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GRADING AND COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
PART I: FEMINIST THEORIES IN THE EURO-AMERICAN TRADITION
PART II: FEMINISMS FROM MULTIPLE SOCIAL LOCATIONS
WGS 300w: FEMINIST THEORIES
Women’s and Gender Studies Program
Fall 2010; 3 credit hours
Course Number: 8220
“…you cannot afford to think of being here
to receive an education; you will do much better
to think of yourselves as being here to claim one.”
Adrienne Rich, 1977, speaking on college
On Lies, Secrets and Silence
Dr. Karla B. Hackstaff
Office: SBS West, 100
Office Phone: (928) 523-2128
Email: Use VISTA
Office Hours: Tuesdays 3:00-5:00 pm and by
appointment
Classroom: SBS-West, 115
Time: Monday 4:10-6:40 pm
Course Prerequisites: Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS 200).
Description of the Course: The feminist theories course meets several requirements: 1) the theory requirement
for majors and minors in Women’s and Gender Studies; 2) the university requirement for a writing intensive
course at the junior level; 3) and finally, it serves as a Liberal Studies course in the block of Aesthetic and
Humanistic Inquiry.
In this seminar we take a journey from Western feminist theories of the 18th century through more recent and
diverse theories accounting for gendered experiences; we will examine theories across ethnoracial groups in the
United States as well as those of transnational feminists. How have various feminist theories explored and
explained the status of women in society? What have been their assumptions, their insight and their
oversights? How have they accounted for injustice? Whose experiences are included and excluded in these
theories? How have they conceived pathways and strategies that might move our society toward greater
justice? These are the kinds of questions that we will address in this course.
As a writing intensive course most of our work together will entail writing. Writing is strengthened by reading,
writing frequency and by rewriting. The goal of improving our writing is interwoven with understanding
theories; writing is tool to understand theoretical perspectives, not its culmination. Furthermore, a writing
intensive class requires that we write, edit, and rewrite a 20 page paper. In this way we simultaneously rethink
our analyses and hone our writing.
Aesthetic and Humanistic Inquiry is a block that enables students to explore the human condition via
philosophical questions, analysis, and creative endeavors. Courses in this block aim to illuminate the
relationship between context and the human condition. Therefore, we examine feminist theories in light of the
articulation of values, creativity, analysis, and ethical reasoning.
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Course Structure: The course is organized as a seminar, meaning that discussion is the core of this course. As a
Socratic seminar, it aims to develop your critical thinking through questioning the readings as well as the
reflections of others in the course. While I will facilitate discussion, and I provide room for silence, I do not
intend to lecture. Instead, as a small group we will read, digest, and question the meanings of these theories as
a community. In order to share a seminar, reading, reflecting and writing are essential before our discussion.
Therefore, every week you will bring a reflection paper; I will often bring questions for you to select out of a
basket—as a way to encourage preparation. You will receive credit for an informed reflection on the week’s
readings. In short, preparation is essential for our seminar.
Objectives of the Course: By the end of this course, students will be expected to demonstrate:
Familiarity with early, if still vital, feminisms drawn from Euro-American traditions;
Understanding of feminist theories – their assumptions, applications, insights and oversights;
Knowledge of how women’s and men’s experiences vary by social class, race, ethnicity and sexuality and
early theories accounting for multiple standpoints;
Understanding women’s experiences across nations and in global systems;
An ability to apply feminist theories to substantive issues and assess them in terms of their practical and
ethical ramifications for diverse groups in collective, national, and global contexts;
Imagining and devising avenues to obtain social justice;
Synthesizing the historical, political and social-cultural forces shaping gendered experiences through
writing and in dialogue with one another;
Facility with evaluating sources such as articles, books, and websites online;
An ability to recognize strong and weak writing habits to improve written communication and critical
thinking.
Required Books at NAU Bookstore:
Tong, Rosemarie. 2009. Feminist Thought: A More Comprehensive Introduction. 3rd edition.
Boulder, CO: Westview Press. [Tong indicated in weeks below]
Required Articles in VISTA Readings Folder in the order of the semester’s requirements:
Stanton, Elizabeth Cady. (1848) “Declaration of Sentiments” ”pp. 411-421 in The Feminist Papers: From Adams
to de Beauvoir. Edited by Alice S. Rossi. New York: Bantam Books, 1973.
Friedan, Betty (1963) “The Problem That Has No Name” pp. 15-32 in The Feminist Mystique. New York: W. W,
Norton and Company.
Daly, Mary (1978) “The Metapatriarchal Journey of Exorcism and Ecstasy” pp. 1-34 in
Gyn/ecology: The Metaethics of Radical Feminism. Boston: Beacon Press.
Mainardi, Pat. (1970) “The Politics of Housework” pp. 33-37 in Feminist Frameworks:
Alternative Theoretical Accounts of the Relations between Women and Men. Edited by Alison M. Jaggar
and Paula Rothenberg Struhl. New York: McGraw-Hill Inc., 1978.
Engels, Frederick (1884) Excerpt from The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State pp. 118-139.
Edited and with an Introduction by Eleanor Burke Leacock. New York: International Publishers, 1942.
Hartmann, Heidi (1981) “The Unhappy Marriage of Marxism and Feminism: Towards a More
Progressive Union” pp. 169-183 in Feminist theory Reader: Local and Global Perspectives, 2nd edition.
Edited by Carole R. McCann and Seung-kyung Kim. New York: Routledge 2010.
Grosz, Elizabeth (1995) “Psychoanalysis and the Imaginary Body” pp. 299-308 in Feminisms.
Edited by Sandra Kemp and Judith Squires.
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Irigary, Luce (1977). “This Sex Which Is Not One” pp. 384-89 in Feminist theory Reader: Local and Global
Perspectives. 2nd edition. Edited by Carole R. McCann and Seung-kyung Kim. New York: Routledge 2010.
Anzaldua, Gloria (1987) “La consciencia de la mestiza: Towards a New Consciousness” pp.
377-389 in Making Face, Making Soul: Creative and Critical Perspectives by Women of Color. Edited by
Gloria Anzaldua. San Francisco, CA: An aunt lute foundation book, 1990.
Lorde, Audre (1979) The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House”
pp. 98-101 in This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color. Cherrie Moraga and
Gloria Anzaldua (eds.). Watertown, MA: Persephone Press, 1981. [VISTA]
Nnaemeka, Obioma (2003). “Nego-Feminism” pp. 206-209 in Gender Inequality: Feminist
Theory and Politics, 4th edition. Edited by Judith Lorber. New York: Oxford University Press.
Walker, Alice (1983) “Definition of a Womanist” p. 370 in Making Face, Making Soul: Creative and Critical
Perspectives by Women of Color. Edited by Gloria Anzaldua. San Francisco, CA: An aunt lute foundation
book, 1990.
Baca Zinn, Maxine and Bonnie Thornton Dill (1996) “Theorizing Difference from Multiracial Feminism” pp. 19-25
in Through the Prism of Difference: Readings on Sex and Gender. New York: Oxford University Press,
2005.
Collins, Patricia Hill (1990) “Defining Black Feminist Thought” pp. 341-356 in Feminist Theory
Reader: Local and Global Perspectives. 2nd edition. Edited by Carole R. McCann and Seung-kyung Kim.
New York: Routledge 2010.
Deutsch, Barry. (2010) “The Male Privilege Checklist” pp. 14-16 in Men’s Lives. 8th edition.
Edited by Michael Kimmel and Michael Messner. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Minh-ha, Trinh T. (1989) “Commitment for the Mirror-Writing Box” pp. 5-44 in Woman Native
Other: Writing Postcoloniality and Feminism. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
Mohanty, Chandra Talpade. 2003. “’Under Western Eyes’ Revisited: Feminist Solidarity through
Anticapitalist Struggles,” pp. 446-462 Feminist theory Reader: Local and Global Perspectives. 2nd edition.
Edited by Carole R. McCann and Seung-kyung Kim. New York: Routledge 2010.
Feinberg, Leslie (1992) “Transgender Liberation: A Movement Whose Time Has Come” pp.133143 in Feminist Theory Reader: Local and Global Perspectives. Edited by Carole R. McCann and Kim
Seung-kyung. New York : Routledge.
Kaufman, Michael (1987) “The Construction of Masculinity and the Triad of Men’s Violence” pp.
4-16 in Men’s Lives. 5th edition. Edited by Michael Kimmel and Michael Messner. Needham Heights, MA:
Allyn and Bacon.
Shiva, Vandana (1989) “Chapter 3: Woman in Nature” pp. 38-54 in Staying Alive: Women,
Ecology and Development. Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey: Zed Books.
Warren, Karen (2000) “Chapter Two: What Are Ecofeminists Saying? An Overview of Ecofeminist
Positions” pp. 21-41 from Ecofeminist Philosophy: A Western Perspective on What it is and Why It
Matters. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
de Beauvoir, Simone (1949) “Introduction” pp. xv-xxxi in The Second Sex. New York: Vintage Books.
Bailey, Cathryn (2002) “Unpacking the mother/daughter baggage: Reassessing second- and third-wave tensions”
Women’s Studies Quarterly (30) 3/4: 138-154. Fall 2002.
Walters, Suzanna Danuta (1996) “From Here to Queer: Radical Feminism, Postmodernism and the Lesbian
Menace (Or, Why can’t a woman be more like a fag?)” pp. 482-502 in Feminist Theory Reader: Local and
Global Perspectives. Edited by Carole R. McCann and Kim Seung-kyung. New York : Routledge, 2010.
Recommended Books:
Lorber, Judith. 2010. Gender Inequality: Feminist Theory and Politics, 4th edition. New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
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McCann, Carole R. and Seung-kyung Kim (eds.). 2010. Feminist Theory Reader: Local and Global Perspectives,
2nd edition. New York: Routledge.
GRADING AND COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Grading Policy: Course grades will be based on the total points accumulated over the semester (for papers and
discussions; papers will be assessed by rubrics and comments). Total Points Possible = 500
Course Grades:
Points
90-100%
80-89%
70-79%
60-69%
59% or <
(450-500)
(400-449)
(350-399)
(300-349)
(299 or less)
Letter Grade
A
B
C
D
F
24% or 120 points
Participation in Seminar
Participation will be graded by thoughtful contributions and questions to seminar discussions. As a
seminar, this course requires active participation, active listening, respect or courtesy as disagreements
arise, and a focus on one another and not the instructor. Every seminar will be evaluated in terms of
your presence and contributions—at 10 points each. Participation is assessed in terms of:
 Quantity—neither overshadowing others nor refraining from discussion.
 Quality—from outstanding insight or question enriching our discussion; a terrific, probing
reflection or question; a useful or knowledgable query or observation; a more surface analysis
unrelated to the readings or discussion.
 Effort—it is important to recognize an element of effort which will be visible by attempts to
raise and answer questions, regardless of quantity or quality.
24% or 120 points (10 points each)
Short Reflection Papers:
A reflection paper is due weekly at the beginning of the class. This paper is a means for you to digest
the material and to come to class prepared to engage in dialogue. These papers are no more than one
page and require you to:
 Provide a well-written, spell-checked, grammatically correct, correctly punctuated, and doublespaced paper that provides a defintion of the theory we are exploring in a paragraph (1/3 to ½
of a page);
 Two questions on the reading material that either address confusion about the theory (what
does de Beauvoir mean by saying women are the other?) and/or enable a discussion (e.g.
Mainardi says, “His resistance is a measure of your oppression” – what does she mean? Or, what
is the relevance of socialist feminism in a capitalist society such as our own?).
The respective due dates will be provided. (Writing an extra reflection paper for extra credit is not an
option unless you have on the order of an institutional excuse, death in the family...)
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52% or 260 points
Phases of a Long Research Paper
This paper asks you to build an analysis based on the theoretical readings from the course to a topic of
your choice; it also requires additional research. There are four phases and due dates for the long
research paper:
TOPIC, TITLE, AND OUTLINE
BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR RESEARCH PAPER
FIRST DRAFT OF RESEARCH PAPER
FINAL RESEARCH PAPER
Points
50
60
75
125
Due Dates
10/18/2010
11/01/2010
11/08/2010
12/13/2010
I provide more details in a handout, including the rubrics I will use. Note that students will be expected
to share their research during the last class meeting. The entire assignment is worth 260 points,
including the four phases outlined above.
MY COURSE POLICIES:
1. No late papers. Papers must be brought to seminar on the due date. One-third grade is lost for each day
late. It's only fair that every student has the same amount of time to write the paper. All papers must be
double-spaced, typed, with your name, date and the week’s theory at the top.
2. Assignments will be given a grade or points, so you can assess your status in the course. You will receive
grades within a week for reflection papers. The research papers will require a minimum of two weeks.
3. Plagiarism on papers is not tolerated. If you do not understand plagiarism, please see the link I have provided
here or see me. Furthermore, I am more than happy to answer questions. To cheat or to plagiarize can result in
an F for the course and even expulsion from the university. Be safe (it is safe to cite more rather than less) rather
than sorry; you may miss a two points for over-citing, but you’ll get a zero if you miss a requisite cite). See:
http://www.csub.edu/ssricrem/Howto/plagiarism.htm4
5. Rare incompletes.
6. I will be available at the Vista e-mail address. This avoids your emails getting lost in the onslaught of my
regular inbox. Students should allow at least two days for a response from me regarding questions—though
typically I respond to short questions in a day. Furthermore, please indicate the topic of the e-mail in the
subject heading. These practices tend clarify who is writing, your key concern, and/or helps me track responses.
It is also good online etiquette, reminding us to respect one another. Finally, IF VISTA is down and you need to
reach me then email me at: Karla.Hackstaff@nau.edu.
7. You must check the VISTA shell regularly for email and/or announcements (I recommend every other day). I
use announcements to convey urgent information or provide a heads up to all of you.
8. All of the required readings should be read before the seminar for your learning process and for members of
the seminar; likewise your reflected papers are due at the beginning of class.
9. I do not provide extra credit in upper division courses.
10. Civility and engagement are expected in the classroom. This means listening to whoever is speaking,
disagreeing with respect, coming to class on time, and avoiding chat with others in the class, on the phone, or
via text-messaging. I do not allow students to surf, text-message, twitter, e-mail, or talk on phone. If I you
distract me, or other students, then expect to be asked to leave that day.
11. Also see: UNIVERSITY POLICIES (http://www2.nau.edu/academicadmin/UCCPolicy/plcystmt.html)
These policies address Students with Disabilities, Safe Learning Environment, Academic Integrity, Academic
Contact Hour Policy, Classroom Management Statement, and the Institutional Review Board.
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PART I: FEMINIST THEORIES in the EURO-AMERICAN TRADITION
The learning objectives in this first section are:
Familiarity with early, if still vital, feminisms drawn from Euro-American traditions;
Understanding of feminist theories – their assumptions, applications, insights and oversights;
An ability to apply feminist theories to substantive issues and assess them in terms of their practical and
ethical ramifications for diverse groups in collective, national, and global contexts;
Imagining and devising avenues to obtain social justice;
Synthesizing the historical, political and social-cultural forces shaping gendered experiences through
writing and in dialogue with one another;
WEEK 1: An Overview: What is theory? What does feminism mean to you?
8-30-10: Semester Overview and Aims
Required Readings: Syllabus
Handout: Zimmerman, Laura (2003) “Where are the Women? The Strange Case of the Missing
Feminists; When Was the Last Time You Saw One on TV?” pp. 257-261 in Reconstructing Gender:
A Multicultural Anthology. 5th ed. Edited by Estelle Disch. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, 2009.
WEEK 2: LABOR DAY HOLIDAY (9-6-10)
WEEK 3: Liberal Feminism
9-13-10: What does “liberal” signify? How does liberal feminism account for gender inequality?
Required Reading:
Tong: pp. 11-27 & 34-47
Stanton, Elizabeth Cady. (1848) “Declaration of Sentiments” ”pp. 411-421 in The Feminist
Papers: From Adams to de Beauvoir. Edited by Alice S. Rossi. New York: Bantam Books,
1973. [VISTA]
Friedan, Betty (1963) “The Problem That Has No Name” pp. 15-32 in The Feminist Mystique.
New York: W. W, Norton and Company. [VISTA]
Recommended Reading:
Lorber, pp. 25-45 in Gender Inequality
Mills, John Stuart (1869) “The Subjection of Women” pp. 196-238 in The Feminist Papers: From
Adams to de Beauvoir. Edited by Alice S. Rossi. New York: Bantam Books, 1973.
Wollstonecraft, M. (1792) “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.” pp. 41-85 in The Feminist Papers
From Adams to de Beauvoir. Edited by Alice S. Rossi. New York: Bantam Books, 1973. [VISTA]
DUE: Reflection Paper
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WEEK 4: Radical Feminism
9-20-10: What is the basis for the oppression of women, according to radical feminists?
Required Reading:
Tong: pp. 48-95, Chapter 2
Daly, Mary (1978) “The Metapatriarchal Journey of Exorcism and Ecstasy” pp. 1-34 in
Gyn/ecology: The Metaethics of Radical Feminism. Boston: Beacon Press. [VISTA]
Mainardi, Pat. (1970) “The Politics of Housework” pp. 33-37 in Feminist Frameworks:
Alternative Theoretical Accounts of the Relations between Women and Men. Edited by Alison M.
Jaggar and Paula Rothenberg Struhl. New York: McGraw-Hill Inc., 1978. [VISTA]
Recommended Reading:
Lorber, J. pp. 121-141 in Gender Inequality
Boston Women’s Health Collective. (1973) Our Bodies Ourselves.
Millet, Kate. 1969. Sexual Politics. New York: Avon Books.
DUE: Reflection Paper
WEEK 5: Marxist and Socialist Feminisms
9-27-10: How have feminists accounted for and appropriated class analysis? How have theories on class
integrated with theories on gender?
Required Reading:
Tong: pp. 96-127, Chapter 3
Engels, Frederick (1884) Excerpt from The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State
pp. 118-139. Edited and with an Introduction by Eleanor Burke Leacock. New York: International
Publishers, 1942. [VISTA]
Hartmann, Heidi (1981) “The Unhappy Marriage of Marxism and Feminism: Towards a More
Progressive Union” pp. 169-183 in Feminist theory Reader: Local and Global Perspectives. 2nd
edition. Edited by Carole R. McCann and Seung-kyung Kim. New York: Routledge 2010. [VISTA]
Recommended Reading:
Lorber, J. pp. 39-53 in Gender Inequality
Folbre, Nancy. (2001) “The Invisible Heart” pp. 77-85 in Gender Inequality. Edited by Judith
Lorber. New York: Oxford University Press. [VISTA]
Hansen, Karen and Ilene Philipson eds. (1990) Women, Class and the Feminist Imagination: A
Socialist-Feminist Reader. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
DUE: Reflection Paper
WEEK 6: Psychoanalytic Feminism
10-4-10: How do feminists understand the gender development, the unconscious, and gender relations?
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Required Reading:
Tong: pp. 128-162
Chodorow, Nancy. (1974) “Family Structure and Feminine Personality” pp. 43-66 in
Woman, Culture & Society. Edited by Michelle Zimbalist Rosaldo and Louise Lamphere.
[VISTA]
Grosz, Elizabeth (1995) “Psychoanalysis and the Imaginary Body” pp. 299-308 in Feminisms.
Edited by Sandra Kemp and Judith Squires. [VISTA]
Irigary, Luce (1977). “This Sex Which Is Not One” pp. 384-89 in Feminist theory Reader: Local
and Global Perspectives. 2nd edition. Edited by Carole R. McCann and Seung-kyung Kim. New
York: Routledge 2010. [VISTA]
Recommended Reading:
Lorber, J. pp. 159-172 in Gender Inequality
Chodorow, Nancy (1978) The Reproduction of Mothering. Berkeley, University of California
Press.
Dinnerstein, Dorothy. (1976) The Mermaid and the Minotaur: Sexual Arrangements and
Human Malaise. New York: Harper & Row.
DUE: Reflection Paper (river runners: get a jump on 10/18 assignment too)
WEEK 7: River Rafting trip down the Colorado.
10-11-10: No Class and no reading; prepare for your long research paper
Go to top
PART II: FEMINISMS FROM MULTIPLE SOCIAL LOCATIONS
The learning objectives in this section include:
Understanding of feminist theories – their assumptions, applications, insights and oversights;
Knowledge of how women’s and men’s experiences vary by social class, race, ethnicity and sexuality and
early theories accounting for multiple standpoints;
Understanding women’s experiences across nations and global systems;
An ability to apply feminist theories to substantive issues and assess them in terms of their practical and
ethical ramifications for diverse groups in collective, national, and global contexts;
Imagining and devising avenues to obtain social justice;
Synthesizing the historical, political and social-cultural forces shaping gendered experiences through
writing and in dialogue with one another;
Facility with evaluating sources such as articles, books, and websites online;
An ability to recognize strong and weak writing habits to improve written communication and critical
thinking.
WEEK 8: Muticultural/Multiracial Feminisms
10-18-10: “Women of Color” and multiple voices
Required Reading:
Tong: pp. 200-215
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Anzaldua, Gloria (1987) “La consciencia de la mestiza: Towards a New Consciousness” pp.
377-389 in Making Face, Making Soul: Creative and Critical Perspectives by Women of Color. G.
Anzaldua (ed.). San Francisco, CA: An aunt lute foundation book, 1990. [VISTA]
Lorde, Audre (1979) The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House”
pp. 98-101 in This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color. Cherrie Moraga
and Gloria Anzaldua (eds.). Watertown, MA: Persephone Press, 1981. [VISTA]
Nnaemeka, Obioma (2003). “Nego-Feminism” pp. 206-209 in Gender Inequality: Feminist
Theory and Politics, 4th edition. Edited by Judith Lorber. New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
Walker, Alice (1983) “Definition of a Womanist” p. 370 in Making Face, Making Soul:
Creative and Critical Perspectives by Women of Color. Edited by Gloria Anzaldua. San Francisco,
CA: An aunt lute foundation book, 1990. [VISTA]
Ross, Luana. (2009) From the “F” Word to Indigenous/Feminisms” in Wicazo Sa Review 24(2):
39-50, Fall 2009. [VISTA]
Recommended Reading:
Lorber, J. pp. 197-214 in Gender Inequality
Davis, Angela. “Rape, Racism and the Myth of the Black Rapist” pp. 172-201 in Women,
Race & Class. New York: Vintage, 1983.
Dill, Bonnie Thornton. 1988. “Our Mothers’ Grief: Racial-Ethnic Women and the Maintenance
of Families” Journal of Family History 13(4): 415-431. [VISTA]
Gunn Allen, Paula (1985) “Kochinnenako in Academe: Three Approaches to Interpreting a Keres
Indian Tale” North Dakota Quarterly 53(2): 84-106.
hooks, bell (1989) “talking back” pp. 5-9 in Talking Back: thinking feminist, thinking black.
Boston, MA: South End Press. [VISTA]
Rushkin, Donna Kate “The Bridge Poem” pp. xxi-xxii in This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by
Radical Women of Color. Cherrie Moraga and Gloria Anzaldua (eds.). Watertown, MA:
Persephone Press, 1981. [VISTA]
Sojourner Truth (1851) “Ain’t I a Woman?”
Udel, L. 2001. “Revision and Resistance: The Politics of Native Women’s Motherwork” pp.
296-307 in M. Baca Zinn, P. Hondagneu-Sotelo, and M. Messner (eds.). 2005. Through The
Prism of Difference: Readings on Sex and Gender. NY: Oxford University Press.
Woo, Merle “Letter to Ma” 140-147 in This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical [VISTA]
Women of Color. Cherrie Moraga and Gloria Anzaldua (eds.). Watertown, MA: Persephone
Press, 1981.
DUE: Reflection Paper
ALSO DUE: PRELIMINARY TITLE, TOPIC, AND OUTLINE indicating your anticipated inquiry/research
question and the theoretical orientation(s) you expect to address.
WEEK 9: Standpoint Feminism and Theories of Intersectionality
10-25-10
Required Reading:
Baca Zinn, Maxine and Bonnie Thornton Dill (1996) “Theorizing Difference from Multiracial
Feminism” pp. 19-25 in Through the Prism of Difference: Readings on Sex and Gender. New
York: Oxford University Press, 2005. [VISTA]
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Collins, Patricia Hill (1990) “Defining Black Feminist Thought” pp. 341-356 in Feminist Theory
Reader: Local and Global Perspectives. 2nd edition. Edited by Carole R. McCann and Seung-kyung
Kim. New York: Routledge 2010. [VISTA]
Harding, S. 1990. "Feminism, Science, and the Anti-Enlightenment Critiques," Pp. 83-106 in
Feminism/Postmodernism. Ed. By Linda J. Nicholson. New York: Routledge. [VISTA]
Smith, Dorothy (1979) Excerpt from “A Sociology for Women” pp. 163-187 in The Prism of Sex:
Essays in the Sociology of Knowledge Julia A. Sherman and Evelyn Torton Beck (eds.) Madison,
WI: University of Wisconsin Press. [VISTA]
Deutsch, Barry. (2010) “The Male Privilege Checklist” pp. 14-16 in Men’s Lives. 8th edition.
Edited by Michael Kimmel and Michael Messner. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. [VISTA]
Recommended Reading:
Harding, Sandra. (1986) The Science Question in Feminism. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Smith, Dorothy (1987) The Everyday World as Problematic. Boston: Northeastern University
Press.
Yuval-Davis, Nira (2006). “Intersectionality and Feminist Politics.” The European Journal of
Women’s Studies, 13(3): 193-209.
DUE: Reflection Paper
WEEK 10: Postcolonial and Global Feminism
11-1-10: How should feminists contend with the ongoing legacies of inequality?
Required Reading:
Tong: pp. 215-236.
Minh-ha, Trinh T. (1989) “Commitment for the Mirror-Writing Box” pp. 5-44 in Woman Native
Other: Writing Postcoloniality and Feminism. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. [VISTA]
Mohanty, Chandra Talpade. 2003. “’Under Western Eyes’ Revisited: Feminist Solidarity through
Anticapitalist Struggles,” pp. 446-462 Feminist theory Reader: Local and Global Perspectives. 2nd
edition. Edited by Carole R. McCann and Seung-kyung Kim. New York: Routledge 2010. [VISTA]
Recommended Reading:
Lorber, J. pp. 86-116 in Gender Inequality
Mies, Maria (1981) “Dynamics of Sexual Division of Labour and Capital Accumulation: Women
Lace Workers of Narsapur” Economic and Political Weekly, 16(10/12), Annual Number (Mar.,
1981), pp. 487-489+491+493+495+497+499-500. [VISTA]
Smith, Andrea. (2005) Chapter 1: “Sexual Violence as a Tool of Genocide” pp. 7-33 in Conquest:
Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide. Cambridge: MA South End Press. [VISTA]
DUE: Reflection Paper
ALSO DUE: BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR RESEARCH PAPER: primary and secondary resources that you intend to
use in your paper (including course readings, of which two are required).
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WEEK 11: Social Construction Feminisms
11-8-10:
Required Reading:
West and Fenstermaker (1995) “Doing Gender, Doing Difference” in Gender & Society (February
1995) 9(1): 8-37. [VISTA]
Connell, R. and J. Messerschmidt (2005) “Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept”
Gender & Society 19(6): 829-859. [VISTA]
Feinberg, Leslie (1992) “Transgender Liberation: A Movement Whose Time Has Come” pp.133143 in Feminist Theory Reader: Local and Global Perspectives. Edited by Carole R. McCann and
Kim Seung-kyung. New York : Routledge. [VISTA]
Kaufman, Michael (1987) “The Construction of Masculinity and the Triad of Men’s Violence”
pp. 4-16 in Men’s Lives. 5th edition. Edited by Michael Kimmel and Michael Messner. Needham
Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon. [VISTA]
Recommended Reading:
Lorber, J. pp. 243-266 in Gender Inequality
Martin, Patricia Yancy (1993) “"Said and Done" versus "Saying and Doing": Gendering Practices,
Practicing Gender at Work” Gender and Society, 17(3): 342-366. [VISTA]
DUE: Reflection Paper
ALSO DUE: FIRST FULL DRAFT OF RESEARCH PAPER
WEEK 12: Ecofeminism
11-15-10: 5:30-6:30 in order to go to Gardner Auditorium at 7:00
Climate Wise Women, Monday, Nov. 15, 7 pm, Gardner Auditorium, Franke College of Business.
Climate Wise Women is a global initiative to promote women's leadership on climate change and to give
a human face and voice to this complex issue. A project of the Earth Island Institute, Climate Wise
Women present the stories of women leaders from regions affected by climate change in their own
voices. www.climatewisewomen.org
Required Reading:
Tong: pp. 237-269
Shiva, Vandana (1989) “Chapter 3: Woman in Nature” pp. 38-54 in Staying Alive: Women,
Ecology and Development. Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey: Zed Books [VISTA]
Warren, Karen (2000) “Chapter Two: What Are Ecofeminists Saying? An Overview of Ecofeminist
Positions” pp. 21-41 from Ecofeminist Philosophy: A Western Perspective on What it is and Why
It Matters. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. [VISTA]
Recommended Reading:
Kheel, Marti (1990) “From Healing Herbs to Deadly Drugs: Western Medicine’s War Against the Natural
World” pp. 650-658 in Living With Contradictions: Controversies in Feminist Social Ethics. Edited
by Alison M. Jaggar. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1994. [VISTA]
DUE: Reflection Paper
12
WEEK 13: Poststructuralism and Postmodernism
11-22-10 How?
Required Reading:
Tong: pp. 270-284
de Beauvoir, Simone (1949) “Introduction” pp. xv-xxxi in The Second Sex. New York:
Vintage Books. [VISTA]
Scott, Joan. (2003) “Deconstructing Equality-versus-Difference: Or, the Uses of Poststructuralist Theory
for Feminism” in Feminist Studies 14 (Spring 1988), 32-50. [VISTA]
Bordo, Susan. 1993. "Postmodern Subjects, Postmodern Bodies, Postmodern Resistance" in
Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture and the Body. Berkeley: University of California
Press. pp. 277-300. [VISTA]
Recommended Reading:
Butler, Judith. (1993) Bodies that Matter: On the Discursive Limits of Sex. New York: Routledge
Lorber, Judith (2010) pp. 267-281 in Gender Inequality: Feminist Theory and Politics. 4th ed.
New York: Oxford University Press. [VISTA]
DUE: Reflection Paper
PAPER DRAFTS RETURNED WITH COMMENTS
WEEK 14: Third Wave+ Feminisms
11-29-10
Required Reading:
Tong: pp. 284-291
Bailey, Cathryn (2002) “Unpacking the mother/daughter baggage: Reassessing second- and third-wave
tensions” Women’s Studies Quarterly (30) 3/4: 138-154. Fall 2002. [VISTA]
Walters, Suzanna Danuta (1996) “From Here to Queer: Radical Feminism, Postmodernism and
the Lesbian Menace (Or, Why can’t a woman be more like a fag?)” pp. 482-502 in Feminist
Theory Reader: Local and Global Perspectives. Edited by Carole R. McCann and Kim Seung-kyung.
New York : Routledge, 2010. [VISTA]
Recommended Reading:
Baumgardner, Jennifer and Amy Richards. (2000) Manifesta: young women, feminism, and the
future. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
DUE: Bring only two questions/comments on the readings (1/4 of a page).
WEEK 15: Working on Final Drafts
12-6-10: Mini-conferences on your Final Draft in my office
WEEK 16: FINAL EXAM WEEK: 12-13-10: DUE: FINAL RESEARCH PAPER (sharing your work)
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HAVE A WONDER-FULL HOLIDAY