Women’s Studies 988:515
Feminist Theory and Practice
Feminists agree that history catalogues a pattern of systematic social, economic, and
political discrimination against women. They agree that this pattern is devoid of moral
justification and they demand that this discrimination be ended. Hence, feminists are defined by
their commitment to end women’s subordination. This shared commitment, however, masks
marked differences among feminists over the nature and causes of women's oppression, the
dimensions of human freedom, appropriate strategies for social change, and the contours of a just
social order. Given the enormity of transformative challenge feminists face, there is also
significant disagreement about priorities for social change and immediate tactics for feminist
activism.
This course is designed as an introduction to contemporary feminist activism. To
illuminate the interconnections of theory and practice, the course will consider feminist efforts to
move from critiques of oppression to the realization of feminist praxis. In exploring particular
modes of feminist activism, the course will consider the nature and extent of transformation
feminists have achieved in specific areas, the continuing issues that need to be addressed to
realize feminists visions of social justice, and the complex theoretical issues that feminist praxis
raises. The course seeks to foster an understanding of the multiple ways that feminist theory has
opened our imaginations to the possibilities for inclusive democratic practices, and expanded the
repertoire of strategies for realizing social change.
Challenging popular misconceptions, this class will try to demonstrate that theory is not
abstract, disengaged from, or foreign to the activities of daily life. On the contrary, feminist
theory is rooted in and seeks to illuminate the complex experiences of women and men across
cultures and ages. This course also seeks to compare how feminists living under different
historical and cultural conditions understand gender, as a system of meaning, a source of
fulfillment, and a mode of constraint and act to change the oppressive practices that structure their
lives.
Feminist theory and practice challenge prevailing beliefs, dominant paradigms,
traditional practices, and disciplinary methodologies. A major goal of this course is to help
students think critically about the beliefs and practices that structure contemporary social
relations and to develop the capacities to engage in feminist transformative praxis.
Course Requirements
The quality of any seminar is a direct result of the level of preparation and degree of
participation of class members. In this seminar, each student will be expected to:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
complete all reading assignments by the dates specified below;
use this reading as the basis for informed class participation;
write and present one seminar paper;
complete one research paper; and
complete a final examination.
Seminar Papers
One objective of the course is to help students to develop their analytical writing skills.
The seminar papers are means to this end. A good seminar paper involves exposition, analysis,
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and critique of a central theme in the assigned reading. A great seminar paper involves
exposition, analysis, critique, consideration of the author's possible responses to the critique, and
the development of rejoinders.
Each student will be expected to write one seminar paper (7-10 pages). Each student will
also be expected to present and defend this paper in class. The seminar paper is due on the day of
class when it will be presented. Students will be given the opportunity to revise each paper on the
basis of class discussion and faculty assessment. Revised seminar papers are due on the last day
of class.
Research Paper
In addition to the seminar paper, each student will also be expected to complete a
sustained research paper (20 - 30 pages) concerning an area of contemporary feminist activism.
A research paper involves examination of the pertinent literature in the field as the basis for the
student's analysis of the issue under investigation. In these research papers, students will be
expected to analyze how feminists are framing the issue under investigation, what strategies they
are devising to address the issue, and how those strategies have been put into practice. Students
will also be expected to assess the intended and unintended outcomes of the feminist activism
related to the issue they have chosen and identify new theoretical and practical concerns raised by
the activism being studied.
Grading Policy
In calculating grades for the course, student performance will be assessed according to
the following weighting scheme:
Class participation
Seminar Papers
Research Paper
Final Exam
15%
25%
30%
30%
Required Reading
The following books are required reading for the course:
Sonia Kruks, Retrieving Experience
Uma Narayan and Sandra Harding, eds., Decentering the Center: Philosophy for a
Multicultural, Postcolonial, and Feminist World
Nancy Naples, ed., Community Activism and Feminist Politics
Myree M. Ferree and Patricia Y. Martin, Feminist Organizations: Harvest of the New
Feminist Movement
Catharine MacKinnon, The Sexual Harassment of Working Women
Mary Fainzod Katzenstein, Faithful and Fearless: Feminist Mobilization with Institutions
Azza Karem, Women in Parliament: Beyond the Numbers
Mimi Abramovitz, Regulating the Lives of Women: Social Welfare Policy from Colonial
Times to the Present
Dorothy Roberts, Killing the Black Body
Emma Perez, The Decolonial Imaginary
Christa Wichterich, The Globalized Woman: Reports from a Future of Inequality
The Social Justice Group at the Center for Advanced Feminist Studies, Is Academic
Feminism Dead?
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Semester Calendar
Week 1
Feminist Theory and Practice
Lessons from the Nineteenth Century
Week 2
Theorizing Oppression, Envisioning Change
Sonia Kruks, Retrieving Experience
Week 3
Mobilization at the Grassroots
Nancy Naples, ed., Community Activism and Feminist Politics
Week 4
Creating Feminist Institutions to Foster Change
Myree M. Ferree and Patricia Y. Martin, Feminist Organizations:
Harvest of the New Feminist Movement
Week 5
Using the Law to Transform Social Relationships
Catharine MacKinnon, The Sexual Harassment of Working Women
Week 6
Electoral Office as a Mechanism for Social Transformation
Azza Karem, Women in Parliament: Beyond the Numbers
DEADLINE FOR APPROVAL OF RESEARCH TOPICS
Week 7
Insider Strategies as Transformative Praxis
Mary Fainzod Katzenstein, Faithful and Fearless: Feminist Mobilization
with Institutions
Week 8
Social Policy as a Target for Transformation
Mimi Abramovitz, Regulating the Lives of Women: Social Welfare
Policy from Colonial Times to the Present
Week 9
Fighting Hegemonic Conceptions of Citizenship
Dorothy Roberts, Killing the Black Body
Week 10
Expanding the Terms of Debate
Uma Narayan and Sandra Harding, eds., Decentering the Center:
Philosophy for a Multicultural, Postcolonial, and Feminist
World
Week 11
Rewriting the Past to Restructure the Future
Emma Perez, The Decolonial Imaginary
Week 12
Globalization and the Prospects for a Feminist Future
Christa Wichterich, The Globalized Woman: Reports from a Future of
Inequality
Week 13
Feminist Activism within the Academy
The Social Justice Group at the Center for Advanced Feminist Studies,
Is Academic Feminism Dead?
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DEADLINE FOR RESEARCH PAPERS
Week 14
Reports on Research
Week 15
Final Exam
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