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Instructor: Janni Aragon janniaragon@janniaragon.com
Office: AH 3175
OH: Tues 4-5 PM
Mailbox: AH 3178
Course Overview
Required Reading
Course Requirements
Schedule: Topics and Readings
Official Business
Sex, Power and Politics. How are these three terms related? What is feminist politics? In this course, we will answer these questions and many others. The course readings and ensuing discussion reflect the diversity within feminist theories and feminist politics. Students will learn about the relationship between women, power and politics. Part of the course will focus on the particulars of the feminist movement(s), including, but not necessarily limited to: the various types of feminisms, political processes, disability, issues of race, sexual orientation and technology in the US and in other countries. Each week we will pay particular attention to the following questions: What constitutes politics? How do politics influence women’s lives? What is activism?
**For the Summer Term this class is set up in lecture and discussion format. We will meet for nearly 4 hours. We will have discussion time and you can expect to break into groups to facilitate engaging discussion.**
Cohen, Cathy, Kathy Jones and Joan Tronto, eds. 1997. Women Transforming Politics: An Alternative Reader. New York: New York University Press. (WTP)Findlen, Barbara. Listen Up: Voices From the Next Feminist Generation. Seal Press. (LU)
hooks, bell. 2000. Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center. 2nd ed. Cambridge: South End Press. (FT)
You will need to read one recent (last six months)
issue of Off our Backs, Bust, Bitch or Ms. Magazine (can be purchased at
Obelisk bookstore on University Ave in the Hillcrest community, Border’s
in Mission Valley West or Barnes and Noble in the Hazard Ctr). The Love
Library also subscribes to some of these magazines.
You will also need to read another zine held in the Love Library's Special Collection.
Course reader:
There are web links included in the syllabi.
The web links, readings, lectures, and videos constitute the testable material
for the examinations and papers.
Participation 10%
Mid-Term 25%
Final
25%
Papers
30% (15% x 2)
Presentation 10%
Guest Speakers:
Periodically we will have invited guest speakers from
the local San Diego Community.
Examinations:
There will be two examinations in the course- a midterm
and final examination. They are essay in nature and will draw from lectures,
reading and course discussion. Please bring “Blue Books” on the scheduled
dates. The Final Exam will be a comprehensive take home exam.
Papers:
Students will write two, 5+ page papers, based on the
readings and course discussion. The instructor will facilitate the choice
of paper topics by presenting questions raised by the readings. A handout
explaining the exact requirements of the papers will be distributed. One
paper will be a zine theme related paper. .
Group Presentation:
Students will facilitate a discussion during the term.
Groups of 4-5 students will collaborate on leading the class discussion
for a reading. You have some creative license with your presentation- consult
with the instructor. There will be no student presentations on August 5th
Week 1, May 27th Course Introduction, Review Syllabi, introduction, group discussion, and lecture
Dear Sisters-- Read entire section
Cohen, Jones and Tronto, "Introduction" WTP
Echols "Nothing Distant About It: Women's Liberation and Sixties Radicalism" WTP, Ch 27
Minkoff, "Organizational Mobilizations, Institutional Access, and Institutional Change" WTP, Ch 28
www.vfa.us Veteran Feminists of America
http://frank.mtsu.edu/~kmiddlet/history/women/wh-digcoll.html
American Women's History--Digital Collections
Week 2, June 3rd Feminisms and Women's Studies as Political
Radical Feminism-- Read entire section
No Turning Back-- "Gender Power"17-42
"Jones and Jones, "Women of Color in the Eighties: A Profile Based on Census Data" WTP, Ch 1
www.nwhp.org National Women's History Project
www.whrp.net Women's History Reclamation Project
Group Discussion: I Spy Sexism & I Spy Women's Equality
Week 3, June 10th Feminist Politics and Activism within the Reality
of Mainstream Politics
Hardy-Fanta, "Latina Women and Political Consciousness: La Chispa Que Prende" WTP, Ch 13
Sen, "Winning Action for Gendered Equity: A Plan for Organizing Communities of Color" WTP, Ch 18
Pohl, "Ritual and Sacrifice at Tailhook '91: A Documentary, Exhibition & Political Action" WTP, Ch 15
http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~cawp/ Center for American Women and Politics
http://depts.washington.edu/cwd/links.shtml Center for Women and Democracy
Week 4, June 17th Organizing and Movement Building
Junn, "Assimilating or Coloring Participation? Gender, Race & Democratic Political Participation", WTP, Ch 22
Crow, "Relative Privilege? Reconsidering White Women's Participation in Municipal Politics" WTP, Ch 25
Alex-Assensoh & Karin Stanford, "Gender Participation, and the Black Urban Underclass" WTP, Ch 23
Cruz Takash, "Breaking Barriers to Representation: Chicana/Latina Elected Officials in CA" WTP, Ch 24
www.feminist.com Feminist.com
http://www.ncrw.org/ National Council for Research on Women
Extra Credit: Saturday, June 21st, Kickoff Event for Revolution
Summer, World Beat Center at Balboa Park 11-2. Check in at the event with
Prof. Aragon
Week 5, June 24th Feminist Viewpoints: Criticism, Constructive Comments and Action
Revelations: Exposing the Radical Right
Hooks- read both prefaces through Ch 6
Crenshaw, "Beyond Racism and Misogyny: Black Feminism and 2 Live Crew" WTP, Ch 32
Gilbert-Levin, "Class Feminist" LU
Miles, "On the Rag" LU
Papers due
www.iwpr.org Institute for Women's Policy Research
www.feminist.org Feminist Majority Foundation
Week 6, July 1st Feminist Reactions: Reactionary Politics and Reacting
to Politics
Hooks- read Ch 7-12
Banet-Weiser, "Fade to White: Racial Politics & the Troubled Reign of Vanessa Williams" WTP, Ch 10
Chambers, "Betrayal Feminism" LU
Walker, "Why I fight Back" LU
Mid-Term
www.sexingthepolitical.com Sexing the Political
www.thirdspace.com Third Space
www.grrrlzines.net Grrrl Zines (Lady and Trans Zines, too)- Elke Zobl
Week 7, July 8th Women's Bodies: Sites of Resistance
Roth, "Women, Work, and the Politics of Fetal Rights" WTP, Ch 5
Shende, "Fighting the Violence Against Our Sisters: Prosecution of Pregnant Women and the Coercive Use of Norplant" WTP, Ch 7
Crews, "And So I Chose" LU
Gilbert, "You're Not the Type" LU
Gore, "Isolated-Connected" LU
http://www.win-cawa.org/cawa/ California Women's Agenda
www.hipmama.com Hip Mama
Week 8, July 15th Activist Politics in Practice
Badgett, "The Wage Effects of Sexual Discrimination" WTP, Ch 6
Densham, "The Marginalized Uses of Power and Identity: Lesbians' Participation in Breast Cancer and AIDS Activism" WTP, Ch 17
Findlen, "Introduction" LU
Lee, "Beyond Bean Counting" LU
http://w3.arizona.edu/~sirow/ Southwest Institute for Research on Women
San Diego Radical Cheerleaders
Week 9, July 22nd Feminist Identities: Multiplicity of Feminisms
Habell-Pallan, "No Cultural Icon: Marisela Norte" WTP, Ch 15
Benmayor and Torruellas, "Education, Cultural Rights, and Citizenship" WTP, Ch 11
Kwong, American Sweatshops 1980s Style: Chinese Women Garment Workers" WTP, Ch 4
Shah, "Presenting the Blue Goddess: Toward a national Pan-Asian Feminist Agenda" WTP, Ch 33
Curry-Johnson, "Weaving and Identity Tapestry" LU
Fernandez, "Bringing Feminism a la Casa" LU
http://latino.sscnet.ucla.edu/women/latinawebs.html Latina/Chicana Websites
Week 10, July 29th Feminist Activism(s) and the Grrrl Revolution
Sittenfeld, "Your Life As a Girl" LU
Muscio, "Abortion, Vacuum Cleaners and the Power Within" LU
Lamm, "It's a Big Fat Revolution" LU
McCarry, "Selling Out" LU
http://www.theshecollective.org S/he Collective
www.thirdwavefoundation.com Third Wave Foundation
www.ladyfest.org Ladyfest
Week 11, Aug 5th Feminisms
Richards, "The Immaculate Conception" LU
Higginbotham, "Chicks Goin' At It" LU
Smith, "This Place Called Home"
www.guerillagirls.com Guerilla Girls
The Future of Feminism
Week 12, Aug 12th Women and Future Practices
Neuborne, "Imagine My Surprise" LU
Rangel, "Knowledge is Power" LU
Silverstein, "Taking It to the Streets" LU
Sampaio Aragon "'To Boldly Go (Where No Man Has Gone Before)': Women and Politics in Cyberspace" http://www.urbsoc.org/cyberpol/annjan.shtml
http://www.umbc.edu/cwit/ Center for Women and Information Technology
www.digressonline.com Digress Magazine
Papers due by 5pm on Friday, August 15th
Week 13, Aug 19th Global Politics are Local Politics for Women and Other Activists
Petchesky, "Spiraling Discourses of Reproductive and Sexual rights: A Post-Beijing Assessment of International Feminist Politics" WTP, Ch 33
Freedman, "No Turning Back"
Shroud of Silence
www.codepink.com Code Pink
Final Exams due in class or via email by midnight on Friday, August 22nd
Extra Credit: Saturday, August 23rd, S/he Collective Festival. Attendance
for two hours or more can make up one absence or help your participation
grade. Check in at registration or with Prof. Aragon at the event.
The assignment of letter grades is as follows:
A+ = 97-100 B+ = 87-89 C+ = 77-79 D+ = 67-69
F = < 60
A = 94-96 B = 84-86 C
= 74-76 D = 64-66 No curves
A- = 90-93 B- = 80-83 C- = 70-73 D- = 60-63
No rounding
Communication:
Place WS 375 or 375 in the subject heading of any email
communication sent to the instructor. Email Etiquette or "netiquette"~
Email communication should be treated as office hours consultation and
treated as thoughtful communication. Review the syllabi and save your emails
for the term. If you email the professor, you can expect a response within
24 hours.
It is the students’ responsibility to add, drop, or withdraw
from the course adhering to the university deadlines. In addition, if arrangements
need to be made regarding the accommodation of a disability, please see
me as soon as possible
Participation
Participation is necessary in this course. Attendance
is an integral part of this class; therefore, roll will be taken after
the break. In order to obtain full credit for the week’s participation,
you must be present when roll is taken. Please do not disrupt the class
with late arrival. Normally, absences are not excusable and late work is
NOT accepted, however in instances of verifiable illness or family emergencies
some exceptions can be made with a doctor's note or accident report. No
early exams are given. The instructor reserves the right to use any combination
of multiple-choice, identifications and essay for each exam.
All assignments are due during class unless otherwise noted. Assignments turned in late will be docked points accordingly. If you turn an assignment in to my mailbox after our class meeting, it is considered late. My mailbox is in the faculty mailroom located in Adams Humanities 3178. Students can always turn assignments in early. Please note that if you send me an email attachment, you should verify receipt of the document.
All assignments are to be typed, double-spaced, with one-inch
margins throughout and stapled in the left-hand corner. I will not grade
assignments that are sent in the body of an email. You should familiarize
yourself with sending Word or RTF attachments. Please do NOT use folders,
binders or paperclips. The instructor expects the student to use MLA citation
for the papers. Violations of academic integrity will be reported to the
university disciplinary office. This includes "recycling papers" from other
courses or students, purchasing papers on-line or from other paper brokers,
plagiarizing and other forms of academic dishonesty.
Extra Credit
Extra Credit opportunities are available during the term.
These are typically related to guest speakers on campus or in the community.
I will announce these, as the date(s) approach. Students can only take
part in two of the 4-5 activities or earn up to 10 points. More information
will follow during lecture(s).
Disclaimer: The instructor reserves the right to
alter the Course Calendar at any time without prior notice.