Women’s Studies 182
Feminist Research and Practice
Professor: Mireille Miller-Young
Women’s Studies Program
4712 South Hall
mmilleryoung@womst.ucsb.edu
Mon./Wednes. 3:30-4:45pm
North Hall, Room 1111
Office Hours: Tues 2-3pm
and by appointment
Course Description:
The goal of Feminist Research and Practice is to train students in interdisciplinary
feminist research methods and provide you with the opportunity to conceptualize, design,
and present an original research project proposal. Unlike in previous WMST 182 classes,
you will not be expected to present research findings in a fully implemented project,
however you will instead focus on developing the design, concept, theory and
methodology of a (possible) future research project in Women’s Studies. Even though
you are not required to conduct a research project, this class takes this seriously the
production of a research proposal as the final project. We hope that you will go on to take
an Honors Research Seminar or Independent Study to produce a research project based
on the proposal you develop in this course. This course emphasizes the importance of
methodological conceptualization, organization, and preparation in designing a feminist
research project. Course readings discuss and provide useful examples of feminist
research methodologies, with an emphasis on politically engaged scholarship and social
research.
Format, Requirements, and Grading:
This class requires your full participation in interactive discussions and collaborative
learning. You are expected to attend all classes, prepare for class by completing the
reading and writing assignment and reviewing your notes, and participate in class
discussions and working groups. No unexcused absences are permitted; you must provide
a note from the Dean or a doctor if you miss a class or inform the professor prior to the
absence.
During the first class we will arrange course members into small working groups. The
function of these groups is 1) to lead discussions on dates to be arranged in class by
designing and posing questions and 2) to workshop your individual projects. Each
member is expected to participate in both leading discussions and “workshopping” the
projects of group members. You will read and give feedback to all group members during
working group discussions about project design, implementation, analysis, and problem
solving. Each class session will be led by one working group—the working group will
give a brief summary of the readings and propose three questions for discussion about the
argument and methodology of the reading. All members are expected to contribute to
leading discussions and workshopping projects.
Grading:
 Class attendance, preparation, and participation (20%)
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


Works in Progress (Abstract & Bibliography; Bibliographic Essay; Theoretical
Framework Draft; Methodological Framework Draft) (40%; 10% each)
Presentations (10%)
Final Paper (30%)
Work-in-Progress Papers
You will turn in four work in progress papers about your research project proposal. The
first paper will be an Abstract (1 page) and Bibliography (5-7 sources), due at the end of
Week 3 (10/20). The second paper will be a Bibliographic Essay (3 pages, 4-5 sources),
due at the end of Week 5 (11/3). The third paper is the Theoretical Framework Draft (3-5
pages), due at the end of Week 7 (11/17). The fourth paper is the Methodological
Framework Draft (3-5 pages), due in class Week 9 (11/25). All your citations and
bibliographies should use MLA or Chicago Manual Style, be double spaced, 12pt Times
New Roman typeface, with normal margins. All papers should be handed in on time and
in hard-copy format. No late papers will be accepted. All papers should be proofread for
grammar and spelling, and clearly written. I recommend using the UCSB Writing
Resource Center if you need additional assistance in preparing your papers.
Paper # 1: Abstract and Bibliography (Due 10/20):
Your Abstract is a brief (about 500 words) proposal of your proposed research project.
Remember, you will not conduct the research during this course, but will learn how to
carefully conceive and construct a research project with a feminist theoretical and
methodological framework. Here, you will identify the theme and scope of your project,
its relationship to feminist analysis, and the methodology you propose to use in the
research. In addition to the Abstract you should add a Bibliography of 5-7 relevant
sources.
Paper # 2: Bibliographic Essay (Due 11/3):
This essay (3 pages) should examine 4 or 5 of the proposed sources for your research
project. You should give a brief analysis of how each text is useful and may be mobilized
in your research in terms of theory and/or methodology. You should include sources that
directly relate to your research topic as well as those that model the methodological
approach you seek to use. You may include texts that are discussed in this class. This
essay will be the basis for your literature review, section 2 of your final research
proposal.
Paper # 3: Theoretical Framework Draft (Due 11/17):
This essay (3-5 pages) will be the basis of the theory section of your final research
proposal. It gives an overview of your project, cites its relevance to feminist theory, and
theorizes your unique intervention to the literature on that topic.
Paper # 4: Methodological Framework Draft (Due 11/25):
This essay (3-5 pages) will be the basis of the methodology section of your final research
proposal. This section explains how you will go about your research (research method),
and how your research is situated in “feminist methodology,” meaning how does your
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approach to the research topic use feminist perspectives to interrogate the research
problem.
Final Paper (Due Dec 13):
Your final paper will include 4 sections: 1) Introduction and Background to research
problem, 2) Theoretical Framework and Literature Review, 3) Method and Methodology,
and 4) Preliminary Conclusions. I encourage you to use revised versions of your work-inprogress papers where appropriate. This final proposal should be clear and cogent,
original and complete, organized and thoughtful. Evidence of serious consideration of
This paper should be between 13-15 pages (not including works cited and appendices).
Late papers will not be accepted.
Working Group Guidelines
Leading Discussion
Each class a working group is assigned to lead discussion of the reading(s). You are
encouraged to meet before class to prepare a cogent 10-minute presentation and
produce 3 questions to be posed to the class. It is up to each group how they want to
share the work of speaking, note taking, and generating questions. Your presentations
should address these questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
What is the thesis of the text(s)?
How does the text address feminist methodological concerns?
What sources or evidence is mobilized by the author(s) to make their claims?
What new concepts are introduced, and how are they useful in advancing our
theoretical and methodological analyses?
5. What critiques do you have of the text(s)? Does it succeed in its argument? Is its
methodological approach fitting and/or useful?
Workshopping
Some time will be set aside in class for working groups to meet to discuss their final
projects and work-in-progress papers, particularly during the end of the course. However,
working groups are encouraged to meet outside of class to workshop work-in-progress
with one another during the quarter. You may want to pre-circulate papers via email in
order to discuss them during your meetings. You may also want to discuss readings from
class and particular methodological or research approaches. You should give feedback
relating to conception, argumentation, structure, etc. to your working group members that
is productive and helpful rather than negative. This structure is designed to help all group
members achieve their goals in the course, and fully depends on your full participation.
Course Schedule:
Week 1:
Introduction: What is Feminist Methodology?
M 10/2
Class Introduction.
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W 10/4
Sandra Harding, “Introduction: Is There a Feminist Method?” in Feminism
and Methodology, ed. Sandra Harding (Bloomington: Indiana University
Press, 1987), 1-14.
Sharlene Nagy Hesse-Biber, et al, “Feminist Approaches to Research as a
Process: Reconceptualizing Epistemology, Methodology and Method,” in
Feminist Perspectives on Social Research, eds. Sharlene Nagy HesseBiber and Michelle L. Yaiser (New York: Oxford, 2004), 3-26.
Nancy A. Naples, “Epistemology, Feminist Methodology, and the Politics
of Method,” in Feminism and Method: Ethnography, Discourse Analysis,
and Activist Research (New York: Routledge, 2003), 13-33.
Week 2:
Research Methods and Historical Sources
M 10/9
Caroline Ramazanoglu, Chapter 6: “Researching ‘Others’: Feminist
Methodology and the Politics of Difference,” and Chapter 8: “Choices and
Decisions: Doing a Feminist Research Project” in Feminist Methodology:
Challenges and Choices, (Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2002), 105-122, 145164.
<Group #1 presents>
W 10/11
Kathy Peiss, “’Charity Girls’ and City Pleasures: Historical Notes on
Working-Class Sexuality, 1880-1920,” in Powers of Desire: The Politics
of Sexuality, eds. Ann Snitow, Christine Stansell, and Sharon Thompson
(New York: Monthly Review, 1983), 74-87.
Joan Kelly-Gadol, “The Social Relation of the Sexes: Methodological
Implications of Women’s History,” in Feminism and Methodology, ed.
Sandra Harding (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1987), 15-28.
<Group #2 presents>
Week 3:
Discourse Analysis
M 10/16
Christine Gledhill, “Genre and Gender: The Case of the Soap Opera,” in
Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices, ed.
Stuart Hall (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1997), 337-386.
<Group #3 presents>
W 10/18
Ann McClintock, “Imperial Leather: Race, Cross Dressing, and the Cult of
Domesticity,” in Imperial Leather: Race, Gender, and Sexuality in the
Colonial Contest, (New York: Routledge, 1995), 132-180.
<Group #4 presents>
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Friday 10/20 Abstract & Bibliography Due in my mailbox, by 5pm.
Week 4:
Oral History and Interview Research
M 10/23
Shulamit Reinharz, “Feminist Interview Research,” in Feminist Methods
in Social Research (New York: Oxford, 1992), 18-45.
Lois Presser, “Negotiating Power and Narrative in Research: Implications
for Feminist Methodology,” Signs vol. 30, no. 4 (Summer 2005): 20672289.
<Group #1 presents>
W 10/25
Horacio Roque Ramirez, “That’s My Place: Negotiating Racial, Sexual,
and Gender Politics in San Francisco’s Gay Latino Alliance, 1975-1983,”
Journal of the History of Sexuality vol. 12, no. 2 (2003): 224-258.
Ann L. Stoller, “Memory-Work in Java: A Cautionary Tale,” in Carnal
Knowledge and Imperial Power: Race and the Intimate in Colonial Rule
(Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2002), 162-203.
<Group #2 presents>
Week 5:
Ethnography
M 10/30
Shulamit Reinharz, “Feminist Ethnography,” in Feminist Methods in
Social Research (New York: Oxford, 1992), 45-75.
<Group #3 presents>
W 11/1
Judith Halberstam, “Mackdaddy, Superfly, Rapper: Gender, Race, and
Masculinity in the Drag King Scene,” Social Text, no. 52/53, Queer
Transextions of Race, Nation, and Gender (Autumn-Winter 1997): 104131.
<Group #4 presents>
Friday 11/3
Bibliographic Essay due in my mailbox by 5pm
Week 6:
Ethnography, Part 2
M 11/6
Don Kulick, “Introduction” and “Chapter Two: Becoming a Travesti,” in
Travesti: Sex, Gender and Culture Among Brazilian Transgendered
Prostitutes (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998), 1-18, 44-95.
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<Group #1 presents>
W 11/8
E. Patrick Johnson, “Nevah Had Uh Cross Word: Mammy and the Trope
of Black Womanhood,” in Appropriating Blackness: Performance and the
Politics of Authenticity (Durham: Duke University Press, 2003), 104-159.
<Group #2 presents>
Week 7:
Action/Activist Research
M 11/13
Rina Benmayor, “Testimony, Action Research, and Empowerment: Puerto
Rican Women and Popular Education,” in The Women’s Words: Feminist
Practice of Oral History, eds. Sherna Berget Gluck and Daphne Patai
(New York: Routledge: 1991), 159-174.
Sherna Berger Gluck, “Advocacy Oral History: Palestinian Women in
Resistance,” in The Women’s Words: Feminist Practice of Oral History,
eds. Sherna Berget Gluck and Daphne Patai (New York: Routledge:
1991), 205-219.
<Group #3 presents>
W 11/15
Verta Taylor and Leila Rupp, “When the Girls Are Men: Negotiating
Gender and Sexual Dynamics in a Study of Drag Queens,” Signs, vol. 30,
no. 4 (Summer 2005): 2115-2139.
<Group #4 presents>
Friday 11/17 Theoretical Framework Draft due by 5pm in my mailbox.
Week 8:
Synthesis, Towards the Proposal
M 11/20
Research Proposal Discussion, Working Groups Meet in Class
W 11/22
No Class, work on Paper # 4
Week 9:
Development of Proposal, Presentations
M 11/25
Presentations begin
Methodological Framework Paper Draft Due in Class
W 11/27
Presentations
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Week 10:
Presentations 2
M 12/4
Presentations
W 12/6
Presentations
Final papers Due Wednesday, December 13, 5pm in my Women’s Studies mailbox
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