SEMINAR: FEMINIST THEORY 31-42500
SPRING 2006
Instructor:
Judith Barker, 111 Muller, 274-1212
Home phone: 272-1897 (Please do not call after 9PM)
Office Hours: MWF 12:15-1:30, Thursday 1:30-3:00 and by appointment.
You can email, voice mail, or talk with me to set up an appointment.
Texts: Patricia Hill Collins, Black Feminist Thought
Gloria Anzaldua, Borderlands, La Frontera
Starhawk, Dreaming the Dark
Naomi Wolf, Fire With Fire
Judith Lorber Breaking the Bowls
Focus:
The overall focus of this course will be on feminist theories of women and
empowerment. We will begin with an overview of “traditional” approaches to feminist theory:
liberal, radical, and socialist approaches. Using our understanding of these "traditional"
approaches as a background, we will explore some of the different ways feminists have theorized
about women and empowerment.
Objectives: The two biggest challenges of this seminar are to learn to be comfortable with
abstract theory and to become a more active participant in class discussions. We will explore
ways to facilitate a process in which we each are able to feel more comfortable with abstract
theory and participating in discussions about theory. By the end of the semester we should each
have a better understanding of theory in general and current trends in feminist theory in
particular.
Format and Style:
This class is designed as an upper-level seminar based primarily on
discussion of the readings. I will occasionally give short "lectures,” but you will have
considerable responsibility for class discussions. It is crucial that students come to each class
meeting having read and thought about the reading assignments for that class.
Requirements:
1.
Attendance and Participation: A seminar rises and falls on the regular and active
participation of all members. I expect that you will come to class each week having read and
thought about the assigned readings, bristling with questions, comments, insights and critiques.
It is only through active involvement that students achieve the new kind of learning that is
possible in a seminar. Since we only meet 14 times, and the class is small, your absence would
hinder not only your progress but that of the entire group. ANY unexcused absences will lower
your final grade. Coming to class late (15 minutes or more) twice equals one absence.
2.
Summary of Key Ideas on Empowerment: Beginning in the third week of this class, 2/9,
each student must write a BRIEF list/summary of the key ideas related to women and
empowerment contained in each reading. This should be a complete list and not longer than 11 ½ pages. This summary is due in class on the day the reading is assigned. These will not be
accepted late, since that would defeat the purpose of the assignment. These assignments are due
on the following dates:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Collins, Chapters 1-6--2/9
Collins, Chapters 6-12–2/16
Anzaldua–2/23
StarHawk–3/16
Lorber Chapters 1-3--3/23
Lorber-- 4-6 & Epilogue 3/30
Fire With Fire–4/6
EACH SUMMARY IS WORTH 2 POINTS OF YOUR FINAL GRADE FOR THE
COURSE OR A TOTAL OF 14 POINTS.
3.
Position\Reaction papers: Students will write a response to each of the books we read.
These papers should be 5-7 pages in length and should consist of a response to the reading--talk
back to the author(s). Each paper MUST respond to the key ideas about empowerment, what do
these ideas mean for you and for women in general. Evaluate the ideas in terms of strengths,
weaknesses, value for empowering you as an individual and women as a group, as well as the
development of insights, questions, speculations about the implications of the authors theoretical
points. These papers should be serious theoretical papers that demonstrate a thorough knowledge
of the ideas presented in the reading--a serious and well-thought out analysis of each concept.
For example: Autonomy versus separation. Can women achieve autonomy while
surrounded by men and male power over women? Every other oppressed group says no and
insists on need for autonomous groups that create a separation, space where people are free of the
oppressors power and ideology. But the relationship between men and women is different than
that between whites and people of color etc. Can women be empowered simply through
structural change(external empowerment) without internal empowerment? What factors lead to
internal empowerment, does external power lead to internal power. The point would be to
seriously sit around and think about empowerment and what enables women to be empowered.
Another example: Self-definition. What is self-definition? Can it come before structural
change? How do we get to self-definition on a concrete level? Body images: how can we selfdefine our body image? What would your own personal interpretation of self-definition be? In
what ways are you self-defined? In what ways aren't you? How do we enable women to create
self-definition?
The point is to explore for us as individuals, and for the group as a whole, what could
enable us to be empowered and how we define empowerment: to engage in a personal quest for
knowledge we can apply to our own lives. This could be a revolutionary process in which we
might be able to create something that has some real meaning in our lives.
GRADING: grading will be based on whether or not you took the process seriously and grappled
with the concepts.
These papers are due on the following dates:
.
.
1.
2.
3
4.
5.
Black Feminism and Empowerment-------2/23
Latina Feminism and Empowerment------3/2
Cultural/Spiritual Feminism and Empowerment----3/23
Gender and Empowerment---- 3/30
Reform and Empowerment------4/13
THE FIVE REACTION PAPERS ARE WORTH POINTS 10 EACH. THE TOTAL IS 50
POINTS OR 50% OF YOUR GRADE.
THESE PAPERS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED LATE, AS THE POINT IS TO LEARN THE
THEORIES AS WE GO ALONG.
4.
Final Papers: Each student will write a final essay (10-15 pages) on women and
empowerment. This paper will entail using what you have learned in this seminar to speculate on
the ways in which women can become empowered. Your paper should offer your own
conclusions on what women need to become empowered and how we get there. You should be
offering me a serious analysis. Your analysis should be on both the individual and the societal
level: how can individual women empower themselves and how can women's position in society
become empowered--or women in general. Since you have already written a paper on each book
we have read, in this paper I want simply your own conclusions. THIS PAPER IS WORTH 36
POINTS AND IS DUE ON MONDAY OF FINALS WEEK–5/1 (MAY DAY)
Grading:
Attendance and Participation–You can lose points here!!!!
Summaries–14%
Reaction Papers–50%
Final Paper–36%
NOTE ON WORKLOAD
The summaries should easily lead to the reaction papers and the reaction papers should easily lead
to the final paper. In a sense, you will be doing your work in stages leading to the final product.
In each stage your knowledge should become deeper and more thorough.
COURSE OUTLINE:
1/19
INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW OF FEMINIST THEORY
½6
THREE INTERESTING IDEAS AS EXAMPLES OF FEMINIST
THINKING
IN CLASS READINGS: "The Challenge of Anger"; Excerpts from "The Yellow
Wallpaper"; Excerpts from "A Room of One's Own"
2/9
BLACK FEMINISM THEORY AND EMPOWERMENT
Have Read: Collins, Chapters 1-6
2/16
BLACK FEMINISM AND EMPOWERMENT, Continued
Have Read: Collins, Chapters 6-12
2/23
LATINA FEMINISM AND EMPOWERMENT
Have Read: Borderlands, whole book
FIRST RESPONSE PAPER DUE, ON COLLINS
3/2
CULTURAL/SPIRITUAL FEMINISM AND EMPOWERMENT
SECOND RESPONSE PAPER DUE, ON BORDERLANDS
SPRING BREAK MARCH 4-12
3/16
CULTURAL/SPIRITUAL FEMINISM AND EMPOWERMENT
Have Read: Starhawk
3/23
GENDER AND APPROACHES TO EMPOWERMENT
Have Read: Breaking the Bowls, chapters 1-3
THIRD RESPONSE PAPER DUE, ON STARHAWK
3/30
GENDER AND APPROACHES TO EMPOWERMENT
Have Read: Breaking the Bowls, chapters 3-6 and epilogue
FOURTH RESPONSE PAPER DUE, ON LORBER
4/6
REFORM AND EMPOWERMENT
Have Read: Wolf, Fire With Fire
4/13
REFORM AND EMPOWERMENT
FIFTH RESPONSE PAPER DUE, ON FIRE WITH FIRE
4/20
STUDENTS SHARE IDEAS FOR EMPOWERMENT BASED ON THEIR
MAJORS/AND/OR INTERESTS–explained below
4/27
PARTY TIME
We will meet at my house, eat lasagna, talk, and reflect on the class.
FINAL PAPER DUE ON MONDAY OF FINALS WEEK–5/2
We have a variety of majors and backgrounds/interests in the class. I hope to use that
diversity to enrich our understanding of empowerment. Therefore on 4/20 each student will be
responsible to present to the class ideas on empowerment, ideas that are not covered in our
readings. However, do not feel limited to your major, the idea is to diversify our approaches. So,
feel free to share any ideas that are not covered in the readings.