Women In A Global Context
WMN 205/ISP 205
Fall 2008
Class Time:
Course Instructor:
Office Hours
E-Mail:
Course Intern TA
Monday-Friday 9:00-9:50 am
Karen Stuhldreher, 526-7007
Tuesdays 10:30-12:00 and by apt. MWF afternoons after 2:30, IB 2330B
kstuhldr@sccd.ctc.edu
Christi Proffitt
Course Description
This is an interdisciplinary course which introduces students to the study of women in Asia, Africa, Latin and South
America, the Middle East and indigenous women in some Western societies. Using a number of conceptual
frameworks, students will explore commonalties and differences among women in various societies and cultures. We
will begin by examining our own politics of location and the ways in which our perceptions of the world and its people
have been shaped by our locations and experiences. We will study the diverse roles that women have played in the
international arena throughout history--as tourists, missionaries, diplomatic wives, consumers, producers, nannies,
domestics, prostitutes, soldiers, and agents of resistance. Topics will include colonialism and nationalism,
globalization, media representations, and resistance. We will also examine the role of nationalist struggles and
critiques of feminism by third world women. Specific issues and concerns that will be examined include work and
economic issues, family and household issues, sexuality, and reproductive issues. We will focus specifically this
quarter on Muslim women and women in India and Iran. The course will draw on books, articles, personal narratives,
films, lectures and guest speakers.
Required Texts
Cynthia Enloe, Bananas, Beaches and Bases, University of California Press, 1990
Arundhati Roy, Power Politics, South End Press, 2001
Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis, Pantheon Books, 2003
Course Reader -- Available at Prestige Copy & Print located at 11023 8th Ave. NE. It is off Northgate Way just past
the Washington Mutual and behind the Starbucks. You can enter from Northgate way at the Starbucks and go to the
back parking lot. If you want to call first to make sure a Course Reader is available for you, call 365-5770.
Course Learning Environment My hope for this course this quarter is that together we can cultivate a learning
community in which students work cooperatively with the instructor to explore the texts, share their thoughts, and
critically examine diverse perspectives and ideas in a way that is thoughtful and respectful. Dialogue is the primary
tool of a learning community in that it allows diverse and competing perspectives to be explored with the goal of
gaining deeper understanding of issues and experiences. Dialogue, like learning, requires that some risks be taken. I
encourage you to take risks both by speaking out and by listening to one another in class. Sometimes asking a question
or challenging a viewpoint is a risk. Sometimes listening to a new idea or a point of view that you do not share is a
risk. Members of a learning community, like members of a democracy, must do both in a way that respects and
appreciates the differences among us.
Seminaring One of the primary activities we will engage in together as a class is a text-based seminar in which we
will come prepared, having completed the reading and some writing about it in order to discuss the themes, issues, and
perspectives offered to us by the texts each week. The objective will be for us to work together to do close readings of
the texts in order to gain a clear understanding of what the writers are saying. In seminars the texts become the
teachers. We will share our interpretations and responses to the texts in seminar. Active participation in book
seminars is an essential part of this course and will be significant in your final evaluation. You will be taught the
necessary seminar skills and be expected to demonstrate development in this area. You will need to complete all
reading assignments on time and come to all seminars fully prepared to participate.
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Education Outcomes
Completion of this course earns you credit toward the A.A. degree in the areas of Global Studies. With this in mind, I
have identified some general course outcomes and learning objectives that are important for you to work towards as
you complete WMN/ISP 205.
This course will help you to develop the following attitudes:
1.
2.
Discover the interdisciplinary nature of knowledge by studying one set of topics from two disciplinary perspectives.
Demonstrate a willingness to learn from many cultures, persons, methods, and viewpoints by studying works that represent
such diversity.
This course will help you to develop the following skills:
1.
2.
3.
Think critically in reading and writing, especially about conventional approaches to studying women in non-Western societies
and cultures.
Be able to deal constructively with information, ideas, and emotions associated with issues of diversity and conflict in
studying foreign cultures and societies.
Work and communicate effectively in groups.
This course will help you to learn knowledge that enables you to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Understand major ideas, values, beliefs, and experiences that have shaped human history and cultures.
Describe and analyze gender, ethnicity, race, and culture as factors and forces in human communities.
Explore primary texts to understand and critically examine different theories and ideas that have shaped the history of women
and cultures within a global context.
Enter into the point of view of non-Western societies by reading from literature that expresses and reflects a diversity of
experiences and perspectives.
Examine how one’s own attitudes, perspectives, and beliefs are shaped by one’s own cultural, ethnic, and racial heritage, by
gender, by age, by sexual orientation, and by abilities.
Analyze the interconnections among the individual, the local community, the nation-state, and the global society.
Course Requirements
1) Attendance and Participation: (20%)
To meet the course objectives and learning outcomes it is necessary for you to participate in all seminars, small group
activities, and class discussions, and to do so actively and respectfully. In order to participate, you must come to class
prepared, arrive on time, and stay for the entire class. You must take the risks of listening and speaking. Attendance is
also necessary since the material presented in lectures and discussed in class is not always duplicated in course readings. You will be responsible for the material presented in lectures and films when writing your papers and exams.
Because most of the films shown in class are not available in the Media Center, you will often not have the opportunity
to make up films shown in class. For all of these reasons, unexcused absences will affect your final grade.
2) Midterm and Final Exams: (50%)
Exams will give you the opportunity to review material, synthesize it, come to a clearer understanding of it, and
hopefully discover new connections. There will be a concept and a thesis portion of each exam so that students can
identify and define concepts learned and also have a chance to write longer essays to synthesize and analyze ideas and
themes that emerge from the material.
3) Weekly Seminar Preparation Papers/Portfolio: (30%)
Students will be responsible for writing and bringing to class on the Mondays indicated in the weekly schedule, a
word-processed, double-spaced seminar preparation paper based on the readings for the week. The directions will be
provided in an assignment hand-out. You should keep your papers together and in chronological order in a folder and
at the end of the quarter I will collect this portfolio for a final evaluation that will be based on your overall work and
your progress in writing these papers throughout the quarter. (See handout for specifics on how your papers will be
evaluated.). NOTE: .5 will be subtracted from your overall Portfolio grade for each missing paper. For example, a 3.0
Portfolio missing 2 papers will receive a grade of 2.0. This means that if you do not have your paper on the day that it
is due, you will lose .5 from your overall portfolio grade. No late papers will be accepted and you may not add late,
unmarked papers to your portfolio. The reason for this is because the primary purpose of these papers is for you to
prepare for our seminar discussion.
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Extra Credit for Reading Portfolios: You may also receive extra credit for doing additional one page papers in
which you write summaries and responses to activities and events announced in class. These may include public
readings, plays, films, and lectures that pertain to the course and occur both on and off campus. Listen in class for
announcements. Place these additional papers in a separate section at the end of your Reading Portfolio Limit::
No more than 5 extra credit notebook entries will be given extra credit.
Taking Notes: The material you will be responsible for learning in class will be presented in a variety of formats that
include films, lectures, small group discussions, and sometimes guest lectures and panels. You should treat all of these
(including class discussions) as resources that you will draw on in writing your papers, midterm exam and quizzes, just
as you will the course readings. This means that you should take careful notes. You cannot write down every word,
but you can write down key points and examples. Review your notes as soon as possible the same day. Write down
questions that you want to ask the instructor or your classmates. For help on taking notes effectively, please ask me.
Asking for Assistance: I want to make myself as available to you as possible to help you to succeed in this course.
My office hours are for the purpose of providing you with any assistance you need in understanding the course
material and requirements, as well as in articulating your ideas verbally and in writing. Please don’t hesitate to call
me, e-mail me, or to come by my office with any problems or concerns that arise during the quarter. You are
encouraged--and it is your responsibility—-to contact me if you have any questions or if you find yourself falling
behind in your work for any reason. I am also open to any suggestions you might have for improvement in all aspects
of the course and will be asking for your feedback during the quarter. You can also talk with our student intern T.A.
Christi Proffitt about any concerns or questions you have. Christi and I will work together to address students’ needs.
Student Responsibility: In addition to contacting me about problems or suggestions, it is your responsibility, as a
member of a learning community, to work cooperatively with both myself and your classmates in and outside of the
classroom. To this end, I encourage study groups outside of class so that you can continue discussions beyond the
bounds of the classroom and also so you can help prepare yourselves and each other for the course assignments.
Working cooperatively and respectfully in a learning community also means coming to class on time and prepared,
participating in discussions and exercises in class, and finding out what you missed if you are absent from class. Since
this is a 5 credit course, it is also your responsibility to devote a minimum of 15 hours a week to this class. Five of
these hours will be spent in class which means that you would expect to do a minimum of 10 hours of studying,
reading, and writing outside of class each week. The syllabus is designed with this in mind.
Students are expected to:
 Be on time—lateness is disruptive and disrespectful (But don’t miss a class because you are late—come in quietly)
 Turn assignments in during class on the DUE date.
 Proofread all of your written work.
 Call your instructor if you must miss class. Take responsibility for finding out what you have missed and for obtaining
copies of notes, handouts, assignments, and changes.
 Talk with me if you miss more than three classes. Do not just disappear.
 Listen attentively and respectfully to others.
 Respect the need for a productive learning environment by turning off your cell phone and pagers at the start of class
and leaving them off for the duration of the class.
 Refrain from using artificial fragrances; sensitivity to chemicals can dramatically affect some people and a fragrance
free environment is part of the North Seattle Community College Code.
 Because laptop computers can be disruptive to the learning community, refrain from using laptops during class time
unless you have special accommodations that are documented.
 Tolerate and work through dissention in class discussions.
 Become comfortable with ambiguity and complexity as you study course content and practice course skills.
 Take responsibility for your own progress which means asking questions as they arise and seeking help when the work
feels too challenging or confusing
Overall our shared responsibility is that together we work to create a supportive, safe, respectful, lively, and
collaborative learning community for all.
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Weekly Schedule: Topics and Assigned Readings
Week 1
Readings:
(September 22-26) Laying the Groundwork for Understanding Gender in a Global
Context—Understanding How “we” are Located in A Transnational World
June Jordan, "A Trip to the Bahamas", Course Reader
Peggy McIntosh, "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack," Course Reader
“Introducing Women’s Studies: Gender in a Transnational World,” Course Reader
Marnia Lazreg, "Feminism and Difference", Course Reader
Questions:
What's in this syllabus? What's in a Seminar? What are the key questions that we want to explore in a Seminar?
What is gender? How is it distinct from sex? In what ways is this distinction important to feminism?
What is privilege? In what ways are you privileged and in what ways not?
How is white and western privilege significant in understanding women in a global context?
What does Jordan learn from traveling to the Bahamas? What is her discovery in writing this essay? What is your
discovery in reading this essay?
What is "politics of location"? How might understanding this concept help to make us more aware of connections
between our lives and people in the rest of the world?
How did Jordan’s understanding of her identity help to make her more aware of people she came into contact with?
What is meant by a transnational world? What does this term help us to understand and pay closer attention to?
How has the politics of my location shaped my understanding/perceptions in a transnational world?
Week 2
Readings:
(September 29-October 3) Who are Women in this Transnational World?—
Understanding women in the context of “Tradition vs. Modernity” Dichotomy
Wei Djao, "Being Chinese: the Cultural Dimension", Course Reader
Cynthia Enloe, “Introduction to The Curious Feminist” Course Reader
Chandra Mohanty, "Cartographies of Struggle", Course Reader
Questions:
What is culture?
What is “ideal culture” as opposed to “real culture”?
What do the terms "first" and "third" world mean?
Where are we in the U.S. located in these terms?
What is the dichotomy between "modernity and "tradition" about?
Why is it important to be curious? What is distinctive about developing a feminist curiosity?
What are western preconceptions/images of the third world? Of third world women in particular?
How are such perceptions of “third world” a form of constructing “the other”?
What is the critique of western feminists with respect to their understanding of third world women as a social
category?
Are third world women's struggles necessarily feminist struggles?
What are differences between western feminisms and third world feminisms?
What is meant by “context of struggle”? Why is it useful to understand the common contexts of struggle and
the different contexts of struggle in order for western and non-western women to work together?
Week 3
Readings:
(October 6-10) Colonialism and Nationalism: Women on the Global Stage
Cynthia Enloe, Bananas, Beaches, and Bases, Prefaces and Chapters 1 -3
Cynthia Enloe, “Whom Do You Take Seriously” Course Reader
Questions:
What is the relationship of gender relations to international politics?
What various roles do women play in international politics? As subjects and as objects?
Why does Enloe say that the phrase “nothing is natural” is a good motto for feminist theory?
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According to Enloe, why might feminist analyses be important to understanding the international politics?
How is international tourism a function of power according to Enloe?
How does tourism function in relationship to colonialism?
What are the gendered aspects of tourism? What roles do femininity and masculinity play in tourism?
What is colonialism? How has colonialism shaped women's lives?
How have women as symbols, as caretakers, as workers been significant in colonialism?
What is nationalism?
What is the relationship of women to nationalism? How have women been implicated in nationalist
struggles?
Week 4
Readings:
(October 13-17) Globalization: Women as Consumers and Producers
Cynthia Enloe, Bananas, Beaches, and Bases, Chapters 6-7 and 9
Cynthia Enloe, “The Globetrotting Sneaker” and “Daughters and Generals in the Politics of
the Globalized Sneaker” Course Reader
Questions:
How are women being integrated into the new international order of global economic restructuring?
What is the new international division of labor and how is it related to gender?
Women as producers: How is women's labor made cheap?
Women as consumers: How are good consumers and happy shoppers produced?
Week 5
Readings:
(October 22-26) Understanding Globalization more fully—Its History, Economic
Structure and Its Failings—How Women as Maids, Nannies and Sex Workers Sharpen
our Understanding
Wayne Ellwood, No Nonsense Guide to Globalization in the Course Reader
Barbara Ehrenreich and Arlie Russell Hochschild, Global Woman in Course Reader
Cynthia Enloe, Bananas, Beaches, and Bases, Chapter 8 SUGGESTED
Questions:
What is globalization? What is the history of globalization? How is globalization different today?
What is the Bretton Woods Trio?
What is the IMF? The World Bank? The WTO? GATT? Why is it important to know this?
What are Structural Adjustment Policies (SAPs) and how are these linked to development?
What are the effects of globalization and development on women in Third World nations?
What is meant by feminzation of migration? How is this concept tied to globalization?
Why has migration increased? What are the “pushes” and the “pulls”? What creates the care deficit?
Why is a feminist analysis important to understand the process of globalization?
How does an understanding of migration and changes in women’s work cause us to see the process of
globalization in a new light?
How are the relationships between Dominican sex workers and their European clients analogous to relations
between the third world and western nations? How is dependence cultivated in each case?
Weeks 6 and 7 (October 27-November 7) Power and Politics in the Global South—Feminist
Responses to Globalization
Readings:
Nawal El Saadawi, in Course Reader
Arundhati Roy, Power Politics
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Questions:
What is development and how does it affect women internationally?
What is the relationship between globalization and development?
What does it mean to say that globalization can be a form of neocolonialism?
What are the costs to women of economic development in the Global South? In India specifically?
What is the politics of resistance that she says we must cultivate?
What is privatization and what is Roy’s critique of it?
Why did the Indian government embrace privatization? What is her critique of its decision?
What is the lesson of the dams built in India? Why does Roy tell this story in such detail?
What can India teach the world according to Roy? How does she answer this question?
What are the similarities and differences you find between Roy and El Saadawi and what they have to say
about the costs of globalization and development in their countries?
How do they each see themselves as writers and as activists? How are they each treated by their
governments as writers and as activists?
Midterm Exam on October 28th
Weeks 8 and 9 (November 10-21) Representations of Women in the Global South—Indian and
Arab Women
Readings:
Sanjukata Ghosh, “Con-fusing Exotica: Producing India in U.S. Advertising,” C. Reader
Therese Saliba, "Military Presences and Absences: Arab Women and the Persian Gulf
War,” in Course Reader
Questions:
What is Orientalism? Why is this an important concept to understand for this course?
How are Orientalist representations of women tied to colonialism?
How are Arab and Islamic women in particular represented in the media?
What are the effects of these representations? What are their specific effects during war time?
How do such representations play out in the global economy and foreign policy?
Week 9
Readings:
(November 17-21) Women and Islam: An Introduction to Women in Iran
Shirin Ebadi, Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope, Prologue and Ch. 1-3 in
Course Reader
Haleh Afshar, “Women and Political Fundamentalism in Iran” and Ziba Mir Hosseini,
section from “Divorce, Veiling and Feminism in Post-Kohemeni Iran” in Course Reader
Questions:
What do you learn from Ebadi about the history of U.S. foreign policy in Iran?
How has U.S. involvement in Iran affected the country—its political leadership and its people?
How have the revolutionary changes in power affected Iranian women in particular?
What do you learn from Ebadi about women’s lives in Iran? How are they similar and different to one
another and to women in the west? Consider differences with respect to class and culture as well.
What are the critiques of western feminism by third world women, particularly Islamic women?
What is the relationship between women and Islam?
What is Islamic feminism?
What are the politics of veiling?
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Weeks 10 and 11
Readings:
(November 24-December 3) Feminism and Critiques: Women and Islam,
Women in Iran
Satrapi, Persepolis
Questions:
How does reading memoir help to understand the struggles and issues of women in Iran?
What does Satrapi’s memoir contribute to your understanding of the politics of veiling?
What is similar and different between Ebadi’s and Satrapi’s experiences in Iran?
What is your experience of reading a “graphic novel” like Satrapi’s? What do the pictures lend to your
understanding of women in Iran and women and Islam?
What are the politics of veiling? How do the films Under One Sky and Nazrah help you to understand the
many aspects of veiling?
Week 11
(December 4-5)
Questions:
What have we learned in this course that has been valuable?
How will we use the knowledge we have gained in this course?
Final Exam scheduled on day of Final during Exam week—
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