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WGSS 1110: Gender, Sex & Power Recitation
Caldwell Lab 0135
MWF, 10:20 am – 11:15 am
Instructor: Ellie Flohn
email: flohn.1@buckeyemail.osu.edu
Office: Dulles 0030
Office Hours: Fri. 11:30-12:30 or by appointment
Students with Disabilities
Students with a university-documented disability certified by the Office of
Disability Services should discuss with me any special accommodations
needed for the course. Please make me aware of your needs as soon as
possible. The Office for Disability Services, located in 150 Pomerene Hall,
offers services for students with documented disabilities. Contact the ODS at
2-3307, 292-3307, TDD 292-0901; http://www.ods.ohio-state.edu/.
Course Description:
Gender, Sex, and Power is an introductory course into the interdisciplinary fields of Women’s, Gender,
and Sexuality studies. This course is designed to be accessible to students from diverse academic
backgrounds and disciplines, as it will present an overview of the central contestations in contemporary
women’s, gender, and sexuality scholarship. We will explore the ways in which gender shapes,
constructs, constricts, and defines our daily lives. Though our primary lens of analysis for the course
will be through gender we will also spend a considerable amount of time examining the ways in which
race, class, sexuality, ethnicity, age, and ability impact our lived realities, as well as shape (and are
shaped by) institutions, policies, and culture.
This course is a pre-requisite for the major and minor in Women’s’, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. The
course fulfills three GE requirements: Cultures and Ideas, Social Science Individuals and Groups
and Social Diversity in the United States. Women’s Studies 1110 fulfills the Cultures and Ideas GE by
engaging students in critical listening, reading, seeing, thinking, writing and experiencing the arts and
reflecting on that experience. It fulfills the Social Science GE requirement by helping students
understand human behavior. The course focuses specifically on how gender structures human societies,
cultures and institutions. In addition, this course fulfills the Social Diversity GE requirement by
fostering an understanding of the varied ways gender, race, class, sexuality, physical ability, and age
impact the nature of institutions, society and culture in the United States.
Course Learning Objectives:
1. To understand the histories, legacies, and aims of various feminist movements as well as the
current discipline of WGSS.
2. To learn to understand gender and other “identity markers” as categories that have been socially
constructed and are wholly employable in analyses of the surrounding world— both material and
theoretical—and work in complex systems of power relations.
3. To understand how gender is both produced by and produces systems of oppression, privilege,
and difference.
4. To learn how we can analyze institutions, society and culture through understandings of gender
and critical analytical categories.
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5. To recognize the importance of gender in the context (and history) of public policy, theories, and
social thought.
6. To understand the ways in which our daily lives and identities are complex and can be politicized
for mobilization and organization for change.
7. To begin to cultivate an intersectional and/or critical consciousness that helps us to
reconceptualize the world around us in terms of oppression, privilege, and difference
Classroom/Discussion Decorum:
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Attendance: Please arrive and be ready to participate in the classroom by 10:20. Also be
prepared to work through the entire class period and avoid packing your things until class ends, I
will record
Respect: We will routinely discuss topics that many people consider taboo, controversial,
upsetting, deeply personal, or simply unfamiliar. To ensure a safe, constructive environment, we
will establish “ground rules” for class discussion.
Participation: The importance of participation in WGSS classes cannot be overemphasized. It is
very important that you come to the class having read the assigned reading material. To
receive credit, students must participate in recitation discussions through a combination of
speaking, active listening, eye contact, and general good attention. We will all benefit from a
more in-depth and active discussion, as well as exchanging ideas and perspectives.
Electronics: Cell phones/laptops/tablets should NOT be seen, heard, or used by anyone during
the 55-minute recitation. Please bring you readings/questions/notes in paper format.
Required Texts:
Reading Women’s Lives Pearson Custom Publishing. (Makes sure to purchase Spring 2014, Ellie
Flohn as other instructors will be using different versions)
*Supplemental Readings will be provided in PDF form on Carmen per the reading schedule
Course Requirements & Grading:
Midterm Exam
Final Exam
Writing Assignments*
Participation & Attendance
1/4
1/4
1/4
1/4
Your Grade
*Includes three (3) writing assignments + attendance/participation grade at 25 pts each. You will
complete four (4) writing assignments and drop your lowest grade. I will provide further and more
detailed explanations of the assignments as they draw near.
The due dates for all writing assignments have been specified in this syllabus. Due dates are final and
no extensions will be provided unless prior arrangements have been made.
You are permitted two (2) recitation absences without penalty. Each additional absence will subtract two
points from your attendance/participation grade.
To earn full attendance credit for each class, you must participate in discussion.
Late Work:
In order for students to get full credit for work it needs to be submitted in hard copy in class on time (on
the date specified on the syllabus). Late assignments can only be counted for full credit with prior
permission from the instructor. If there is no permission I will deduct 1/3 of a letter grade for each day
that the assignment is late.
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Email Etiquette & Responses:
I will be checking and replying to student email from 9:00 am-9:00 pm, so if you email me after 9:00
pm expect a response the next morning. I will also do my best to reply within 24 hours. However,
professional email conduct is very important and will only continue to be more important as you
progress in life. And thusly, I will NOT respond to emails that do no follow these formatting standards:
1.
Subject line: WGSS 1110
2.
Begins with a proper greeting: Dear/Hello Ellie,
3.
Ends with a closing statement, i.e. “Sincerely,” “Best,” etc.
4.
Uses clear and proper grammar and spelling.
Academic Integrity/Plagiarism:
All your work is expected to be original, and thus please familiarize yourselves with our departmental
statement on academic integrity:
As defined by University Rule 3335-31-02, plagiarism is “the representation of another’s works or ideas
as one’s own; it includes the unacknowledged word for word use and/or paraphrasing of another
person’s work, and/or the inappropriate unacknowledged use of another person’s ideas.” Plagiarism is
one of the most serious offenses that can be committed in an academic community; as such, it is the
obligation of this department and its instructors to report all cases of suspected plagiarism to the
Committee on Academic Misconduct. After the report is filed, a hearing takes place and if the student is
found guilty, the possible punishment ranges from failing the class to suspension or expulsion from the
university. Although the existence of the Internet makes it relatively easy to plagiarize, it also makes it
even easier for instructors to find evidence of plagiarism. It is obvious to most teachers when a student
turns in works that is not his or her own and plagiarism search engines make documenting the offense
very simple. You should always cite your sources (I can help you with this if you are unfamiliar with
proper styles of documentation). Always ask questions before you turn in an assignment if you are
uncertain about what constitutes plagiarism. Always see your TA or professor if you are having
difficulty with an assignment. To preserve the integrity of OSU as an institution of higher learning, to
maintain your own integrity, and to avoid jeopardizing your future, DO NOT PLAGIARIZE!
Disclaimer:
Students should consider the material presented on the syllabus as a set schedule, however I reserve the
right to alter the schedule (of readings or assignments) throughout the course. If this is the case a revised
syllabus will be posted to Carmen or distributed in class.
Class Schedule
Conceptualizing Feminism and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Mon. 1/6 Introduction
Introduction to the Course, Review the Syllabus
Wed. 1/8 Patriarchy and the “F” Word
Read: I'm Not a Feminist, But...'' Popular Myths about Feminism Penny A. Weiss
Fear of Feminism: Why Young Women Get the Willies, Lisa Maria Hogeland
What is the Feminist Movement? Jane Mansbridge
Class: Discuss and screen “Why we Still need Feminism” http://jezebel.com/5948126/an-awesomevideo-primer-on-why-we-still-need-feminism
Fri. 1/10 Academic Feminism and the Establishment of Women’s Studies
Read: Theories and Theorizing: Integrative Frameworks for Understanding Women’s Lives (Carmen)
Talking Back, bell hooks
Initially Complicating Categories: Sex, Gender, and Race
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Mon. 1/13 Untying Gender and Sex
Read: The Five Sexes Revisited Anne Fausto-Sterling (Carmen)
Class: Genderbread person
Wed. 1/15 Gender and Social Construction: An Introduction
Read: Night to his Day: The Social Construction of Gender, Judith Lorber,
X: A Fabulous Child Story Lois Gould
Class: Discussion and screenings of “Target Women”
Fri. 1/17 Complicating Identity Categories
Read: Introduction to Franz Fanon’s Black Skin, White Masks (Carmen)
La conciencia de la Mestiza: Towards a New Consciousness Gloria Anzaldúa
Historicizing the Many (U.S.) Women’s Movements
Mon. 1/20 NO CLASS
Wed. 1/22 Beginnings: Eager for Equality
Read: Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions (1848) The Seneca Falls Women's Rights Convention
of 1848
Ain't I a Woman? (1851) Sojourner Truth
Class: Discuss and Screen clip from Iron Jawed Angels
Fri. 1/24 Radical Developments
Read: Nothing Distant About It: Women's Liberation and Sixties Radicalism Alice Echols
Redstockings Manifesto Redstockings
The SCUM Manifesto Valerie Solinas (Carmen)
Mon. 1/27 Continuations of the Movements
Read: A Black Feminist Statement Combahee River Collective
The Class Roots of Feminism Karen Sacks
In Pursuit of Latina Liberation Elizabeth Martínez
Unpacking Oppression, Difference, and Privilege (Part 1)
Wed. 1/29 Looking at Oppression & Patriarchy
Read: Patriarchy, the System Allan G. Johnson (Carmen)
Oppression Marilyn Frye
Class: Screen film Dream Worlds 3
Fri. 1/31 Cont’d.
Class: Finish Screening Dream Worlds 3
Mon. 2/3 Understanding Difference, Intersectionality
Read: Feminist Class Struggles bell hooks
Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference Audre Lorde
Homophobia: A Weapon of Sexism Suzanne Pharr
Class: Identities Activity
**REFLECTION PAPER #1 DUE IN CLASS**
Unpacking Oppression, Difference, and Privilege (Part 2)
Wed. 2/5 Working Through Privilege
Read: White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack Peggy McIntosh
A Question of Class Dorothy Allison (Carmen)
Fri. 2/7 Complicating the Complicated
Read: Reverse Racism, or How the Pot Got to Call the Kettle Black Stanley Fish (Carmen)
The Other Body: Reflections on Difference, Disability, and Identity Politics Ynestra King
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Intersections in the Media and Popular Culture
Mon. 2/10 Popular Images of Women
Read: Excerpt from The Beauty Myth Naomi Wolf (Carmen)
Class: Screen Miss Representation
Wed. 2/12 Is this feminist?: Readings of Contemporary Popular Culture
Class: Finish Screening Miss Representation and Discuss
Fri. 2/14 Masculinities in Pop Culture
Read: Male Body Building: The Social Construction of a Masculine Identity Yvonne Wiegers (Carmen)
Masculinity and Homophobia Michael Kimmel (Carmen)
Exploring the Erotic: Sexuality, Sex, and Love
Mon. 2/17 Sexuality and Sex
**REFLECTION PAPER #2 DUE IN CLASS**
Read: Excerpts from The Guide to Getting it On (Carmen)
Class: Guest Speaker, Jon Branfman
Wed. 2/19 Erotics, Power
Read: Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic of Power Audra Lorde
The All-American Queer Pakistani Girl Surina A. Khan (Carmen)
Fri. 2/21 Radical Sexualities
Read: Desire for Future: Radical Hope in Passion and Pleasure Amber Hollinbaugh
The Body/The Political Body/Bodypolitics
Mon. 2/24 (Re)Understanding the Gendered Body
Read: We Are What We Watch Susan J. Douglas
“Good Enough” Excerpt from Fight Like a Girl Megan Seely (Carmen)
Wed. 2/26 The Body as Political Battle Ground/Body(as)politics
Read: The Body: Power and Politics Valerie Lee
The Body Politic Abra Fortune Chernik
Class: Discussion and Midterm Review, screen clip of Judith Butler Clip from Examined Life
Fri. 2/28 MIDTERM EXAM—IN CLASS
Feminism and the Family
Mon. 3/3 Relationships and Feminism
Read: I Want a Wife Judy (Syfers) Brady
When Dreams Differ: Male-Female Relations on Campuses Barbara Kerr
Wed. 3/5 On Mothering
Read: The Mommy Wars: How the Media Turned Motherhood Into a Catfight
Susan Douglas and Meredith Michaels
Bad Mother Ayelet Waldman
Fri. 3/7 Queering the Family and Representation
Read: Coming Out as a Modern Family Maria Bello (Carmen)
Popular Culture and Queer Representation Diane Raymond (Carmen)
3/10-3/14
WEEK 10:SPRING BREAK—NO CLASS
Women, Work, and Political Economy
Mon. 3/17 Gendered Jobs
Read: When Spending Time is Spending Money, Gloria Albrecht
The Mommy Tax, Ann Crittenden (Carmen)
Wed. 3/19 Gender and the Recession
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Read: The End of Men Hannah Rosen (Carmen)
Women Waiting Tables (Carmen)
Fri. 3/21 Cultural Capitalism: Why is it a feminist issue?
Read: Rethinking the Nature of Work bell hooks
Practicing Oprah: or the Prescriptive Compulsion of Spiritual Capitalism Kathryn Lofton
Class: Screen Slavoj Zizek’s RSA animate clip “First as Tragedy, than as Farce”
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=zizek+first+as+tragedy+then+as+farce&oq=zizek+first
&gs_l=youtube.3.0.0.6814.9946.0.11278.11.10.0.1.1.0.149.993.7j3.10.0...0.0...1ac.1.6i55dfcSZrU
Making Connections: Systems, Hierarchy, Hegemony
Mon. 3/24 Systemic Phenomena
Read: Excerpt from The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State Friedrich Engels
Work, Poverty, and Economic Policy Mary Margaret Fonow
Wed. 3/26 Actual Architecture of Oppression: Theories in Reality a Case Study of Hip-Hop
Class: Screen film Hip-Hop Beyond Beats and Rhymes
Fri. 3/28 Cont’d.
Class: finish screening film, group discussion
http://www.health-genderviolence.org/training-programme-for-health-care-providers/facts-ongbv/defining-gender-based-violence/21
Violence and Political Action
Mon. 3/31 Gender-based Violence
Read: Myths and Realities Regarding Battered Women Albert Roberts
“Defining Gender Based Violence”, http://www.health-genderviolence.org/training-programme-forhealth-care-providers/facts-on-gbv/defining-gender-based-violence/21
** REFLECTION PAPER #3 DUE**
Wed. 4/2 Grassroots and Feminist Organization
TBA
Fri. 4/4 Transnational Activism and Human Rights
TBA
Feminism and Globalization
Mon. 4/7 Global Feminisms
Read: Global Politics and Transnational Feminisms Jan Jindy Pettman
International Perspectives Ara Wilson and Adriane Livingston
Wed. 4/9 Feminists Problematize Globalization
Read: Globalization, Poverty and Women’s Health: Mapping the Connections Suzanne R. Sicchia and
Heather Mac
Remotely Sensed: ATopography of the Global Sex Trade Ursual Biemann (Carmen)
Fri. 4/11 Discipline, Power, and the Global
Read: A Conversation on Gender, Globalization, and Punishment Angela Davis and Gina Dent
(Carmen)
Topics in WGSS
Mon. 4/14 Power of Feminist Art
Read: Why Have there been no Great Women Artists? Linda Nochlin
The History of Women’s Art: Sins of the Omissions and Revisions Theresa Schwartz
Wed. 4/16 Historicizing Feminist Revolutionaries
Read: Excerpt from The Methodology of the Oppressed, The Theory and Methodology of Oppositional
Consciousness in the Postmodern World Chela Sandoval (Carmen)
Class: Assata Chakur, Angela Davis
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Fri. 4/18
***Topic TBA We will decide as a class***
** REFLECTION #4 PAPER DUE IN CLASS**
Mon. 4/21 LAST DAY OF CLASS
No Assignments, course wrap up and review for final exam
FINAL EXAM: THURSDAY APRIL 24 10:00-11:45 A.M.
Counseling & Support Resources:
General
OSU Counseling & Consultation Service.......................... (614) 292-5766
OSU Student Wellness Center........................................ (614) 292-4527
Student Health Services.................................................(614) 292-4321
Multicultural Center......................................................(614) 688-8449
Crisis/Suicide Prevention Services
OSU Campus Suicide Prevention Services........................(614) 688-5829
Suicide Prevention 24-hr Hotline (Columbus)....................(614) 221 5445
Suicide Prevention 24-hr Hotline (National)...... ................1-800-273-8244
Trevor Project (LGBTQ-specific).......................................1-866-488-7386
Rape & Sexual Violence
CAP (Campus Advocacy Program for survivors of rape and sexual violence).......................(614) 2924527
Sexual Assault Response Network of Central Ohio..............(614) 267-7020
LGBTQ Hotlines
National LGBTQ Help Center (anonymous, confidential counseling, info on safer sex/sexual health, and
referral to local resources)......1-888-843-4564
Trevor Project (suicide prevention)...................................1-866-488-7386
Sexual Health & Safer Sex Resources
To ask questions about safer sex and sexual health
Ohio HIV & STD Prevention Hotline................................1-800-332-2437
San Francisco Sex Information (national hotline)...............(415) 989-SFSI (7374)