Quarter or Semester
Instructor’s Name
Format: Seminar/Workshop
Quarter/Year:
Number of Units:
Enrollment: 32-36
Prerequisite: None
Grading: Letter
Mondays and Wednesdays: 11 a.m. to 12:20 in room #
Suggested requirements (and weighting): class attendance (20%); participation and in-class writing, including a book review and an evaluation (16%); final paper/project (24%); mid-quarter short paper (10%); reading group attendance, participation, leadership, discussion comments and questions (20%); film attendance (10%). Students must sign in at each class and reading group discussion and at any other required events.
DESCRIPTION
This course provides an overview of international women’s health issues presented in the context of a woman’s life, beginning in childhood and moving through adolescence, reproductive years, and aging. The approach to women’s health is broad, taking into account economic, social, and human rights factors and particularly the importance of women’s capacities to have good health and manage their lives in the face of societal pressures and obstacles. Particular attention will be given to critical issues of women’s health such as: the demeaning of women; poverty; unequal access to education, food, and health care; and violence. Such issues as maternal mortality, sexually transmitted disease, violence in conflict and refugee situations, the effects of traditional practices, and sex trafficking will be discussed.
Course materials will draw from a wide variety of sources, including information about women’s organizations outside the U.S. The class will be interactive. After the first week, each week will be devoted to a particular phase of a woman’s life and/or a health issue related to that phase, with one session being introductory (often involving guest resource people) and the other being primarily discussion-based, with students leading parts of the discussions. Each student is required to attend a one-hour small group session each week and occasionally provide leadership.
The Course Reader (CR) represents the main required reading for the course, along with the text: Murray, Anne Firth, From Outrage to Courage: Women Taking Action for Health and Justice, Common Courage Press, 2007. Two other books will be on reserve at the library for students’ use: Kim, J. Y., et al, eds., Dying for Growth: Global Inequality and the Health of the Poor, Common Courage Press, 1999, and Mann, Jonathan M., et al, eds., Health and Human Rights: A Reader, Routledge, 1999. Copies of these books will be on reserve at the library. The Course Reader (CR) is available on the web (in Coursework). Additional materials may be posted on the class website or handed out in class.
Most weeks during the quarter, a video/film evening will be scheduled for Tuesday evening at 8 p.m. Students are expected to attend 5 of the 8 screenings. During the early part of the quarter students will be invited to the home of the professor, during which we will get to know each other better and share our thoughts and expectations about the class.
Students will be responsible for all materials that are handed out in class and for announcements put on the Coursework website. These may include: course announcements, changes in the lecture or reading schedule, minimal additional reading material, and updated guest information.
OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE
• To introduce critical health issues affecting women globally (particularly in poorer countries), in terms of their cultural and social contexts, not as a rationale for practices but as a basis for understanding.
• To familiarize students with some of the strategies and programs that non-governmental organizations are using to address women’s health issues in poorer countries.
• To communicate a sense of personal responsibility, empowerment, and connection with women globally.
REQUIREMENTS
Students are expected to attend class and to have read and discussed with others the readings for each session. Students are expected to be prepared for discussion of the readings and to bring their experiences, leadership capacities, and perspectives to participatory discussions. Each week each student will be expected to attend a small reading group session. In addition, each week students will submit questions and/or comments on the reading and topic of the week. These comments will form the basis for fuller class discussions. Email responses will be due in electronic format sent to the professor and the teaching assistant by midnight each Saturday.
Students are also asked to be up to date on the international daily or weekly news relating to women’s and girls’ health. Students are expected to complete assignments by the set deadlines. There will be a short outline paper including five annotated references (maximum: 5-pages double-spaced in Palatino typeface) and one longer paper or project required (maximum: 12-page double-spaced in Palatino typeface). The outline paper and the longer pape or project offer opportunities for students to deepen their understanding of a topic or region of their choosing. Students are expected to attend at least five film/video evening sessions and to read at least one book from the supplementary reading list during the quarter.
COURSE SCHEDULE
NOTICES
• Students with Documented Disabilities
Students who have a disability which may necessitate an academic accommodation or the use of auxiliary aids and services in a class should notify the teaching assistants and initiate a request with the Disability Resource Center (DRC). The DRC will evaluate the request with required documentation, recommend appropriate accommodations, and prepare a verification letter dated in the current academic term in which the request is being made. Please contact the DRC as soon as possible; timely notice is needed to arrange for appropriate accommodations.
• Honor Code
Please visit and read the honor code website on Coursework: http://www.stanford.edu/dept/vpsa/judicialaffairs/guiding/honorcode.htm.
By now, all of you should know the difference between putting information in “your own words” and merely changing a few words around. The latter does not demonstrate understanding and will be marked down. Direct quotes may be used when appropriate. They should be place in quotation marks and correctly referenced.
Name and Contact Information for Professor
Office hours by appointment; please sign up on the sheets on the door of my office.
Name and Contact Information for Teaching Assistant
