • Calling or e-mailing the instructor if you must miss class and taking responsibility for finding out what you missed. This includes obtaining copies of notes, handouts, assignments, and changes
  • Turning off cell phones and pagers during class
  • Turning in all assignmentsduring class on the DUE date.
  • Talking with me if you miss more than three classes. Do not just disappear.
  • Listening attentively and respectfully to others.
  • Refraining from using artificial fragrances; sensitivity to chemicals can dramatically affect some people--NSCC has a fragrance-free policy to protect the health of faculty and students who are sensitive to chemicals in these products.
  • Tolerating and working through dissention in class discussions.
  • Becoming comfortable with ambiguity and complexity as you study course content and practice course skills.
  • Taking responsibility for your own progress which means asking questions as they arise and seeking help when the work feels too challenging or confusing

Since this is a 5 credit course, it is also your responsibility to devote a minimum of 15 hours a week to this class. Five of these hours will be spent in class which means that you would expect to do a minimum of 10 hours of studying, reading, and writing outside of class each week. The syllabus is designed with this in mind.

Course Outcomes and Learning Objectives: Completion of this course earns you credit toward the A.A. degree in the areas of Individuals and Society and/or U.S. Cultures. With this in mind, I have identified some general course outcomes and learning objectives that are important for you to work towards as you complete Women Studies 200.

Course Objectives: In completing this course you will

  • Understand and discuss how women’s lives are similarly and differently situated in U.S. history and society.
  • Think critically about how constructs of race, class, gender and sexuality have shaped women, men and society.
  • Understand that one’s own attitudes and beliefs are shaped by one’s own cultural, ethnic, and racial heritage, by gender, by age, by sexual orientation, and by abilities. (i.e. by one’s Politics of Location)
  • Gain knowledge of the methods and concepts in Women Studies across the disciplines.
  • Discover the value of interdisciplinary writing, research and methods.
  • Recognize and be able to articulate the competing and divergent perspectives on issues relevant to women’s lives.
  • Attain and improve comprehension and critical thinking skills in reading, writing, and communication.
  • Demonstrate a willingness to learn from many cultures, persons, methods and viewpoints by being actively involved in a learning community that includes people similar and different than you.

Weekly Schedule: Topics and Assigned Readings

Week 1 (April 1-3) Course Introduction

TuesdayCourse Introduction-- Laying the Ground Work: Why Women Studies?

What is Women Studies?—It’s history, purposes and objectives

What’s in a Seminar?

FilmBrandon and Rachel

ThursdayRace, Class, and Gender: Tools for Building Feminist Knowledge

READ“Why Race, Class, and Gender Still Matter” by Margaret Andersen and Patricia Hill Collins (Handout)

“Gender Through the Prism of Difference”(Handout)

“Systems of Power and Inequality” (Handout)

Video: Women’s Rights: Finding A Voice

First Seminar Preparation Paper Due

Week 2 (April 8-10)Intersections of Difference & Politics of Location

Tuesday Politics of Location: How the Workings of Privilege and Oppression Shape Our Lives

READMarilyn Frye in RCG, pp. 48-51—there will be a handout to supplement article!

June Jordan in RCG, pp. 35-44

Cherrie Moraga in RCG, pp. 28-35

Introduce Politics of Location and writing assignment

ThursdayPolitics of Location—More on how gender, race, and class differences matter

READPeggy McIntosh in RCG, pp. 103-110

Audre Lorde in RCG, pp. 64-71

Scott Russell Sanders, “The Men We Carry in Our Minds” in Course Reader

Seminar discussion of week's readings and the following questions:

  • Why is the concept of intersectionality so important in understanding men’s and women’s lives?
  • What is a matrix of domination and how and why is thisa useful concept?
  • What does it mean to “shift the center” and why is this important?
  • How is oppression defined by Frye? In what ways is her definition useful and in what ways not?
  • How is privilege defined and why does understanding privilege matter?
  • What have you discovered about yourself and about our society in reading these articles about privilege and oppression?
  • How have the experiences of these writers been shaped by societal constructions of race, class, and gender? What do they discover about these factors in shaping their experiences and relationships?

Second Seminar Preparation paper due

Week 3 (April 15-17) Multiple Histories and Identities I

TuesdayNo Class—Work on Politics of Location Paper and read for Thursday

ThursdayThe Role of Histories and Images in Shaping Women's Lives and Identities:

READBarbara Welter, “The Cult of True Womanhood” in Course Reader

Patricia Hill Collins, "Mammies, Matriarchs and Other Controlling Images" in Course Reader

Bonnie Thornton Dill in RCG, pp. 266-280

Angela Davis, Chapters 1 of Women, Race and Class in Course Reader

Film: Ethnic Notions

Politics of Location paper due

Week 4 (April 22-24) Multiple Histories and Identities II (continued)

TuesdayHistorical Forces andImages affecting American Indian and Asian American Women

READPaula Gunn Allen in RCG, pp. 44-48

Matthew Snipp in RCG, pp. 354-361

Rayna Green, "The Pocahontas Perplex: The Image of Indian Women in American Culture", in Course Reader

Yen Le Espiritu in RCG, pp. 175-184

“A Woman Centered Perspective on Asian American History” in Course Reader

Film: Slaying the Dragon

Discuss Take Home Exam

ThursdayImages of Islamic, Arab and Jewish Women

ReadAbby L. Ferber in RCG, pp. 117-121

Sharif and Collier in Course Reader

Film: Orientalism

Seminar Discussion of readings, films, and the following questions from weeks 3 and 4- Histories and Identities:

  • What is a controlling image?
  • What is either/or thinking and why is it important?
  • What is a dual image? Is there a dual image for the "true woman"? What is it?
  • How do we know that the "true woman" image is based on European and upper class women?
  • What is the relationship between the "true woman" image and the images of Black women? How did the former work to construct the "mammy" and ""matriarch" images?
  • What historical forces produced these images of Black women according to Davis and to the film? What purposes did these images serve in relation to slavery and since that time?
  • Is this "true woman" image still found in contemporary American representations? What about the images of Black men and women--the "mammy", "matriarch", "sambo"? Where do you find them and what effects do they have?
  • What are the images of Native American women and Asian American women that you have read about and seen in the film?
  • What are the historical forces/events that have shaped the histories and lives of American Indian and Asian American women?
  • What purposes did the images serve in relation to these historical forces?
  • Are these images still in existence today? Where might you find them?

Third Seminar Preparation paper due on readings from Weeks 3 and 4