WST 230/ PAX 395
University of Maine
Women’s Studies Department
and
Peace Studies Department
WOMEN, HEALTH, & THE ENVIRONMENT
Spring 2009
http://www.courses.maine.edu/
Texts: Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson,
Refuge, by Terry Tempest Williams,
Living Downstream, by Sandra Steingraber,
Exile and Pride, by Eli Clare
Optional: Feminism is for Everybody, by bell hooks
Instructor: Associate Professor Sandra Haggard,
haggard@maine.edu
ONLINE OFFICE HOURS: Tuesdays and Wednesdays 9noon or by appointment. Go to the blackboard website, click
on communication, then on “collaboration” to join a chat.
Course Objectives: We will examine from feminist
perspectives the connections between human health issues
(such as cancer, autoimmune diseases, infertility) and
assaults on the environment from man-made hazards such
as non-biodegradable synthetic organic compounds and
nuclear radiation. Standard scientific approaches will be
combined with feminist analyses, using the interlocking
matrices of gender, race, class, and other asymmetrical
systems. Agency for pollutions will be examined from the
personal to the global levels. Possibilities for conscious
change will be considered, along with strategies for
implementing them.
Week
Topics
Readings
1/12 Introductions, grading plan, pesticide quiz
Silent Spring
1/20 Ecosystem theory in Silent Spring
ss ch. 1-6
1/26 Background on cancer & pesticides
ss ch. 7-8
2/2
Finish Silent Spring, the military & the
environment
ss ch. 9-epilogue
2/9
Earth Follies, feminist theory
2/16 Consider topics for project or paper, begin
discussions of Refuge
websites
1ST PAPER
DUE,
Refuge
2/23 finish Refuge project topic
due
3/2
Spring Break
3/16 Begin Living Downstream
2ND PAPER
DUE, Living D.
3/23 Living Downstream
3/30 Exile and Pride
LD ch. 7epilogue
E&P
4/6
Websites
Third paper due
4/13 Global issues, Vandana Shiva
Websites
4/20 Possibilities for change
Websites
4/27 Peace and the Precautionary Principle
Websites
5/4 Final exam week: all assignments due, including final papers
on Monday May 4, and reaction to classmates papers on Wednesday
May 6.
Grading Plan:
Reaction Papers 30 points
Three 4-page reactions on any three of the four books
assigned, use two or more of the 5 feminist ways of knowing
and Barry Commoner's 4 laws of ecology as a framework for
your reactions (listed below). Due dates are posted on the
web page calendar and this syllabus. Papers and weekly
assignments and discussions are due Sundays at midnight.
Late postings may negatively affect your grade, as may
papers shorter than 3 pages (double spaced, 12 font).
Reading Lessons 30 points
There will be 11 writing assignment LESSONS based on the
textbooks or other assigned readings. Each will be worth up
to 3 points, and are to be posted on the blackboard
discussion folder for each lesson. There will be questions
posted to guide your writings, and attention to the 5 feminist
ways of knowing and the 4 laws of ecology can also help
frame the discussions. As a guideline only, aim for 500
words per week for your discussions and reactions in the
class participation.
Class Participation 15 points
Your weekly presence and participation helps determine the
overall quality of the class experience online as it does in a
face-to-face class. This is a class based on the seminar
model, so your thoughtful comments in the blackboard
discussion folder count toward this part of your evaluation.
Participation in chats and thoughtful reactions to other
student’s postings are included in this grade.
Project or Paper 25 points
A project based on social activism, any creative form to
enhance consciousness raising on the course content, a
standard 10 to 15 page term paper, OR almost anything you
can connect to this course is possible(check with me for
feedback on your proposal). We will discuss the project
ideas in a discussion forum to encourage group projects,
and presentations will be made to the whole class on the
web site. The format of the presentation will vary with the
kind of project. The project and responses to classmates’
projects are due the last week of class.
The final grade will be based on the standard percentages of
90-100 = A, 80-89= B. etc, with plus and minus grades used
for borderline grades.
Five Feminist Ways of Knowing:
1. Examination of the pervasive influence of gender
asymmetry in our culture.
2. Acknowledge the connections among race, class, sexual
orientation, and gender asymmetries in terms of their causes
and their effects.
3. Consciousness raising.
4. Exploring the relationship between the researcher and the
researched.
5. Transformation and change on personal, local, and more
global levels.
Adapted from the fourth edition of Feminist Frontiers,
Richardson and Taylor, eds.
Barry Commoner's Four Laws of Ecology:
1. Everything is connected to everything else.
2. Everything has to go somewhere.
3. Nature knows best.
4. There's no such thing as a free lunch.
From Closing Circle, Bantam books, 1980.
PLEASE SEE http://www.maine.edu/pdf/0609conductcodebookcleancopyfinal052206.pdf FOR A STATEMENT OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF MAINE SYSTEM CONDUCT CODE. Plagiarism and cheating in
this class will be dealt with according to these policies and procedures. We will assume
all work is original unless it is referenced, so please be careful to attribute sources for
your information.
Any student needing accommodations for disabilities of any kind please contact the
instructor or http://www.umaine.edu/disability/ for assistance.