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Introduction to Women's Studies.
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FILE assignments
due W 9/1: FILE assignment: What is feminism? Who, what is a feminist? Using Treichler handout as well as dictionaries, encyclopedias, and/or the Web, find multiple definitions for feminism and feminist. Write these definitions down, cite your sources, and bring them to class. Write a 1-2 page (typed) discussion of the definition(s) of “Feminism.” What patterns do you see? Where are there contradictions? Which definitions make the most sense to you, and why? Can we speak of “feminism” in the singular, at all? Incorporate quotes in your response, and cite them properly.
due M 9/6: FILE assignment: Your life as a girl. After reading Sittenfeld’s essay (“Your Life as a Girl,” in Listen Up), try your hand at writing a similar one in which you attempt to convey what life is like for girls. As Sittenfeld did, use the second person (“you”) throughout. You may draw on your own life experiences, or weave together a range of experiences of girls you know or have known for your details.
due W 10/13: FILE assignment: Gender and work/family. This assignment has three steps: <1> Select an occupation/career track to research, one that you may wish to pursue, yourself (i.e., doctor, teacher, artist, stock-broker, astronaut). Using the most current government data available, determine the sex distribution for your occupation. Then, determine the difference in median weekly earnings between women and men in this occupational category. A very useful source here is Median Weekly Earnings of Full-Time Wage and Salary Workers by Detailed Occupation and Sex, online at http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat39.pdf. You may have to resort to general categories close to your desired occupation. For example, since there’s no separate category for professors by field of specialization, we’d use the category “Postsecondary teachers” (under Education, training, and library occupations) and find this profession was 428/874 female (49.0%) and 446/874 male (51.0%) in 2009. We’d learn that in 2009, the median weekly earnings for women in this category were $1030 and for men $1342. Women’s earnings, then, are 76.8% of men’s in this category. (Note: try also the May 2009 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates, United States, online at http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm. These data are broken down by major occupational groups but not by sex. Professors would look under the heading Education, training, and library occupations, and one of us might find it relevant that the mean annual wages for Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary, is $75,130, which would presumably put the weekly median for this profession at $1387.) There are also some promising sources under “Male-Female Income Disparity in the United States,” Wikipedia (online at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Male%E2%80%93female_income_disparity_in_the_United_States). You are of course free to find different sources as well. <2> Briefly interview at least two fellow college students (at least one male and one female) regarding their future work and family expectations (questions can include, but are not limited to, expectations regarding marriage, children/child-rearing, household responsibilities, career goals, salary, etc.). Take notes on what they say. Ask follow-up questions. Note: they do not have to be H&WS students. <3> In a 1-2-page typed report, summarize your findings for these two questions. What statistics did you uncover about your possible career track, and how do you respond to these figures? How would you characterize your interviewees’ career and family goals, and how do you respond to what you learned? Given what you’ve learned from readings and research, do your peers’ expectations seem realistic? Are their expectations guided by traditional family arrangements? As you discuss these items, feel free to draw comparisons or contrasts to your own work and family expectations. Also be sure to cite all your sources (web, readings, and interviews).
due W 10/27: FILE assignment: “reproduction” encompasses a range of other issues: abortion ... birth control ... reproductive technologies ... Viagra ... infertility ... adoption ... family planning, etc. Using the internet (Google is fine), spend some time surfing to discover the most contemporary news and activity surrounding the politics of reproduction. Pay close attention to which organizations are posting the information, and contextualize the “facts” you read: how reliable / balanced are they? As you read, make note of especially helpful websites, and try to keep in mind most of these questions:
As you read, jot down some responses to the questions above, and then generate a Top Ten List of what you consider to be the most pressing/important contemporary issues related to the politics of reproduction today. Bring this list to class Wednesday, with a short bibliography of useful websites at the end.
due W 11/10: FILE assignment: a discussion of Atwood’s “Unpopular Gals.” Which fairy tales are you familiar with, and what do they teach children about gender roles? In each of the three sections of “Unpopular Gals,” Margaret Atwood is adopting the voice of a particular type (or archetype) of fairy tale character. Choose one of these sections to focus on: do you recognize which type of character she is describing? Why does Atwood want us to consider these “unpopular gals” with more empathy? Discuss whether the perspective she presents causes you to think differently about gender, violence, and/or patriarchy.
due W 12/1: FILE assignment: In A Room of One’s Own, Virginia Woolf (writing in early 20th-century England) argues that certain conditions must be met in order for women to be able to devote themselves to writing. In a 1-2 page (typed) essay, identify what conditions Woolf sees as crucial to women’s creative literary pursuits, and then consider to what extent Sei Shōnagon (writing in late 10th-century Japan) meets these conditions, as suggested by evidence in The Pillow Book. Do the two writers have much in common? Do you think that Woolf’s argument is viable?
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