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WMST 3010 Feminist Theories in Intercultural Perspective Spring 2014 Anne G. Hoffman This semester we will work collaboratively with a range of texts—theoretical, literary, cinematic—produced by people working in different cultural contexts and moments in time. We will listen to women’s voices, analyze the positions from which women speak, and think about the struggle to find voice, to comprehend difference, and to give form to experience in writing. In light of the challenges that feminism and gay/lesbian studies have posed to conventional alignments of sex, gender, and desire, we will address the emergence of queer theory in recent years. Our primary texts consist of readings in feminist theory, gender studies, and queer theory, together with fiction, poetry, plays, and film. Through close reading and critical analysis, we will examine the ways in which constructions of gender, sexuality, class, and ethnicity give shape to experience, with a particular focus on expression in language. Our critical practice will enable us to think about language not only in the texts we read, but in our own usage. Required texts (available at the Fordham Bookstore): Feminist Theory: A Reader, 4th edition, eds. Wendy Kolmar and Frances Bartkowski (McGraw-­‐Hill) Mahasweta Devi and Gayatri Spivak, Imaginary Maps (Routledge) Nawal El Saadawi, Woman at Point Zero (Zed Books) Alison Bechdel, Fun Home: A Family Tragi-­Comic (Mariner Books) Additional readings on Blackboard: 1. Eve Ensler, Vagina Monologues. 2. Nancy Hartsock, “The Feminist Standpoint.” 3. Anne Sexton, “Briar Rose,” “Cinderella” (from Transformations). 4. Poems by Nikky Finney and Vievee Frances, 2014 Reid Writers of Color speakers. 5. Hillary Chute, “Animating an Archive: Repetition and Regeneration in Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home” (from Graphic Women: Life Narrative and Contemporary Comics, 2010) 6. Willa Cather, “Paul’s Case: A Study in Temperament” (1905; Cather online archive) 6. David Halperin, selections from How to Be Gay (Harvard UP 2012) 7. Judith Butler, “Gender is Burning” (from Bodies That Matter, 1995). 8. bell hooks, “Is Paris Burning?” (from Black Looks: Race and Representation, 1992). 9. Daniel Contreras, “New Queer Cinema: Spectacle, Race, Utopia” (From New Queer Cinema: A Critical Reader, ed. Michele Aaron, 2004). 2
Contact: Office hours: Mondays, 5:15-­‐6:15 pm; Tuesdays, 5:15-­‐6:15 pm; Thursdays, 1:15-­‐2:15 pm, and by appointment. Office: LL 923C. Telephone/voicemail: 636-­‐
6386. Email: hoffman@fordham.edu I am available to meet with you about any aspect of our coursework. Course policy: 1. Attendance is mandatory and punctuality is expected. More than two unexcused absences will have an adverse effect on your grade. Avoid leaving the room during class, unless there is a real emergency. 2. Academic Integrity: As members of an intellectual and creative community, we have a responsibility to others and to ourselves to document carefully all the sources that we use in our work. Failure to give proper acknowledgement to the intellectual work of others is a profound ethical violation of the values that sustain academic community. Plagiarism, in other words, is a form of theft; it incurs heavy penalties. The Student Handbook outlines university policy regarding plagiarism. 3. Disability: Under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973, all students, with or without disabilities, are entitled to equal access to the programs and activities of Fordham University. If you believe that you have a disability that may interfere with your ability to participate in the activities, coursework, or assessment of the object of this course, you may be entitled to accommodations. Please schedule a meeting to speak with someone at the Office of Disability Services (Rose Hill -­‐ O’Hare Hall, Lower Level, x0655 or at Lincoln Center – Room 207, x6282). Course requirements: 1. This is an EP 3 course: it fulfills part of the Eloquentia Perfecta requirement in the Core Curriculum. a. Regular attendance, completion of readings and participation in class discussion. 5% b. Three essays (5 pages each) on topics related to course readings. At least two of the essays must involve readings that go beyond the syllabus. 40% c. In advance of each essay, students will submit a proposal, consisting of a thesis paragraph, outline, and list of sources. Following each essay, students will be assigned an exercise in revision. 5% 3
d. Small-­‐group presentations: Class members will work collaboratively to prepare a 10-­15 minute presentation that intersects with one of the theoretical readings. (Once each group has a date, you should be in touch with me to select the reading you will address.) The presentation should draw on the reading in order to analyze some aspect of gender in our culture, our city, or our environment. The goal is to illuminate the theory by demonstrating its relevance to some aspect of culture. Powerpoint, plus a one-­‐page write-­‐up of the project. 15% e. Individual presentation: A 5-­minute presentation that addresses your own perception of some aspect of gender, in relation to the work of our course. This presentation does not have to be tied to a specific reading. It should convey your own point of view on the subject you have chosen. You may draw on personal experience, or on something specific in our culture, say, a film, music, book, advertisement. (This is a brief presentation, however, so don’t plan to run something that takes more than one minute, and no movie trailers.) Your analysis should draw some form of connection, broad or specific, to our coursework. 10% f. Final examination. 25% 2. Field trip to the Feminist Art Wing at the Brooklyn Museum. Attendance at a performance of Eve Ensler’s Vagina Monologues. Guidelines for Essays: 1. Each of the three essays should address a specific question and set of texts. The primary focus of the essay should be a theoretical reading. You are encouraged to use fiction, poetry, or film, in addition to the theory, but keep in mind that the primary focus of our coursework is theoretical. Do not write about any text more than once over the course of the semester. At lease two essays must involve readings that go beyond the syllabus. 2. Approach the essay as your investigation of a question that interests you. Articulate the question as precisely as you can and use it to map out your area of inquiry. 3. For each essay, supply a cover sheet that contains, in addition to name, date, course, essay title, the following information: (a) topics of previous essays; (b) whether or not you used outside readings on previous essays; (c) topic for this essay; (d) outside sources (or not) for this essay. 4. For each essay, supply a list of works cited for every text you use, including those on the syllabus. Use MLA form. When you refer to texts in the body of your essay, give parenthetical citations in the body of your text. Do not use footnotes or endnotes for citations. 5. For each essay, there will be a pre-­writing assignment (topic, thesis, outline, bibliography) and a post-­writing revision exercise. These count as part of your grade. 4
Schedule of readings for class discussion (subject to revision over the semester). Be sure to bring assigned readings with you to class. No electronics in class: print out Blackboard texts. Readings in “Lexicon of the Debates” may be found at the start of our theory reader. (B) indicates Blackboard. Unit 1: Opening the Conversation: M, 1/13: Introduction and brief readings for discussion: excerpts from Sigmund Freud, The Ego and the Id; Jacques Lacan, “The Mirror Stage”; Emile Benveniste, “Subjectivity in Language”; Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye. Adrienne Rich, “Diving into the Wreck” (1973). Th, 1/16: Virginia Woolf, from A Room of One’s Own (1929). Simone de Beauvoir, from The Second Sex (1949). Lexicon of the Debates: “Epistemologies” and “Language.” M, 1/20: Martin Luther King Birthday. University closed. Unit 2: Postwar America and Second-­Wave Feminism: Th, 1/23: Betty Friedan, “The Problem That Has No Name” (1963); Louis Menand on Betty Friedan (B); Anne Sexton, “Briar Rose” (1971) and “Cinderella” (from Transformations (1971) (B). Recommended: Eleanor Perry’s film, Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970; adapted from Sue Kaufman’s 1967 novel): available on YouTube. Writing Exercise due. M, 1/27: Nancy Chodorow, “The Sexual Sociology of Adult Life” (1978); Sherry Ortner, “Is Female to Male as Nature is to Culture?” (1974); Carol Gilligan, “Images of Relationship” (1982). Lexicon of the Debates: “Essentialism/Social Construction/Difference.” Adrienne Rich, “Diving into the Wreck” (1973) (B). Th, 1/30: Nancy Chodorow, “The Sexual Sociology of Adult Life” (1978); Sherry Ortner, “Is Female to Male as Nature is to Culture?” (1974); Carol Gilligan, “Images of Relationship” (1982). Lexicon of the Debates: “Essentialism/Social Construction/Difference.” Adrienne Rich, “Diving into the Wreck” (1973) (B). Proposal (thesis, outline, and sources) for Paper #1 due. Unit 3: Bodies and Embodiment: Theoretical and Theatrical Perspectives M, 2/3: Mary Douglas, “The System at War with Itself” (1966). Susan Bordo, from “Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body” (1994). Lexicon of the Debates: “Bodies.” 5
Th, 2/6: Susan Bordo, from “Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body” (1994). Lexicon of the Debates: “Bodies.” Carole S. Vance, “Pleasure and Danger: Toward a Politics of Sexuality” (1984). M, 2/10: Eve Ensler, The Vagina Monologues (1996); Luce Irigaray, from “This Sex Which Is Not One” (1977). Anne Koedt, “The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm” (1970). Essay #1 due. Th, 2/13: Eve Ensler, The Vagina Monologues (1996); Hélène Cixous, “The Laugh of the Medusa” (1975). Linda Alcoff, “Cultural Feminism versus Post-­‐Structuralism: The Identity Crisis in Feminist Theory” (1988). Note: Course members are required to attend a performance of Vagina Monologues, either at Lincoln Center or at Rose Hill. M, 2/18: President’s Day: University closed. Unit 4: Translating Experiences: Transnational Feminisms *Tuesday, 2/18: Monday classes meet today. Nawal el Saadawi, Woman at Point Zero (1973). Nancy Hartsock, “The Feminist Standpoint” (B). Th, 2/20: Nawal el Saadawi, Woman at Point Zero (1973). Gayle Rubin, “The Traffic in Women: Notes on the ‘Political Economy’ of Sex” (1975). Lexicon of the Debates: “’Third World’/Global/Transnational Feminism.” Revision exercise for Paper #1 due. M, 2/24: Mahasweta Devi, Imaginary Maps: Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, “Translator’s Preface,” Devi, “The Hunt”; Uma Narayan, “Contesting Cultures: ‘Westernization,’ Respect for Cultures, and Third-­‐World Feminists” (1997). Proposal (thesis paragraph, outline, and sources) for Paper #2 due. Th, 2/27: Mahasweta Devi, Imaginary Maps: “Douloti the Bountiful.” Inderpal Grewal and Caren Kaplan, “Global Identities: Theorizing Transnational Studies of Sexuality” (2001). M, 3/3: Mahasweta Devi, Imaginary Maps: “Douloti the Bountiful.” C.T. Mohanty, “Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses, 1984/1991.” Essay #2 due. Unit 5: The Politics of Identity and Difference: African-­American Women’s Writing Th, 3/6: Pauli Murray, “The Liberation of Black Women” (1970); Combahee River Collective, “A Black Feminist Statement” (1977); Audre Lorde, “The Master’s Tools 6
Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House” (1979). Lexicon of the Debates: “Intersections of Race, Class, Gender.” M, 3/10: The poetry of Nikky Finney and Vievee Frances (Reid Writers of Color Speakers 2014) Patricia Hill Collins, “Black Feminist Thought” (1990); Lexicon of the Debates: “Power.” Note: 2014 Reid Writers of Color: Nikky Finney and Vievee Frances All students are required to attend at least one of the readings: Tuesday, March 11, 7-­‐8:30 pm, Lowenstein 12th floor Lounge; Wednesday, March 12, 5-­‐6:30 pm, Keating 3rd, Rose Hill. Th, 3/13: The poetry of Nikky Finney and Vievee Frances (Reid Writers of Color Speakers 2014). Kimberlé Crenshaw, “Intersectionality and Identity Politics: Learning from Violence against Women of Color” (1997); bell hooks, “Feminism: A Transformational Politic” (1989). Revision exercise for Essay #2 due. M, 3/17 and Th, 3/20: No class: Spring break. Unit 6: Queering Identity: Performative and Theoretical Explorations M, 3/24: Alison Bechdel, Fun Home (2006). Lexicon of the Debates: Sexualities. Joan Riviere, “Womanliness as Masquerade” (1929). Judith Butler, from Gender Trouble (1990). Proposal (thesis, outline, sources) for Essay #3 due. Th, 3/27: Alison Bechdel, Fun Home (2006). Lexicon of the Debates: Sexualities. Judith Butler, from Gender Trouble (1990). Revision exercise for Paper #2 due. M, 3/31: Alison Bechdel, Fun Home (2006). Charlotte Bunch, “Not for Lesbians Only” (1975); Monique Wittig, “The Straight Mind” (1978). Essay #3 due. 4:30-­5:30 pm: Feminism and Gender in the Workplace: Roundtable Discussion Proposal (thesis paragraph, outline, sources) for Paper #3 due via email. Th, 4/3: Alison Bechdel, Fun Home. Adrienne Rich, “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence” (1980). Paper #3 due. M, 4/7: Alison Bechdel, Fun Home. Hillary Chute, “Animating an Archive: Repetition and Regeneration in Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home” (from Graphic Women: Life Narrative and Contemporary Comics, 2010) (B). Th, 4/10: Film: Paris Is Burning (1990). Judith Butler, “Gender is Burning” (from Bodies That Matter, 1995) (B). bell hooks, “Is Paris Burning?” (from Black Looks: Race and Representation, 1992) (B). Revision exercise for Paper #3 due. 7
M, 4/14: No class: Passover. Proposal (thesis paragraph, outline, sources) for Paper #4 due, via email, on Wed., 4/16. Th, 4/17 and M, 4/21: No class: Easter recess, University closed. Th, 4/24: Film: Paris Is Burning (Jennie Livingston,1990). David Halperin, excerpt from How to be Gay (B). Willa Cather, “Paul’s Case” (B). Paper #4 due. M, 4/28: Film: Paris Is Burning (1990). David Halperin, excerpt from How to be Gay (B). Judith Butler, “Gender is Burning” (1995) (B). bell hooks, “Is Paris Burning?” (B). Daniel Contreras, “New Queer Cinema: Spectacle, Race, Utopia” (From New Queer Cinema: A Critical Reader, ed. Michele Aaron, 2004). Th, 5/1: Judy Chicago, The Dinner Party: discussion of images. Revision exercise for Essay #4 due. To be scheduled: Visit to the Feminist Art Wing at the Brooklyn Museum, including Judy Chicago, The Dinner Party.