Dr. Karin Zipf
Office Hours: MWF 10:00-12:00 p.m.
Email: zipfk@mail.ecu.edu
Office: Brewster A-219
Telephone: 328-1024
Website:
http://core.ecu.edu/hist/zipfk
WOST 4000
Senior Seminar: Feminism in U.S. History
Section 01: 2:00pm-3:15pm, TTh, BB 204
Reading Assignments:
Kerber, No Constitutional Right To Be Ladies
Hirschmann, Revisioning the Political
Rich, Of Woman Born
Bock and James, Beyond Equality and Difference
hooks, Feminist Theory
Faludi, Backlash
Fox-Genovese, Marriage on Trial
Selected Materials on Blackboard and on the Web
Course Description: In this course, the capstone for Women’s Studies majors and
minors, we will examine the evolution of U.S. feminism and feminist theory as applied to
women, politics and history. We will read texts by prominent feminist from 1776 to the
present who addressed women’s relationship with the state. For example, we will read
texts by Judith Sargent Murray, Abigail Adams, Susan B. Anthony, Margaret Sanger,
Alice Paul, Betty Friedan, Adrienne Rich, bell hooks, Susan Fauldi and Elizabeth FoxGenovese. We will juxtapose these historical texts with classic feminist theorists that
have probed issues such as gender and citizenship, women’s role in politics, equality
versus difference, motherhood, third-world feminism and post-feminism.
The purpose of the course is twofold: first, thorough discussion of readings will
familiarize students with key themes related to Feminism in U.S. history and, second,
careful attention to a research and writing project will allow students to employ these
themes while simultaneously testing the student’s capacity to successfully employ the full
range of abilities and skills that are central to good research and writing. These abilities
and skills include the following: to express ideas in clear and cogent writing, to do
extensive and fruitful research, to solve issues by employing analytic and critical
thinking, to understand the scope and implications of issues related to women and gender
in U.S. history, and to communicate in an oral presentation the results of one’s work.
Course Requirements: We will divide the course into two parts. During the first 8
weeks, students will read memoirs and scholarly works that define specific problems and
engage in discussion of these problems. In the remainder of the course, students will
select one or more related problems from the first half of the course and complete a
research paper under the supervision of the instructor.
History requires skills in critical reading and thinking. This course requires intensive and
focused concentration on reading and writing. You MUST read the assigned material.
Thinking critically requires active listening and note-taking. Discussion (oral
participation by all students) is crucial in every class. In addition, you must take weekly
quizzes (Thursdays, unless announced otherwise) on notes, books, and website materials,
write a short paper, maintain a journal, complete a 15-20 page research paper, and deliver
a presentation on research at the end of the semester.
Attendance: Attendance is mandatory. Sometimes unforeseen circumstances, such as an
accident or a death in the family, require students to miss class. Therefore, this professor
allows students three class absences without penalty. But, students must use their
absences wisely. Students exceeding three absences will by penalized 1% of their final
grade for each absence exceeding three. If you miss an assignment due to unexpected
illness you must provide a doctor’s note. Students are expected to come to class ON
TIME.
Pop Quizzes: Pop quizzes will measure students’ ability to absorb material. Pop quiz
questions may come from lecture, texts, or websites. There will be NO MAKEUPS for
pop quizzes. If you miss a pop quiz (e.g. Skip class or arrive late to class) you are OUT
OF LUCK. It is in your best interest to come to class PREPARED.
Assignment Deadlines: Unless otherwise noted by the professor, students must meet all
assignment deadlines as noted on the syllabus. Any late papers will receive a penalty of
one letter grade for each day the document is late. Of course, I will accept papers early.
Websites: Students must consult the sites included in the syllabus in preparation for the
week’s discussion. These websites illuminate the complex ideas and events related to
feminism in U.S. history. Images, maps, biographies, comic books, audio tapes, essays,
literature, and chronologies on the sites will provide students with a more comprehensive
understanding of relevant issues.
Blackboard Materials and Other Readings: Students must read several articles and
book chapters throughout the semester that are located on Blackboard or available on the
internet.
Disability Services Notice: East Carolina University seeks to comply fully with the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Students requesting accommodations based on
a covered disability must go to the Department for Disability Support Services, located in
Brewster A-117, to verify the disability before any accommodations can occur. The
telephone number is 252-328-6799.
Paper Assignments:
Project 1:
Journal/Sourcebook. Students will maintain a journal (a simple notebook
or loose-leaf folder will do) that will document their research and readings. Students
must construct three questions due on each Thursday, for the week’s reading. These
questions may reflect on any relevant topic for the week. By the end of the semester, the
journal/sourcebook will become a useful bibliography of research.
Project 2:
Short Paper.
Students will write a short critical essay (4-6 pages) that examines the film Mary
Silliman’s War and at least two readings discussed in class between weeks 1 and 3.
Project 3:
Research Paper. Students will complete a research paper on a topic that
relates to issues and themes discussed in class. Successful papers will include careful
investigation of both primary and secondary materials, will distill analysis of these
materials in a thesis statement, and will incorporate the materials with key themes of the
course. This exercise is intended to train students in the fundamental skills of library
research, thesis development, outline construction, and writing. Students are expected to
submit a proposal, bibliography, outline, introduction and a draft in addition to the final
paper. Papers must meet a 15-page minimum. Finally, all students will present their
papers to the class at the end of the term.
Here is the grade distribution:
Journal/Sourcebook
Short Paper
Discussion/Participation
Quizzes
Research Paper
5%
15%
10%
10%
60% (Proposal=5%, Bibliography=5%,
Outline=10%, Draft= 20%, Final Paper=20%)
Schedule of Classes:
Week 1:
Jan. 11&13
Introduction
Definitions
Race
Discourse
Reading:
Week 2:
Jan. 18&20
Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, “AfricanAmerican Women’s History and the
Metalanguage of Race,” Signs Vol.
17(Winter 1992) No. 2: 251-274.
Sarah Gamble, The Routledge Critical
Dictionary of Feminism and Postfeminism,
selections on BlackBoard
Almost Citizen
Rights and Obligations
Public and Private Spheres
Reading:
Week 3:
Jan. 25&27
Women’s Rights – First Wave
Education
Voting Rights
Democracy
Reading:
Week 4:
Feb. 1&3
Linda K. Kerber, chs. 3 & 4
Nancy J. Hirschmann, ch. 3
Judith Sargent Murray, “On the Equality of
the Sexes,” 1790
Abigail Adams
Abigail Adams to John Adams
31 March 1776
John Adams to Abigail Adams
14 April 1776
Abigail Adams to John Adams
7 May 1776
The Trial of Susan B. Anthony
www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/a
nthony/sbahome.html
Motherhood
Reproduction
Birth Control
AFDC
Reading:
5& 6
Linda K. Kerber, chs. 1 & 2
Nancy J. Hirschmann, ch. 8
Manuela Thurner, “Subject to Change:
Theories and Paradigms of U.S. Feminist
History,” Journal of Women’s History, Vol.
9 (1997) No. 2
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, “The Two
Offers” (1859) on BlackBoard
Adrienne Rich, chs. 1, 2, 6, 7, 10
Margaret Sanger, from The Pivot of
Civilization, 1922
“Chapter 1: A New Truth Emerges”
and
“Appendix: Principles and Aims of
the American Birth Control League”
Suzanne Mettler, Dividing Citizens, chs.
on BlackBoard
Stanlie M. James, “Mothering: A Possible
Black Feminist Link to Social
Transformation?” in James and Busia, ed.,
Theorizing Black Feminisms on BlackBoard
Week 5:
Feb. 8&10
Second Wave Feminism
Equal Rights Amendment
Betty Friedan
National Organization for Women
Reading:
Suffragists Oral History Project,
“Conversations with Alice Paul: Ch. 4: The
Equal Rights Amendment”
Ethel M. Smith, Towards Equal Rights For
Men and Women, pps. 58-81.
Betty Friedan, “Ch. 1: The Problem That
Has No Name,” from The Feminine
Mystique
Betty Friedan and Pauli Murray, The
National Organization for Women's
Statement of Purpose, 1966
National Organization of Women: 1960’s
Documents
http://www.feminist.org/research/chronicles/
early3.html
Assignment: Proposal due, February 10
Week 6:
Feb. 15&17
Equality vs. Difference
Psychoanalysis
Citizenship
Female Subjectivity
Reading:
Gisela Bock and Susan James, Beyond
Equality and Difference, intro, Parts I and II,
& ch. 11
Carol Gilligan, In a Different Voice, intro
and ch. 1 on BlackBoard
Assignment: short paper due, February 17
Feb. 16
LAST DAY TO DROP
Week 7:
Feb. 22&24
Third Wave Feminism
Reading:
bell hooks, Feminist Theory From Margin to
Center, chs 1-8, 12
Michelle Sidler, “Living in McJobdom:
Third Wave Feminism and Class Inequity,”
from Haywood and Drake, ed., Third Wave
Agenda: Being Feminist, Doing Feminism
on BlackBoard
Radicalesbians: The Woman-Identified
Woman
http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/wlm/womid/
Assignment:
Week 8:
Mar. 1&3
Postfeminism
Backlash
Generation X
Current Debates
Reading:
Week 9:
March 8&10
Susan Faludi, Backlash
Marriage on Trial
Reading:
Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, Marriage on Trial
March 12-19
SPRING BREAK
Week 10:
March 24
Reports on Research
Week 11:
March 31
Reports on Outlines
Assignment: Outline due April 4
Week 12:
April 7
Thesis, Introductions
Week 13:
April 14
Drafts
Assignment: Draft due April 14
Week 14:
April 21
Drafts
Exercise: Peer Review in Class
Final Exam:
Thursday, 4/28/05,
2pm-4:30pm
Presentations and Discussion at Instructor’s House
Assignment: Deadline (NO EXTENSIONS!)
For Final Paper