Women, Culture, Society (988:101) Spring 2012
Monday/Wednesday 1:10-2:30pm
Campbell Hall A3
Office Hours: By Appointment
Instructor: Stephen Seely
Email: sdseely@eden.rutgers.edu
What is gender? What is sex(uality)? Are these things simple natural, biological and universal facts?
Or are they complex, historical, and socially contingent? What are society and culture? What is
difference? These are among the many questions that we will explore together in “Women, Culture
and Society.” Our material will be broad and interdisciplinary, culled from the sciences, philosophy,
media and cultural studies, the social sciences and the humanities. During each class session, we will
look at a set of questions and how they relate to the readings, to our previous and future material, to
current events, and to personal experience. We will be asking: How do issues of race, class, nation,
and ability affect and interact with those of gender, sex, and sexuality? How do these various
processes create, influence and sustain one another? How do these things come to restrain and
oppress us? And how can we overcome this oppression?
By the end of the semester, students will have a strong working foundation in the field of Women’s
and Gender Studies. They will be familiar with “classic,” as well as contemporary, texts and authors.
They will be aware of the key stakes and debates in the feminist movement(s). Most importantly,
however, students will learn how to ask questions, to critically interrogate texts, and to always
question the self-evidency of what is seemingly self-evident.
The course meets the following learning goals set forth by the School of Arts & Sciences core
curriculum:
a. Analyze the degree to which forms of human difference shape a person’s experiences of
and perspectives on the world.
b. Analyze a contemporary global issue from a multidisciplinary perspective.
d. Analyze issues of social justice across local and global contexts.
Texts:
We will cover the following texts in their entirety:
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Estelle Freedman, No Turning Back: The History of Feminism and the Future of Women (ISBN: 0345450531)
Myra Hird, Sex, Gender, and Science (ISBN: 1403921776)
Audre Lorde, Zami: A New Spelling of My Name (ISBN: 0895941228)
All additional texts will be posted on the Sakai site in PDF format. If you foresee any difficulty in
accessing the assigned readings, please see me to make alternative arrangements.
Evaluations:
The major work in this course consists of close and engaged readings of the assigned texts. All
assigned readings are to be completed before class on the day they are to be discussed. Please
bring the readings with you to class! The readings are numerous, diverse, difficult, yet always engaging
(and often fun). We will get through them together, but a commitment to the material is expected.
Students will submit a brief response paper at the beginning of each class session. The response paper will
count as your attendance/participation grade for the day. These papers should simply consist of students’
reactions, thoughts, questions, concerns (i.e., responses) regarding the day’s assigned reading, and are
intended to both provide a place for students to organize their thoughts about the readings and to
facilitate class discussion. The response paper should be approximately ½ page (not shorter than
half a page, but not longer than one), and will be graded pass/fail. Because you are allowed three
unexcused absences, you must submit 25 response papers in order to receive the maximum grade.
If you are absent, you are not expected to turn in a response; however, if you are present and do not
submit a response, you will receive no participation points for the day. NO LATE RESPONSE
PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED.
The other major evaluative component of the course will consist of THREE critical reflection
essays. These should be roughly 2½ - 3 double-spaced pages. The essays should be more than summary
and should reflect on one or more of the assigned texts (of your choice), seeking to make
connections between them and the rest of the course, and should demonstrate that you have given
the material serious thought. For the purposes of the papers, the course will be divided into thirds
and you must write a paper on the material covered in each third. (For example, for the first paper,
due February 20, you can write on any of the texts covered in the first 8 class sessions). More
detailed information about my expectations for the papers will be posted to Sakai. Papers will be
due February 20, March 28, and April 30. I will not accept late papers unless you have made
prior arrangements with me!
At the end of semester, students will be required to complete a brief take-home final. It will likely
consist of you choosing two questions from a larger list and writing about one page for each
question. You will submit the take-home final via e-mail by the university-assigned final exam
date (TBA). Late finals will not be accepted. The purpose of this assignment will be primarily to
assess the success of the course in fulfilling the SAS learning goals. The essay will be graded on a
pass/fail basis, but I do expect you to submit quality work. We will have no actual final exam, and will
not meet after Monday April 30.
Lastly, attendance and participation are required and will be evaluated primarily through the daily
response papers. You are permitted three unexcused absences (for anything from a funeral or sickness,
to you didn’t do the reading or you are traveling). After this, you will receive a half-grade deduction
from your final grade for every unexcused absence (e.g., if your final grade is an A, you will be
dropped to a B+ with your fourth unexcused absence. This means that with 10 absences, you will
automatically fail the class). Additionally, attendance/participation will be considered in any
“borderline” cases in figuring final grades.
Each class session will consist of some lecture and some class discussion, some more than others
depending on the material. I expect engaged participation from the class, and will resort administering
random reading quizzes if participation proves to be a problem.
Grade Distribution
100 points for each critical reflection essay
100 points for daily response papers/participation
50 points for take-home final
A note on classroom decorum
We will be discussing texts and issues that can be, at times, controversial. Each one of us comes
into the classroom from a position of complete particularlity; meaning, we each have our own
experiences, thoughts, interpretations, opinions, and struggles. This class will be a place where all of
this can, and will, be affirmed. I will, however, not tolerate any offensive, derogatory, or dismissive
comments toward other students. Additionally, no computers or cell phones will be allowed in the
classroom unless you clear it with me first.
Academic Integrity
All students should familiarize themselves with the Rutgers policy on academic integrity at
http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/integrity.shtml. Any student caught in violation of this policy
will automatically fail the course and will be penalized according to the guidelines laid out by the
university. There should be absolutely no reason whatsoever to plagiarize, cheat, or lie in this
course: I will be incredibly understanding if you approach me with any issues prior to turning in an
assignment. I understand that stressful situations occur throughout the semester, and I will offer any
assistance I can, from deadline extensions to writing/study advice and beyond. Please do not
hesitate to approach me if you have any issues during the course. Because of this flexibility,
however, I will not tolerate any academic dishonesty whatsoever. If you have any doubt that you a
plagiarizing, CITE (or contact me before submitting your assignment)!
Course Schedule (Subject to change)
M 01/23 Foundations and Anti-Foundations
* Friedrich Nietzsche, “On Truth and Lies in an Extra-Moral Sense”
* Kate Bornstein, “Naming all the Parts” from Gender Outlaw
W 01/25 What is Feminism?
* Estelle Freedman, No Turning Back 1-13
* bell hooks, “Feminist Politics: Where we Stand” from Feminism is for Everybody
M 01/30 What is Patriarchy?
* Estelle Freedman, No Turning Back 17-42
* Andrea Smith, “Heteropatriarchy and the Three Pillars of White Supremacy”
W 02/01 Feminism and the Rights of (Wo)Man
* Estelle Freedman, No Turning Back 45-72
*Simone de Beavoir, Introduction to The Second Sex
M 02/06 Feminism and Identity Politics
* Estelle Freedman, No Turning Back 73-94
* Audre Lorde, “Race, Class, Age, Sex: Women Redefining Difference”
W 02/08 Identity Politics, con’t
* Gloria Anzaldúa, “La conciencia de la mestiza: Towards a New Consciousness” from Borderlands/La Frontera
* Nikki Sullivan, “Queer: A Question of Being or Doing?” from A Critical Introduction to Queer Theory
M 02/13 A Brief Interlude on Love (in celebration of Valentine’s Day)
* Shulamith Firestone, “Love” from The Dialectic of Sex
* Dossie Easton and Janet Hardy, “Myths and Realities” from The Ethical Slut
* Cherrie Morraga, “Loving in the War Years”
W 02/15 Feminism and Global Politics
* Estelle Freedman, No Turning Back 95-119
* Chandra Talpade Mohanty, “Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses”
M 02/20 Global Politics, con’t
* Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, “Questions of Multi-culturalism” from The Postcolonial Critic
* Arundhati Roy, “Come September”
* Jasbir Puar & Amit Rai, “Monster, Terrorist, Fag: The War on Terrorism & Production of Docile Patriots”
PAPER #1 DUE
W 02/22 Neoliberalism and Freedom
* David Harvey, “Freedom’s Just Another Word” from A Brief History of Neo-Liberalism
* Lisa Duggan, Introduction and “Downsizing Democracy” from The Twilight of Equality?
M 02/27 Feminism and Labor
* Estelle Freedman, No Turning Back 123-169
W 02/29 The Politics of Family
* Estelle Freedman, No Turning Back, 170-199
* Kath Weston, “The Politics of Gay Families” from Families We Choose: Lesbians, Gays, Kinship
M 03/05 The Politics of Reproduction
* Estelle Freedman, No Turning Back 229-252
* Jael Silliman et al, “Women of Color and their Struggle for Reproduction Freedom”
W 03/07 Gender Violence, Sexual Violence
* Estelle Freedman, No Turning Back 276-302
* Catharine MacKinnon, “Sex and Violence: A Perspective”
* Andrea Smith, “Sexual Violence as a Tool of Genocide”
M 03/12 & W 03/14 SPRING BREAK
*Begin reading Zami: A New Spelling of My Name
M 03/19 Zami
* Audre Lorde, Zami: A New Spelling of My Name 1-85
W 03/21 Zami con’t
* Audre Lorde, Zami: A New Spelling of My Name 85-176
M 03/26 Zami con’t
* Audre Lorde, Zami: A New Spelling of My Name 176-256
W 03/28 Feminism and the Body
* Estelle Freedman, No Turning Back 203-228
* Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, “Integrating Disability, Transforming Feminist Theory”
PAPER #2 DUE
M 04/02 Gender, Sexuality and Science
* Myra Hird, Sex, Gender and Science 1-49
W 04/04 Gender, Sexuality and Science con’t
* Myra Hird, Sex, Gender and Science 50-89
M 04/09 Gender, Sexuality and Science con’t
* Myra Hird, Sex, Gender and Science 90-152
W 04/11 Sexual Politics
* Estelle Freedman, No Turning Back 253-275
* John D’Emilio, “Capitalism and Gay Identity”
M 04/16 In class film: Bu t I’m a C heerle ade r!
* Michel Foucault, excerpts from The History of Sexuality
* Michel Foucault, “Sex, Power and the Politics of Identity”
* Guy Hocquenghem, “To Destroy Sexuality”
W 04/18 Sexual Politics, con’t
* Gayle Rubin, “Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality”
M 04/23 Sexuality and Privacy
* Lauren Berlant and Michael Warner, “Sex in Public”
W 04/25 Feminism and Aesthetics
* Estelle Freedman, No Turning Back 305-325
* Audre Lorde, “Poetry is Not a Luxury”
* Hélène Cixious, “The Laugh of the Medusa”
M 04/30 Social Transformation
* Estelle Freedman, No Turning Back 326-347
* Audre Lorde, “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Mater’s House”
* Selected Manifestoes of Liberation:
Joreen, “The BITCH Manifesto”
Martha Shelley, “Gay is Good”
Radicalesbians, “The Woman-Identified Woman”
Mary Ann Weathers, “An Argument for Black Women’s Liberation as a Revolutionary Force”
Combahee River Collective, “A Black Feminist Statement”
Third World Gay Revolution, “The Oppressed Shall Not Become the Oppressor”
Anna NietoGomez, “Chicana Feminism”
Anonymous, “Queers Read This: I Hate Straights”
Bikini Kill (Kathleen Hanna, “Riot Grrrl Philosophy”
Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards, “Third Wave Manifesta”
PAPER #3 DUE