week 1 – introduction to women’s studies and feminism

This course is meant to introduce you to the fundamental theories and issues related to Women’s Studies. After reading this topic introduction, you will complete the selected readings listed and then complete your chapter summary on the Blackboard discussion board.

Women’s Studies is a way to look at the social construction of gender. What does it mean to be a woman in today’s society? Women’s Studies is “offering to more and more women [and men] a new intellectual grasp on their lives, new understanding of our history, a fresh vision of the human experience, and also a critical basis for evaluating what they hear and read in other courses, and in the society at large.” (Rich, “Claiming an Education”, WVFW, p.23) I hope many of you decide to take further Women’s Studies courses. As we focus on topics, I will highlight other WOST courses available at IPFW you may wish to explore.

Central to the discipline of Women’s Studies is the concept of feminism. One of the Women’s Studies program goals is “[t]o analyze academic disciplines from a feminist and antiracist perspective.” Our studies will involve looking at the world through the lens of feminism.

Merriam-Webster defines feminism as:

1 : the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes 2 : organized activity on behalf of women’s rights and interests

Feminist
Originally uploaded by acoustic_punk_sound

We will cover various definitions of the term throughout the course. My goal is not to have students leave the class as feminists, but rather with a balanced view of the theories and principles of feminism. Feminism has a bad reputation, and many who agree with its principles refuse to claim the label.

We are first introduced to ‘waves’ of the feminist movement in the first chapter. The following ‘Women’s Liberation Manifesto’ highlights some of the primary concerns of feminism and the rights we are working towards. Its roots are from the Second Wave – the 1960s and 1970s. While First Wave feminism focused largely on changing laws, like winning suffrage (the right to vote); Second Wave feminism focused on seeing the personal as political and reevaluating society’s influence on how women are treated. While Second Wave feminism saw measurable gains, such as the Equal Pay Act and the Civil Rights Act, the battle was far from over. How much have things really changed? How much progress has been made? Pay close attention to the readings, especially those by Baumgardner & Richards, Walker, and Quindlen, for the answers.

Image courtesy of the NOW store

Women’s Studies is an interdisciplinary study. That is, it refocuses information covered in other courses of study and evaluates its effects on women. One of the major ideas of feminism is patriarchy, a strange, old-fashioned sounding word used to describe male centered societies. Our textbook defines patriarchy as “a system where men dominate because power and authority are in the hands of adult men.” (Chapter 1 introduction, WVFV, p.4) I really like Allan G. Johnson’s (an adult man) explanation of patriarchy in his book “The Gender Knot” (1997):

“What is patriarchy? A society is patriarchal to the degree that it is male-dominated, male-identified, and male-centered. It also involves as one of its key aspects the oppression of women. Patriarchy is male-dominated in that positions of authority – political, economic, legal, religious, educational, military, domestic – are generally reserved for men. Heads of state, corporate CEOs and board members, religious leaders, school principals, members of legislatures at all levels of government, senior law partners, tenured full professors, generals and admirals, and even those identified as “head of household” all tend to be male under patriarchy. When a woman finds her way into such positions, people tend to be struck by the exception to the rule, and wonder how she’ll measure up against a man in the same position. It’s a test we rarely apply to men (“I wonder if he’ll be as good a president as a woman would be”) except, perhaps, on those rare occasions when men venture into the devalued domestic and other “caring” work most women do. Even then, men’s failure to measure up can be interpreted as a sign of superiority, a trained incapacity that actually protects their privileged status (“You change the diaper, I’m no good at that sort of thing”).” (p. 5)

Please remember to note any part of the readings you did not understand. If a term or concept is broached with which you are unfamiliar, it’s likely others are also wondering about it. Ask questions! It’s how we learn. You will be graded as to how you apply the information gained from your readings, so you’ll want to make sure you have the correct understanding.

Chapter 1 readings

Please complete all of the assigned readings before posting your reading reaction.

Textbook readings:

• Chapter 1 introduction, Women’s Voices, Feminist Visions (WVFV), 3rd ed: p.1-21; 4th ed.: p.1-24
  Please note that chapter introductions will not always be required reading, but there is a lot of essential information in these pages – especially for chapters 1 & 2. This is not to be missed.
• Reading 2 “A Day Without Feminism”, Baumgardner & Richards, 3rd ed.: p.25-28; 4th ed.: p.28-31
• Reading 4 “Feminist Politics: Where We Stand”, hooks,  3rd ed.: p.41-44; 4th ed.: p.40-42
• Reading 5 “We Are Using This Power to Resist”, Walker, 3rd ed.: p.44-48; 4th ed.: p.43-46
• Reading 6 “The Global Stage and the Politics of Location”, Freedman, 3rd ed.: p.48-55; 4th ed.: p.47-53
• Reading 7 “Denials of Inequality”, Rhode, 3rd ed.: p.55-56; 4th ed.: p.54-55

Supplemental readings:

• “Girl, Unreconstructed: Why Girl Power Is Bad for Feminism”, Fudge, pp.155-161, from BITCHfest: Ten Years of Cultural Criticism from the Pages of Bitch Magazine, Lisa Jervis & Andi Zeisler, eds., 2006. (See “chap 1 article” in Blackboard).
• The F Word, Traister, http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2005/07/05/f_word/index.html
  Note: To read Salon articles for free, you must watch an ad and then click “Enter Salon” to read the entire article
• “Future of Feminism“, Talk of the Nation, NPR.  (46 minutes)  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1111971 [Click on ")) Real Media" to listen]
• “Feminism Survey: Men on the Street”, uploaded by TrixieFilms, http://youtube.com/watch?v=3pdbnzFUsXI

Chapter 1 summary

Please complete your chapter summary in Blackboard.

On the class blog there are weekly assigned readings from each chapter and supplemental online materials.  Link to each week’s readings from http://wostprof.wordpress.com/ OR in Blackboard under the weekly discussion boards.  You will write a summary in Blackboard each week over what you have studied.  There is a separate discussion board for each chapter.

On the class blog there are weekly assigned readings from each chapter and supplemental online materials. You will write a summary in Blackboard over what you have studied.  There is a separate discussion board for each chapter.   Pretend like you are summarizing what you have read/watched for a friend who isn’t familiar with the subject. What would you tell them?   You must refer to specific readings (at least 3 textbook readings, and at least 3 supplemental references are required) so your “friend” would know which item on the reading list to which you’re referring.  You will cite the material, include a summary of its main points in your own words (minimum 75 word summary per article/video), and a reflection on what you learned by reading/viewing/hearing it (minimum 50 word summary per article/video).  I have posted examples for the first week – please use them as a guide.

As with all of your work in any college course, you must use complete sentences, proper punctuation and grammar; and edit / proofread your work.

Please make sure you have read How to Summarize and the plagiarism handout in Blackboard before completing this assignment.

Summaries are generally due on Tuesdays, with some variation due to the IPFW holiday schedule.

Chapter 1 replies

You must reply to at least two of your classmates’ summaries on each weekly Blackboard discussion board and reflect on what they’ve said. Use these replies to pick up on an interesting point someone else has written. Your goal is not to agree or disagree, but rather to create and continue a conversation. The things you learn from others in the course may be the most valuable things you walk away with. This is not a time to simply critique your classmates or argue with their point of view.

Use replies to focus more on how the material made you feel and what you thought about it. What did you think at the time when you read the assigned material? How do you feel a few days later, after reading others’ thoughts? Keep the week’s readings in mind when composing your responses. Your two replies must be 100 words minimum each.

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