“Feminist organizing and global realities”
CMMU 100Q
Instructor: Nancy E. Stoller
Office: College 8, Room 312
nancys@ucsc.edu
Phone: 831-459-3104
Office Hours:
Tuesday, 1-3 p.m.
By appt. on Wednesdays 2-3 p.m.
Also available at other times by appt.
Course meeting times and location:
Tu –Th 10-11:45. Soc Sci 1 - 161
Thurs eve: 6-7:45 Thimann Lec. - 001
Books to purchase
All books are available at the Bay Tree Bookstore at the prices
indicated.
(Note that the books are also available on reserve and that there
is no reader for this course.)
Sexing the body: gender politics and the construction of
sexuality, Anne Fausto-Sterling; New York, N: Basic Books,
c2000
New: $21; used: $15.95
Killing the black body: race, reproduction, and the meaning of
liberty, Dorothy Roberts; New York: Pantheon Books, c1997
New: $14; $10.50
The color of privilege: three blasphemies on race and feminism /
Aída Hurtado; Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press,
c1996
New: $16.95; used: $12.
Women's activism and globalization: linking local struggles and
transnational politics, edited by Nancy A. Naples & Manisha
Desai; New York: Routledge, 2002
New: $26.95
Sweatshop warriors: immigrant women workers take on the global
factory, Miriam Ching Yoon Louie; Cambridge, Mass.: South
End Press, c2001
New: $18; used: $13.50
General Outline for the course:
The first half of this class will draw primarily from the above
texts; the second half will be organized by you, the students, to
reflect your interests and simultaneously prepare you more
specifically for your activist work in the fields of gender and
sexuality. Once the membership in the class is set (by Thursday,
January 6), I will know a little more about you and I will
organize the readings in more detail, but the outline below
indicates the texts which will be the focus of the theoretical
reading for the first half of the course.
I will supplement these readings with additional materials on
Electronic Reserves or on a course website. The password for both
the website and ERes will be “feminist.”
Please remember that this course is NOT an introduction to
feminism, but an introduction to the theory and practice of
feminist organizing in a global context. For basic education
about feminism, you need to take Women’s Studies 1 or an
equivalent course.
Topics
Epistemology: Social location is everything. Or is it?
Roberts
Hurtado
Metaphysics: What or who, then, is a woman?
Fausto-Sterling
Theories of Agency: Globalization and Organizing
Naples and Desai
Louie
Applied theory of organizing: Getting specific
Topics, readings and workshops to be developed by class
members concerning specific foci: reproductive rights;
sexuality; transgender; women’s health; women in prison;
etc.
Assignments Summary
1. A final paper presenting a theoretical approach to an
organizing issue that interests you and is likely to be the
focus of your field study. (Proposal due in week 5; final
paper due in week 10; 10-15 pp.)
-30% of your grade
2. Reading questions. Starting on week two, and then for the next
five weeks, two discussion questions are due each week on
Tuesday concerning the reading for that week. Bring to
class 2 copies of your questions, one to share with the
facilitators for Thursday’s class and one for the
instructor. These questions should be prepared after or
while reading.
–15% of your grade.
3. Commentary. On Thursdays, at the end of class, you will be
asked to formulate and submit in writing a short comment on
the relationship you see between this week’s
reading/discussion and your own work AND one question that
the presentation or facilitation generates for you.
4. Participate twice as a facilitator in a dynamic discussion of
the reading, either via a debate format, a classroom
exercise, or another innovative approach that requires
speakers to take on various theoretical approaches or
political positions in examining a controversial issue
concerning gender and/or sexuality.
a. Facilitation #1: first half of the quarter. Focused on
general organizing and theoretical issues
b. Facilitation #2: second half, focused on topical issues
associated with your interests
–30% of your grade.
5. Classroom participation in discussions and workshops, plus
attending class, bringing food, creating an atmosphere of
cooperation and interest. This is a seminar which requires
participation. It can’t work without all of us. We will
share conversation, interests, food (yes) and organizing
ideas. Everyone counts. One unexcused absence only.
–25%of your grade
6. You must attend the field study workshops. (Read the attached
information closely.) YOU CANNOT PASS THIS CLASS WITHOUT
ATTENDING ALL THREE FIELD STUDY WORKSHOPS.
Schedule for reading, facilitations
Week 2: January 11 –13
Reading: Roberts, chs. 3, 5, 6, and 7.
Tuesday-discussion/film/lecture/ 2 copies of 2 questions
due
Thursday-facilitation
Week 3: January 18 – 20
Reading: Hurtado, Chs. 1, 3, and 4.
Tuesday-discussion/film/lecture/questions due
Thursday-facilitation

Thursday evening: Field Study workshop
Week 4: January 25 – 27
Reading: Fausto-Sterling, chs. 1- 6 and 9.
Tuesday-discussion/film/lecture/questions due
Thursday-facilitation

Thursday evening: Field Study workshop
Week 5: February 1 – 3
Reading: Louie, all.
Tuesday-discussion/film/lecture/questions due
*Final paper plan due today
Thursday-facilitation

Thursday evening: Field Study workshop
Week 6: February 8 –10
Reading: Naples and Desai, chs. 1-3;6, 10, and 15
Tuesday-discussion/film/lecture/questions due
Thursday-facilitation
Week 7: February 15 – 17
Determined by student interests
Week 8: February 22 – 24
Determined by student interests
Week 9: March 1 – 3
Determined by student interests
Week 10: March 8 – 10
Tuesday -Determined by student interests
Thursday –last day of class, evaluation
Field Study Workshops
The field study workshop schedule has been set for winter
quarter. Just a reminder:
By official vote of the Department faculty, these workshops are
required of all students in CMMU 100. The workshops are intended
to help students locate and develop appropriate placements
related to their 100 courses. We take roll at these workshops and
forward the rolls to each CMMU 100 teacher. If students do not
think you are holding them accountable for attendance, they will
not come and we know now that there is a direct correspondence
between those who come and who gets appropriate placements and
placements arranged in a timely fashion. Placements must be
approved by 100 teachers (through a signature on the Goals and
Objectives Form) before the students are allowed to enroll in
CMMU 102. We have dropped the logistics workshop, since that is
best covered when the students are in CMMU 102 and closer to the
field study.
Here is the schedule:
All workshops are on Thursdays from 6-8pm in Thimann 001
January 20
Intro to the Resource Center and Focusing your placement search
-What is available in 207 College 8
-Who is available to help you (Lisa, Mike, 100 Instructors)
-How do you focus your search to fit your interests and the focus
of your CMMU 100 course
-What is social change vs. social service
-Process and procedures for your placement search, selection and
approval
January 27
Resumes, cover letters, and contacting organizations
-Hand outs from Career Center
-Role-plays for calling organizations
-Have students make an initial draft of cover letters/resumes.
February 3
The question of social position and returning students' panel
Panel of 3-5 students who have recently returned from field study
will talk about their experiences, address the question of social
position from their perspectives as well as answer student
questions.
If you have questions, please feel free to contact us.
Mike and Lisa