Films
Required (in bold) and recommended films will regularly be screened in Room 2 on Tuesdays (specific dates below). Additionally, weekly films will be screened at the Women's Center on Sunday nights at 8 p.m., and are available on reserve for individual viewing.
*Because of a holiday the week of 2/20, Girls Like Us must be viewed outside class time at either the Women's Center or individually at the library.

I. Graded Writing Assignments
1/29 Topics distributed for Paper #1 (6-8 pp)
2/5      Paper #1 due BEFORE CLASS BEGINS
2/26 Topics distributed for Paper #2 (6-8 pp)
3/5 Paper #2 due BEFORE CLASS BEGINS
3/14 Final paper topics distributed (Identifications plus 10-12 page essay)
3/22  Final papers due in History Dept. office by noon

III. Ungraded writing assignments (must be handed in ON TIME for credit):
A. Two-page weekly responses to required reading, films, and WEB links due to section leader before section, starting week of 1/15.

B.  Small groups

Some tips for graded papers:

Weekly Reading/Film Responses
(two pages, required but not graded)

Procedures:
Each week please hand in up to two printed pages (highly legible handwriting is acceptable) in preparation for the discussion of assignments. Although your writing does not have to be as formal as a graded essay, it should be clear prose and not simply notes, and you should proofread for grammar, typos, and spelling. Section leaders will point out any writing problems so that you can get help if necessary. Think of these responses as training exercises for your graded papers; the more thought you put into processing the week's assignment now, the easier it will be to write a good paper.

If you have to miss a section because of illness or other emergency, in addition to notifying your section leader, you are required to hand in your reading/film response before the next section meeting so that you do not fall behind. If illness or another emergency prevents you from attending more than one section during the quarter, you should prepare a 3-5 page formal reading analysis in consultation with the instructor so that your grade will not be affected by the additional excused absence. All unexcused absences will affect your grade negatively, but submitting a 3-5 page formal reading analysis within a week will mitigate the effect. More than one unexcused absence is not permitted (in other words, you probably will not pass the course).

Nature of the Sources:
This course includes a variety of reading and viewing assignments that require you to glean the highlights from each and assess different kinds of sources. In the first section meeting you will discuss the distinction between primary and secondary sources. The required primary sources are usually historical documents that provide evidence about past ideas and lives. Most of them are in Women Imagine Change; a few appear in the Course Reader or on the Web. We also read two novels (Emecheta and Piercy) and a Virginia Woolf essay that can be considered as primary sources. Use these documents in section to illustrate themes in lectures or other readings, and in the papers you write to document your historical arguments. The secondary sources, largely in the Course Reader, present scholarly arguments that help explain the issues raised in lectures. Films can provide both primary documentation and historical interpretations. Although we provide abundant recommended web links, please use the required reading, films, and web links for your section discussion, weekly responses, and papers. Feel free to share your Web browsing finds in small group.

Suggested content for responses:

Small Groups: Initial Instructions

Small groups are intended to encourage peer discussion of the issues raised by the class.  They are based on the belief that exploring both common and differing personal responses to the ideas raised in class can broaden our base of knowledge and break down resistance to learning new ideas.  Students will receive a handout on how to run small groups (also available on the course WEB page)

Groups of no more than five students each (randomly assigned) will meet weekly at least eight times during the quarter. Each session should last approximately one and a half hours (minimum one hour, maximum two hours).  Since we do not have lectures on Tuesdays at 1:15, this is one suggested time for meeting; in the past some groups have met after class, or in the evenings or on weekends.  Groups meeting on Tuesday should have a back-up time for 2/20, a lecture class.

Group lists will circulate at the third class meeting (1/17) and members will meet briefly to identify themselves and set up an initial meeting time and place.  Please coordinate schedules and find a permanent, regular meeting time when ALL members can attend. From past experience, it is important not to shift meeting times.  The most successful groups included members who were committed to the time slot and to being ON TIME for each meeting.  It is extremely disrespectful to other students to come late to a small group meeting. You can meet in a dorm room or reserved lounge area, an unused classroom, or off campus.  Past experience suggests that it is not a good idea to meet in a public place like the Coffee House or a restaurant, or a well-traveled lounge.

If there are initial scheduling problems in a group, changes can be made ONLY BEFORE JANUARY 23.  Please notify the instructors about problems; we will try to accommodate any shifts before the next class. Please do not ask to change groups in order to be in a group with a friend or house mate.  Student feedback has suggested that it is better not to know other group members well already.

The first meeting should take place by January 23 and the last scheduled meeting by March 13.  To receive credit for this course you must participate in at least eight small group meetings.  In case of medical or family emergency, please contact a group member and report your absence to your T.A.  Please inform the teaching staff if any group is having a problem about attendance or scheduling.  We will have mid-course written evaluations of small groups (due 2/9), which will include a small “action project” the group agrees to complete by the end of the quarter (e.g., a field trip to an exhibit or event related to the course, writing a letter to the editor of a newspaper, volunteering together at a relevant organization)--something that arises from discussions as a possible group action.

Once your group has formed, here are some guidelines for running it:

Process:

At the first group meeting, the following format is strongly recommended (based on prior student evaluations): each student should have 5-10 minutes of uninterrupted time to introduce her/himself, stating something about personal background and motivations for taking the course, responses to feminism, or concerns about the subject matter. After each student has spoken, the group members can ask questions or respond. At subsequent sessions, the group can decide whether to follow the uninterrupted time format or to open to general discussion. In either case, it is a good idea to appoint a different member as time-keeper for each session, to keep others to the limit and/or to keep track of how long the group runs.

It is the responsibility of all group members to try to assure equal time for each member to speak. Listening is as important as speaking in the group. Practice attentive listening at the first meeting. If some students are more vocal and others more quiet, use the uninterrupted time to start off each week to encourage participation. The group might want to discuss the dynamics of participation if anyone feels that conversation is too weighted towards certain speakers, topics, or points of view. Each group should devote part of one session (in early February) to an evaluation of group process. A one page mid-term evaluation of the group, with an action project plan, is due by Feb. 9.

Confidentiality and Content:

Small groups must be respectful of confidentiality. No one is required to reveal personal thoughts or experiences--only share what you are comfortable sharing. At the first session, each group should establish a rule of confidentiality, that is, that any information that is shared remains within the group unless the speaker gives permission to repeat it outside the group.

Small groups provide a space to talk with peers, away from faculty, about the personal issues raised by this course. Although groups are not intended to analyze readings per se--that task will be covered in sections--students are encouraged to refer to readings, lectures, and films in their discussions. In groups, your own experiences, whether in families, schools, or work places, can be discussed to the extent that you are comfortable doing so.

Your group can generate its own topics for discussion, or you can use questions raised in lecture or section. The instructors will sometimes make suggestions for possible small group topics; others are listed below. In the past, some groups have used responses to newspaper articles or events on campus to stimulate discussion. Others have told parts of their life stories as they relate to that week's topic in class. Many students report that groups allowed them to see the ways that their responses to the issues raised in class were similar, or different, from those of other students. Respect for different cultural backgrounds and life experiences is, of course, critical to small group process.

Assignments:

Only one set of readings is required for small groups (Allen "Free Space," Peslikis, "Resistance to CR", and Uttal, "Nods That Silence," in RDR and listed on syllabus after 1/17). These short essays should be completed before the first meeting to give a sense of the process and issues raised by small group discussions.

Each student is required to submit a 5 page (ungraded) paper reviewing each meeting of the small group and the overall experience. The paper is due on the last day of class, March 14. To prepare for writing this paper, I strongly recommend that each student keep a journal or a set of notes about each meeting, preferably written soon after the session. A few paragraphs each week on what you learned from the experience, from others, and how this learning related to the lectures, readings, and films, will provide the bulk of your evaluation paper, along with overall reflections on the group process. Specific guidelines for the paper will be distributed in class at the end of November. Keeping a journal will allow this paper to write itself for the most part; students have reported that it is critical to record your reflections each week.

If you have questions about small group, bring them up with the instructors. You may also raise questions about small group process in the group, especially when you do your mid-quarter evaluations of the group.

Suggested Discussion Topics

The following list suggests some possible topics, geared to course issues, that you might use at the first or subsequent meetings. They are not required topics; the group can generate ideas from course materials and events in the world. Feel free to select questions from different weeks if they come up for your group sooner. You can start out by sharing thoughts on the reading (3 essays in RDR). For Part I and Part II:

1. What kind of gender socialization did you experience in your family (models, training, warnings, etc.)? Any differences between male and female siblings? What gender roles did you observe in your family and community? How do you feel about terms like: feminist, girls/women, radical, or others that came up in definitions or class?

2. How do you think that your race, class, ethnicity, or religious training influence your gender identity? How does the combination affect your response to what you are learning? What connections do you see between race and gender in your lives?

3. Have you ever had an experience of "unlearning" racism, homophobia, or other forms of discrimination, that is, when your preconceptions about others, or yourself, have been changed by new information or experience? How does exposure to international feminisms influence your approach to course materials?

4. Work & Social Welfare. What kinds of work experiences have you had, in the family and the paid labor sphere, and what have you experienced in terms of gender expectations and opportunities? How does your gender make a difference in your future work and family goals? What kind of an action project might your group take on, something that is not time consuming but that puts your learning into practice in some way. How is your small group operating? One page signed evaluation with project required.

• Name one or more things you like about your body.
• What would you do if you [or your partner] were pregnant right now? (Under what conditions would that be possible, what options would you face, who could you ask for help in your decision? What personal and social support would could you draw on, what social policies would you want in place? What if any impact does your study of gender and feminism have on this scenario?)
• How do you think your family would respond if you told them you were gay, lesbian, bisexual, or queer-identified? How would you respond to their response? How do you think your friends would respond? How does your study of gender and feminism affect your responses?

Week 7: Sex & Violence. How do you respond to cultural images of sexuality and violence? Bring copies of advertisements from popular magazines for men or women from 20 years ago and from today and compare them. How have you or those you know encountered/resisted sexual violence? What survival skills have you learned, not only about avoiding violence but about recovering from it? If this topic is not an easy on for you to discuss personally, do not feel compelled to do so, but think about who you could discuss it with.

Week 8: Language & Creativity. Talk about your language usage and share any forms of creative arts that you explore in your lives - how does this course affect them? Complete and evaluate your action project. Evaluate the small group itself in preparation for your papers (due 3/14 before class).