THE NEW POLITICS OF RACE, GENDER, CLASS AND NATION
GWSS 3002
FALL 2010
T-TH 2:30-3:45, FORD HALL 130
DR. ZENZELE ISOKE
DEPARTMENT OF GENDER, WOMEN, AND SEXUALITY STUDIES
Office Hours:
Mon. 11-12
Office Location: 437 Ford Hall, East Bank
Office Phone:
612-626-8954
Email: isoke001@umn.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION
In this course we will learn to better understand the ways that race, gender, class, sexuality and nation
shape our lives today. Over the course of the semester we will expand our knowledge about how
inequality affects the lives of women of color, and how our attitudes—reflected in the public policy our
society adopts—continue to reinforce deep entrenched patterns of social domination and oppression. We
will begin to study and interpret the ways that women have resisted intersecting systems of oppression
including racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, and Islamophobia. Over the semester, we will
consider not only empirical studies of social inequality but the stories that women of color tell to help
them make sense and meaning of their lives.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
(1) To help students understand the socially constructed nature of race, gender, class, and sexuality.
(2) To enable students to critically examine power and privilege in their own lives.
(3) To enable student to identify social inequality and their own complicity in reproducing systems of
dominance in the lives of others.
(4) To enable students to use intersectionality as a key analytical framework in their approach to
feminist studies.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
I.
Critical Autobiography
20%
10/28
I.
Two Critical Response Papers
30%
9/28, 10/26, 11/18
III.
Critical Book Review
15%
12/9
IV.
Final Social Justice Paper/Portfolio
20%
12/17, 10:30am
V.
Class Participation/In Class Writing
15%
Ongoing
1
Writing Clause
Success in GWSS requires that students be able to read and write across the humanities and social
sciences. Writing about race, class, gender and other social identities requires that you be comfortable
reading first person narratives, novels, and prose, as well as dense theoretical essays and fact-based
studies. The contributors of our textbooks write as sociologists, political scientists, historians and
geographers. Some refuse to write from any disciplinary standing at all—they write simply as people.
Your writing assignments will take the form of a critical autobiography, a book or film review essay, and
two critical response essays. In your papers, you are expected to make connections between the readings,
as well as develop an informed and sensible perspective of your own. By the end of the semester, you
will have produced a twenty to twenty five page portfolio of polished writing. It is my hope that you will
use this portfolio to reflect upon your own understanding of social identity over the course of your
academic career.
Textbooks
Weber, Lynn. Understanding Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality. New York and Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2010.
Segal & Martinez. Intersections of Gender, Race and Class: Readings for a Changing Landscape. New
York: Roxbury Press, 2007.
Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Random House Press, 2010.
COURSE STRUCTURE
Rather than lecturing, the instructor will facilitate a discussion that is guided by the interests and
developing expertise of all seminar participants. You are expected to attend all classes having closely read
and taken notes on the assigned materials. Periodically, unannounced in class writing assignments may be
given to assess all students’ level of preparation, and to reward students accordingly. All students are
expected to regularly participate in class discussion.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
In a seminar setting it is crucial that all students attend class regularly. After the first two absences,
students will receive a 2-point penalty for each class session missed. For example, if you miss four class
sessions, four percentage points will be deducted from your final grade.
LATE POLICY
Papers submitted late will receive a full grade deduction for each day it is submitted after the due date.
Exceptions will be granted in the case of a documented emergency, at the discretion of the instructor. If
you anticipate having a difficult time meeting a deadline, notify the instructor at least 5 days prior the
announced deadline to avoid penalty.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY/PLAGIARISM
The Modern Language Association (MLA) defines plagiarism as the use of another’s ideas or expressions
without giving proper credit to the source. This can include paraphrasing, copying segments of writing
2
word for word, or simply using someone else’s ideas in your paper without proper citations. The
instructor will strictly abide by the UMN Student Code of Conduct in circumstances in which a student is
suspected of plagiarism or other any other form of scholastic dishonesty. For more information about
plagiarism please refer to http://writing.umn.edu/tww/plagiarism and/or your UMN student handbook.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
The University of Minnesota is committed to providing for the needs of enrolled students or admitted
students who have disabilities. The University is required to make reasonable accommodations for
students with disabilities on an individualized and flexible basis. If you have any disability (physical,
cognitive, sensory, learning, psychiatric/psychological, etc.) please notify the instructor early in the
semester so the necessary accommodations can be made. For more information please refer to
http://www.class.umn.edu:81/cgep/2.html.
Part I: Understanding Self and the Core-Concepts
Sept. 7
“When I Was Growing Up” by Nelly Wong *
Sept. 9
Weber. Introduction, pages 1-19
Segal & Martinez. “Color-Blind Racism and Post-Feminism: The Contemporary Politics of Inequality”
by Abby Ferber.
Sept. 14
Weber. Chapter 1: Defining Contested Concepts
Sept. 16
Weber. Chapter 2: A Historical Time Line of Indicators of Oppression
Segal & Martinez. Chapter 1: The Lady and the Mill Girl.
Sept. 21
Weber. Chapter 4. Historically and Geographically Contextual, Socially Constructed Power
Relationships
Sept. 23
Segal & Martinez. Chapter 40. “Growing Up White: The Social Geography of Race” by Ruth
Frankenberg.
Part II: Formations of Race
Critically Interrogating Whiteness
Sept. 28
3
Weber. Chapter 3: The Story of Margaret Welch: A Case Study.
Segal & Martinez. Chapter 2. Why the Irish Became Domestics and Italians and Jews Did Not
Sept. 30
Wise, Tim. “Born to Belong” and “Privilege” in White Like Me: Reflections on Race From a Privileged
Son (2007).*
Critically Interrogating Blackness
Oct. 5
Fanon, Franz. “The Fact of Blackness” in White Skins, Black Masks (1967)*
Dubois, W.E.B. “The Souls of Black Folks”*
Segal & Martinez. Chapter 8. “1965” by Malcolm X.
Oct. 7
hooks, bell. “Introduction” and “Killing Rage: Militant Resistance” in Killing Rage: Ending Racism
(1995).
Segal & Martinez. Chapter 12. “With No Immediate Cause” by Ntozake Shange.
Latinidad
Oct. 12
Segal & Martinez. Chapter 46. “La Conciencia de la Mestiza/Toward a New Consciousness in
Borderlands/La Frontera by Gloria Anzaldua
Segal & Martinez. Chapter 7. Double-Consciousness and Mestiza Consciousness Raising: Linking
DuBois and Anzaldua
Oct. 14
Segal & Martinez. Chapter 37. “The Illness Experience Among Mexico City’s Older Adults: The Effects
of Gender, Class, and Race/Ethnicity” by Torrez et al.
Segal & Martinez. Chapter 59. “Puerto Rican Wannabes: Sexual Spectacle and the Marking of Race,
Class, and Gender Boundaries.” By Amy C. Wilkins.
Oct. 19
On Sex and Sexuality
Segal & Martinez. “The Heterosexual Questionnaire”
Segal & Martinez. Chapter 25. “In the Closet” by Steven Seidman
Segal & Martinez. Chapter 16. “From the Margins” by Stephen Paul Whitaker
4
Oct. 21
Segal & Martinez. Chapter 35. “Legal Scholars of Gay Rights Offer Strategies to Combat the ‘Apartheid
of the Closet.’” By D.W. Miller
Segal & Martinez. Chapter 27. “Schools Struggle Shielding Gay Kids” by Niocle Z. Dizon.
Oct. 26
Queen, Carol. “Sex Radical Politics, Sex-Positive Feminist Thought and Whore Stigma” in Identity
Politics in the Women’s Movement.*
Peer Workshop Critical Autobiographies
Oct. 28
Critical Autobiographies Due
Part III: Race, Gender and Class in a Global Context
Nov. 2
The Politics of Nation and Migration
Segal & Martinez. “Lunch With My ‘Enemy: Exploring the Roots of Ethnic Strife’” by Amitava Kumar.
Dasgupta, Monisha. “A View of post-9/11 Justice from Below”
Nov. 4
Structural Adjustment
Desai, Manisha. “Transnational Solidarity: Women’s Agency, Structural Adjustment, and Globalization”
in Women’s Activism and Globalization: Liking Local Struggles and Transnational Politics.
Segal & Martinez. “The Gendered Politics and Violence of Structural Adjustment: A View From
Jamaica” by Faye Harrison.
Globalization
Nov. 9
Segal & Martinez. “The Return of the Sweatshop” by Edna Bonacich and Richard Appelbaum.
Segal & Martinez. “Recasting Our Understanding of Gender and Work During Global Restructuring” by
Jean Pyle and Kathryn Ward.
Nov. 11
Nov. 16
Examining Our Complicity—Native American Perspectives
Segal & Martinez. “Woman Hollering Creek” by Sandra Cisneros.
Segal & Martinez. “Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit” by Leslis M. Silko.
5
Nov. 18
Armstrong, Jeannette. “Sharing One Skin” Okanagan Community.*
Part V: Gender, Race, Class and Capitalism
Nov. 23
Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Part I.
Nov. 30.The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Part II, 12-17
Dec. 2. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Part II, 18-22.
Dec. 7. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Part III.
Dec. 9
New Politics of Resistance
Book Review Due
Weber, Lynn. Chapter 10. “Envisioning Social Justice”
Lorde, Audre. “The Uses of the Erotic” in Sister Outsider
Dec. 14
Peer Workshop Social Justice Papers
Dec. 17
Final Social Justice Paper Due
6
Guidelines for Critical Response Papers
Discussions papers are an important opportunity for students to develop a unique perspective on a
particular topic featured in the course. Discussion papers should raise one or two critical issues that are
featured in the relevant readings, then explore and analyze these issues according to the student’s interests
and developing expertise. Discussion papers should not merely summarize or paraphrase major
arguments featured in the assigned texts, rather they should critically review the assumptions,
justifications, and strategies of exposition that each author undertakes to make their case.
Baker-Fletcher (2005) argues that critical responses paper should demonstration appreciation for the
authors’ contributions, critique perceived shortcomings in the arguments presented, and provide
constructive feedback to improve the flaws in evidence/argumentation. This is a standard model that
students may find helpful to follow.
In any case, students should also attempt to position themselves in relation to the readings by identifying
unique insights, gaps, shortcomings, and raising new questions that are left insufficiently explored.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
All papers should be typed, double spaced, and be approximately 4 pages in length. Please
use a standard font style. Type size should not exceed 12 points.
Papers should include a critical engagement with at least three full-length readings that have
been assigned and discussed in seminar.
All papers should use an acceptable citation and/or bibliographic style (see MLA handbook
for more information).
All papers should develop an original line of argumentation and make good use of examples,
quotations, logic, experience, and other sources of evidence to clarify the student’s
perspective.
Papers should be proofread closely and be free of grammatical, typographical and formatting
errors.
When relevant, appropriate, and insightful students are encouraged to make use of personal
experiences and encounters in their prose.
Be creative! Students are encouraged to take risks and reject orthodoxy, as long as the bulk of
the discussion paper takes the form of an expository essay.
7
Critical Autobiography
Due: Oct. 28, 2010
Directions:
The process of writing an autobiography gives you the opportunity to systematically reflect on
personal experiences that have shaped your worldview, personality, and character. This
assignment gives you the opportunity to tell your how history, and to critically reflect on the
your own understanding of race, gender, class, culture and sexuality. A deepened awareness of
these issues will enable you to more fully understand your own self and identity as socially
constructed, as well as consider the how power and privilege impacts your own social
positionality. The best autobiographies are sincere, evocative, compelling, and insightful. This
means that you will need to go beyond a linear narration of your life, and consider how certain
key experiences, encounters, and people have impacted your understanding of race, gender,
class, sexuality and nation.
As you construct your autobiographical essay, consider the following:
(1) When did you first begin to understand yourself as a raced and gendered person?
(2) How has place and geography shaped the way you interact with other. Think carefully
about the characteristics of neighborhood, communities, and intimate spaces that have
impacted your identity.
(3) Identify a recurring theme and/or mood that connects disparate experiences.
(4) Identify how systems of power and privilege have impacted the decisions you have made,
the opportunities that have availed themselves to you, and the hardships that you have
endured.
(5) What kinds of engagements/interaction have produced the vocabulary through which you
have come to speak the truth about your life.
8
Attributes of a Good Final Paper
Engaging
Informative
Imaginative
Synthesizes Ideas
Polished

The material in my paper is presented in such away to generate interest in my topic.

I convey the importance of my topic.

I make an effort to make my topic seem relevant to a specific community or target
audience

I use different forms of evidence to support and clarify my thesis.

I make use of the ideas of experts in my field.

My sources are contemporary.

My project presents an original perspective, format, or presentation of ideas.

My paper reveals an unexplored or underexplored perspective on the course
material.

I honor or make use of my own unique talents and creative abilities into this project,
while meeting the formal requirements of the assignment.

I link my topic to the course material that has been presented in this course.

I make it clear how abstract concepts can help us understand some aspect of
everyday life.

I make connections between the readings and perspective featured in the paper,
rather than just summarize them.

I have carefully proofread my final project.

I peer-reviewed a draft of the final project of my paper.

I feel like I can take pride in my project.

This project can be used a later date to help me and others understand my
perspective on my topic.

I present a unique perspective that can have a positive impact on the world.
9
Transformative

I make what I have learned from producing my final paper known to my audience.

I present further questions, ideas, and concepts that should be explored by others
who are interested in this topic.
Grading Policy
Grade
A
Explanation
Characteristics
Represents achievement that is outstanding relative to the
level necessary to meet course requirements
Project is clear from the start.
Independent ideas presented throughout.
Student engages topic with complexity,
originality, and sophistication. Student takes
successful interpretative risks with texts.
Prose is clear, fluid and compelling.
Minimal or no errors
B
Represents achievement that is significantly above the level
necessary to meet course requirements
Independent thinking evidenced through
paper. Student ideas are in control
throughout the paper. Well-organized and
coherent prose. Minimal errors.
C
Represents achievement that meets the course requirements
in every respect.
Has a project, but not clearly articulated
from the start. Takes a clear position, but the
emergent project is vague or overly general.
Paper is organized but lacks distinctiveness
and originality. Errors do not significantly
impede intended meaning.
D
Represents achievement that is worth of credit, but does not
fully meet the course requirements.
Paper is poorly organized. Failure to
proofread, serious errors in citation. Lacks
organizational structure, and chronic errors
impede meaning. Little or no originality.
Project buried in summary.
F
Represents failure and signifies that the work was either
(1) completed but at a level of achievement that is not
worthy of credit or (2) was not completed and there was no
agreement between the instructor and the student that the
student would be awarded an I
Work submitted late without the notification
and/or approval of the instructor. Work
completed without regard to the assignment
guidelines. Project/paper was submitted
incompletely.
10