NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY
WOMEN’S AND GENDER STUDIES 491C (4321)
New Directions in Women’s Studies Research, Theory and Scholarship
“Locating Feminism Today”
Spring 2011
SBS W Room 107
Thursdays 4:00-6:30
Instructor: Dr Frances Julia Riemer
Frances.Riemer@nau.edu
Office: COE 162
Office Hours Thursdays 1:00 – 3:00 pm and by appointment
WGS 491c is the capstone seminar for Women’s and Gender Studies majors and minors. The seminar
integrates perspectives gained in Women’s and Gender Studies courses and provides an understanding of
how Women’s and Gender Studies fits into and enriches one’s understanding of society, culture, letters, the
arts, and other fields.
Prerequisites: two approved WGS courses or approval of instructor.
Course Description
As the capstone seminar in Women’s and Gender Studies, WGS 491C provides the opportunity to integrate
past work with feminist theories and research, to engage with current issues, debates, and controversies in
feminist scholarship, and to explore trends and new directions in the literature. This semester, our central
theme is “Locating Feminism Today.” We will attempt to describe and define Third Wave Feminism, to
explore voices, arguments, assumptions, and activism, and ultimately to locate theorizing and practices in
their historical, cultural, geographical, political, and theoretical contexts.
The course also aims to further develop the skills and knowledge needed to re/frame the issues raised in
feminist critiques, the politics of gender, and feminist thinking more broadly. In addition to examining key
texts, arguments, and scholars represented in contemporary debates about feminism and activism, we will
use course materials to explore the state of feminist understandings of the intersections of class, race,
ethnic, sexual, national, and other “identities” with gendered experiences/identities. We will examine
varieties of feminist theories and their epistemological foundations, traveling in and through different levels
of analysis to explore the global, the local, and their mediations. Working together to evaluate claims about
differences, empowerment, and feminist movements in the 1990s and 2000s as a potentially new terrain of
theory and practice, we will produce a personal mapping of Feminism Today.
Course Objectives
The specific objectives of WGS 491C include:
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students will strengthen their knowledge and understanding of contemporary feminist theorists and
theories in general, and the feminist scholarship on Third Wave Feminism more specifically;
students will further develop the ability to analyze critically competing theoretical perspectives, their
basic assumptions, and the arguments and conclusions they produce;
students will be able to compare old and newer perspectives, to evaluate arguments, and to take a
position with regard to assumptions and conclusions of completing perspectives;
students will strengthen their ability to communicate their knowledge, understandings, and critical
thinking orally and in writing;
students will develop and/or deepen knowledge about the (economic, political, cultural sexual, etc.)
experiences of women in varied parts of the world, and be able to place this knowledge in theoretical
perspectives;
students will refine research and writing skills in order to demonstrate achievement of other objectives;
students will reflect critically on what they have learned in Women’s and Gender Studies – including
their understanding of core concepts in the field, the relationship of that learning to what was learned
in the Liberals Studies Program, their strengths as a writer and a thinker, and their goals for the future.
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Course Texts
The following texts are required reading; they may be purchased at the NAU Bookstore, or through on-line
booksellers
Adams, C.J. (2010). The sexual politics of meat: A feminist-vegetarian critical theory. New York:
Continuum.
Bobel, C. (2010). New blood: Third-wave feminism and the politics of menstruation. New Brunswick, NJ:
Rutgers University Press.
Fernandes, L. (2003). Transforming feminist practice: Non-violence, social justice, and the possibilities of
a spiritualized feminism. San Francisco: Aunt Lute Books.
Jensen, D., & S. McMillan. (2007). As the world burns: 50 simple things you can do to stay in denial. New
York: Seven Stories Press.
Lawston, J.M. (2009). Sisters outside: Radical activists working for women prisoners. Albany, NY: SUNY
Press.
Mattingly, D., & E.R. Hansen (2006). Women and change at the U.S. – Mexico border: Mobility, labor,
and activism. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press.
Piepmeir, A. (2009). Girl zines: Making media, doing feminism. New York: New York University Press.
Other readings listed in the course calendar will be available on Vista electronic reserve.
Course Requirements and Evaluation
WGS 491c is structured as a seminar, and therefore places a premium on careful and critical reading and
preparation for each class session. Timely submission of all writing assignments is similarly important, as
is active and informed participation in class discussion and other activities. Writing and other assignments
are described below.
Regular attendance is expected. If you are absent from class, it is your responsibility to obtain handouts
and class notes from a classmate.
While the syllabus indicates materials to be covered during specified periods, it is given as a general
guideline only. Adjustments may be made as conditions dictate. It may not be possible to discuss all the
materials listed in the syllabus in class. I encourage you to meet with me during office hours to discuss any
topics we may not have covered in class.
Other handouts, (e.g. handouts and/or videos shown in class) will be regarded as part of the course
materials.
Participation in a learning community involves regular, thoughtful contributions to class discussion and
activities, respect for colleagues, and willingness to encourage and support others in their efforts. These
behaviors reflect appropriate conduct for a professional educator and cannot be accomplished if you are
absent or silent in class. Active class participation is essential.
In order to be an active participant in the learning community, you are expected to complete the assigned
text selections in advance of each class, bring a written response to the week’s reading question, and be
prepared to discuss what you have learned from the reading and your response in class. For a class of this
kind there should be no shortage of opinions. Reading assignments will not be duplicated by class lectures.
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All class papers should be completed on a word processor. Inadequately typed and edited work inhibits
your ability to communicate ideas to a reader, and will consequently result in a lowered grade.
Academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, cheating, fabrication, or fraud, cannot be knowingly permitted
in a university course. If an individual engages in any one of these activity, the instructor has the right to
apply the policy on academic dishonesty as outlined in the NAU Student Handbook, possibly resulting in a
penalty ranging from extra course work to a failing grade in the course.
Evaluation Procedures
Attendance/Participation (15 x 10)
150 points
Response to Reading Questions (12 x 10 points each)
120 points
Grant Proposal
Funding source, topic and question
Draft proposal
Final proposal
100 points
10 points
40 points
50 points
Teaching presentation
Topic
Group practice
Presentation
110 points
10 points
30 points
70 points
Poster presentation
Draft text
Final version
Presentation
120 points
50 points
50 points
20 points
Capstone Action or Self Reflection
Identification of form and venue
First draft
Final text
Final discussion
110 points
10 points
30 points
40 points
30 points
TOTAL POSSIBLE
700 POINTS
Grading
A = 630 - 700
B = 560 - 629
C = 490 - 559
D = 420 - 489
F = less than 420
Topics And Assignments
1. Thursday, January 20
Identifying ourselves
In class reading and discussion
Introduction
Reading in Vista shell
Walker, Rebecca (1992). Becoming the Third Wave. Ms. 41
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2. Thursday, January 27
1) Discussion:
Foundations and Waves
Reading in Vista shell
Arnel, Barbara (1999). First and second wave feminism: Challenging the dualisms. Politics and
feminism. Blackwell.
Brenner, Johanna (1996). The best of times, the worst of times: Feminism in the United States. In
Monica Threlfall (ed). Mapping the women’s movement: Feminist politics and social
transformation in the North. London: Verso.
Baumgardner, Jennifer, & Richards, Amy (2000). What is feminism? In Manifesta: Young women,
feminism, and the future. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Lorde, Audre (1984). The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house. Sister outsider.
New York: The Crossing Press.
Women’s History Project time Line http://www.legacy98.org/timeline.html
3. Thursday, February 3
2) Discussion:
Describing the Third Wave
Reading in Vista shell
Baumgardner, Jennifer & Richards, Amy (2000). Thou shalt not become thy mother. In
Manifesta: Young women, feminism, and the future. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Henry, Astrid (2003) Feminism’s family problem: Feminist generations and the mother-daughter
trope Catching a Wave (209-231)
Gamble, Sara (2001). Postfeminism. In Sarah Gamble (Ed.) Feminism and Postfeminism. New
York: Routledge. 43-54
Alfonso, Rita & Trigilio, Jo (1997). Surfing the Third Wave: A dialogue between two third Wave
feminists. Hypatia. 12:3. June.
Third Wave foundation http://www.thirdwavefoundation.org/about
A Manifesto for Third Wave Feminism http://www.alternet.org/story/9986/
Identify topic, question, funding source for research proposal, topic for teaching and poster
presentation
4. Thursday, February 10
no class
Attend Vagina Monologues February 10 – 12, 2011
Background reading in VISTA shell:
Ensler, Eve “Theater: A sacred home for women” pp. 430 – 436
Bell, Susan B., & Reverby, Susan M. (2005). Vaginal politics: Tensions and possibilities in the
Vagina Monologues. Women’s Studies International Forum. 28, pp. 430-444.
http://www.wellesley.edu/WomenSt/VM_Reverby.pdf
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Chen, Linda. (2004). Why would a professor have you read that book? The Vagina Monologues as
a teaching text? Radical Pedagogy. 6.
V Day http://www.vday.org/about
The Vagina Monologues: The V-Day Edition
http://libproxy.nau.edu:2180/lib/nau/docDetail.action?docID=10015508
5. Thursday, February 17
3) Discussion:
Activism
Reading class text
Jensen, Derrick, & McMillan, Stephanie (2007). As the world burns: 50 simple things you can do
to stay in denial. New York: Seven Stories Press.
First draft of proposal due
6. Thursday, February 24
4) Discussion:
Feminist Activism
Reading class text
Fernandes, Leela (2003). Transforming feminist practice: Non-violence, social justice, and the
possibilities of a spiritualized feminism. San Francisco, CA: Autn Lute Books.
Identify form and submission venue for final reflection/idea for activism
7. Thursday March 3
5) Discussion:
Third Wave Media
Reading class text
Piepmeier, Alison (2009). Girl zines: Making media, doing feminism. New York: New York
University Press.
March 4th International Women’s Day walk
March 8 International Women’s Day panels
Submit final draft of proposal
8. Thursday, March 10
6) Discussion:
Reading Bodies in the Third Wave
reading class text
Bobel, Chris, (2010). New Blood: Third-Wave Feminism and the politics of menstruation. New
Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Hooper proposals due March 11 to HURA Office
Spring break March 14 – 18, 2011
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9. Thursday, March 24
7) Discussion:
Feminist Vegetarian Critical Theory
reading class text
Adams, Carol J. (2010). The sexual politics of meat: A Feminist-vegetarian critical theory. New
York: Continuum.
Draft text for Poster Presentation due
10. Thursday March 31
8) Discussion:
Decolonizing Feminism/Decentering Epistemology
reading in Vista shell
Mohanty, Chandra Talpade (2003). Feminism without borders: Decolonizing theory, practicing
solidarity. Duke University Press. Introduction and Part One
Mohanty Book review http://www.electronicbookreview.com/thread/writingpostfeminism/collectively
11. Thursday, April 7
9) Discussion:
Working in the Prison Industrial Complex
reading class text
Lawston, Jodie Michelle (2009). Sisters outside: Radical activists working for women prisoners.
Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
April 12 Take Back the night march
April 14 Michael Kimmel, National Organization for Men against Sexism
April 29 Clothesline project
12. Thursday, April 14
10) Discussion:
Reorienting Feminism
reading in Vista shell
Edna Acosta-Belén, Edna & Bose, Christine E (2003). US Latinas: Active at the Intersections of
gender, nationality, race, and class, In R. Morgan (ed). Sisterhood is forever: The
women’s anthology for a new millennium. New York: Washington Square Press. Pp 198211.
Zia, Helen (2003). Reclaiming the past, redefining the future: Asian American and Pacific Islander
women, In R. Morgan (ed). Sisterhood is forever: The women’s anthology for a new
millennium. New York: Washington Square Press. Pp. 188-197
Kidwell, Clara Sue (2003). Native Americans: Restoring the power of thought woman, In R.
Morgan (ed). Sisterhood is forever: The women’s anthology for a new millennium. New
York: Washington Square Press. Pp 166-175.
Chicana feminism: http://chicanas.com/defs.html
United Nations Development Fund for Women
http://www.unifem.org/
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Final edited posters due
13. Thursday April 21
11) Discussion:
Border Activism
reading class text
Mattingly, Doreen J. & Hansen, Ellen R. (2006). Women and change at the U.S.-Mexico Border:
Mobility, labor, and activism. Tucson, AZ, The University of Arizona Press.
First draft reflection/activism
14. Thursday, April 28
12) Discussion:
Reflecting on Women’s Studies
reading in Vista shell
Zimmerman, Bonnie (2005). Beyond dualisms: Some thoughts about the future of Women’s
Studies. In Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy and Agatha Beins (Eds.), Women’s Studies for
the Future. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Alamilla Boyd, Nan (2005). What does Queer Studies offer Women’s Studies? The problem and
promise of instability. In Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy and Agatha Beins (Eds.),
Women’s Studies for the Future. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Jakobsen, Janet R. (2005). Different differences: Theory and the practice of Women’s Studies. .
In Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy and Agatha Beins (Eds.), Women’s Studies for the
Future. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Brown, Monica and Chavez-Garcia, Miroslava (2005). Women’s Studies and Chicacan Studies:
Learning from the past, looking to the future. In Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy and
Agatha Beins (Eds.), Women’s Studies for the Future. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers
University Press.
National Women’s Studies Association
Friday, April 29
http://www.nwsa.org/
SBS Honors Celebration, High Country Conference Center
Poster presentation
15. Thursday, May 5
Doing Feminism
Final Discussion and Self Reflections
Final Reflection/description of activism due
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Assignments
Discussion papers: “I want to talk about…”
10 points each/120 points total
on-going
Part of the coursework involves drafting a short discussion paper in preparation for each class discussion.
Write an “I want to talk about…” paper, no more than one half page typed, based on the assigned
readings, and bring it to class on the day assigned. Your papers provide a focus for class discussion, but
will only be collected after class on the day assigned. Discussion papers will be awarded a maximum of
ten points.
Grant Proposal
Funding source, topic and question February 3
Draft proposal February 17
Final proposal March 3
100 points total
10
40
50
This assignment requires you to write a proposal for a grant. Proposals can be written individually or in
groups depending on the grant specifications. Choose a topic of interest and a question/concern/problem
that you are interested in addressing. Ideas for projects come from a variety of sources. Ideas may be
suggested by a course you have taken or by the research, scholarly, or creative interests of a faculty
member, or you may have an idea of your own that challenges you to further explore.
One possible funding source is the Hooper Undergraduate Research Award (HURA). HURA program
offers financial awards to full time undergraduate students for research, scholarly or creative projects
undertaken in partnership with a faculty mentor. The HURA program encourages students to conduct
research and pursue academic interests outside their regular courses by employing them to work on special
research projects of their own interest. HURA applications are judged on both the quality of the proposed
project and the educational benefit to the student. Awards are not based on financial need. If HURA
interests you, you must identify a faculty mentor with whom you would work, and draft a proposal
following the guidelines delineated in the RFP.
Hooper Research Grants http://www.research.nau.edu/undergraduate/hooper.aspx (deadline March 11)
Other possible funding sources include:
AAUW
http://www.aauw.org/learn/fellows_directory/index.cfm
Fulbright mtvU award
http://us.fulbrightonline.org/types_mtvU.html (deadline March 1)
Arizona Humanities Council
http://www.azhumanities.org/ggrants1.php
NAU’s Student Activities Council
http://home.nau.edu/studentlife/safac.asp
Teaching Presentation
topic identified February 3
group/class practice
presentations on-going
100 points total
10
20
70
The teaching presentation is an opportunity to strengthen your ability to communicate your knowledge,
understandings, and critical thinking. For this assignment, you will plan and facilitate a short (20 minute)
presentation on a relevant topic for a session of WGS 191 or 200. Possible topics include: first wave
feminism, gender socialization, the body, violence against women, feminism and music, women and work,
welfare, home, and sexuality.
Select a topic, generate teaching objectives, and design activities to meet and assess your objectives. You
will practice the presentation in class, and present in a WGS 191 or 200 that is being offered during Spring
2011. The goals for this assignment include both conveying information and facilitating relevant practice
with first or second year WGS students.
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Poster Presentation
Draft text due March 24
Final product due April 14
Presentation at Honors Celebration April 29
120 points total
50
50
20
The main goal of this exercise is to develop and present a research/project poster based on your proposal
topic. A poster is a form of conference presentation; conferences typically have paper and poster sessions.
A poster is a static display of research, activities, and findings, and is an alternative to formal oral
presentations of papers. Each poster is given a designated area of wall space/pin board (usually about 4 x 5
feet).
Drawing on your question and the research/activities you delineated in your proposal, you will develop a
poster that conveys a clear message and is supported with a compelling combination of images and short
blocks of text. A poster can easily combine text, charts, maps, and photos. It should be arranged to cater to
both at-a-glance viewers (so conspicuous headlines and clear diagrams are essential) and can also integrate
bodies of text--generally as discrete boxes linked to, and describing, particular aspects of the project.
The best posters are clear and laid out to be attractive, eye-catching, and informative. The worst posters are
those where the pages of a research paper have been tacked up to the wall in sequence (eye strain is already
a problem in academe). You will create the final version of your poster using poster plotter software.
(Training is available for poster plotter through the College of Education or on-line). Examples are
archived in the course’s Vista shell.
The advantage of a poster is that it is typically "up" for several hours and can be reviewed at leisure by
people interested in the topic. It is a good way to show work with many photo details or charts--the sort of
things that are often simply flashed past one in a talk with slides. The presenter(s) is on hand to answer
questions and talk. This means that the viewer and presenter can actually exchange ideas--rarely possible in
tightly timed formal conference presentations.
You will present your poster during the SBS Honors Celebration on April 29.
Self Reflection/Activism
form/submission venue due February 24
If self reflection:
first draft due April 21
final product due May 5
final presentation/discussion
If activism:
Activity
Written description
Final presentation/discussion
110 points total
10
30
40
30
50
20
30
All capstone seminars campus wide must include a Self Reflection on the learning experience in majors
and in Liberal Studies course work. The capstone project must demonstrate your competency in two to
four of the essential skills (creative thinking, critical reading, critical thinking, effective oral
communication, effective writing, ethical reasoning, quantitative/spatial analysis, scientific inquiry, use of
technology), as well as demonstrate your understanding of the core concepts within Women’s and Gender
Studies.
This assignment can take two different forms. The first is an activism project, in which you plan and
implement a feminist intervention, contribution, or protest. The project can be an individual or group
effort. Examples of possible projects include the organization of a teach-in, a protest of an institutional
policy or decision, or a fund drive/informational campaign. Think of this as doing something you’ve
always wanted to do about something that has been a concern for you. A short, one to two typed page
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written description of the work will be submitted as per above.
The second option is a written reflection on what you have learned in Women’s and Gender Studies –
including your understanding of core concepts in the field, the relationship of that learning to what was
learned, your strengths as a writer and a thinker, and your goals for the future. The project can take any
form (e.g. narrative, essay, poem, art project). If written, submit the text to a feminist journal of your
choosing.. If artistic, identify a location for its display.
Keep in mind that Self Reflection papers typically assigned in Capstone classes are four to five typed
pages. Adjust your project accordingly.
A discussion of all final projects will be held during the last class session. The final discussion will be
graded, and will include concepts and observations from your Self Reflections/Activism, as well as
arguments from course readings.
Submission possibilities for the reflection paper might include:
 “Sexing the Political: A Journal of Third Wave Feminists on Sexuality”
http://www.sexingthepolitical.org/2001/two/about.html
 Bitch: feminist response to pop culture
http://www.bitchmagazine.com/
 Feminist Formations NWSA Journal
http://www.press.jhu.edu/journals/feminist_formations/guidelines.html
 FemTAP: A Journal of Feminist Theory and Practice
http://www.femtap.com/
NAU Classroom Management Statement, Safe Environment Policy, and information concerning Students
with Disabilities, the Institutional Review Board, Academic Integrity, and Academic Contact Hour Policy
can be found at http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/academicadmin/plcystmt.html
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