WMS 101.03:  Introduction to Women’s Studies

Fall 2003

 

“Gender can be defined as the way society organizes understandings of sexual difference.  Women’s studies explores our gendered existence:  what it means to be feminine and masculine and how this interacts with other aspects of our identity, such as our race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and 

Susan M. Shaw & Janet Lee

Women’s Voices, Feminist Visions: Classic and Contemporary Readings (2001)

 

Dr. Jeannette E. Riley

Office:  Group 1-303   Office Hours:  TR 11:00-12:15; W 11:00-12:00; ABA

Email:  j1riley@umassd.edu

Online Office Hours:  I will often be online and accessible via AOL instant messenger during my office hours, as well as during other times throughout the week and on the weekends.  If I am online, feel free to contact me via AIM to discuss questions, readings, and assignments.  AIM Name:  Professor JRiley 

 

Course Description:  Basic concepts and perspectives in Women’s Studies, placing women’s experiences at the center of interpretation.  With a focus on women’s history and contemporary issues, the course examines women’s lives with an emphasis on how gender interacts with race, class, sexual orientation, and ethnicity.  The central aim is to foster critical reading and thinking about women’s lives: how the interlocking systems of oppression, colonialism, racism, sexism, and ethnocentrism shape women’s lives; and how women have worked to resist these oppressions.

This course will begin with a number of questions:

 

Þ    What is Women’s Studies?

Þ    What is feminism?

Þ    How do we define gender?

Þ    How do constructions of gender affect women and men? 

Þ    How does gender intersect with race, ethnicity, sexuality, and class?

Þ    Why is Women’s Studies important for men?

Þ    What are the current issues affecting women today?

 

These questions will remain with us throughout the semester as we examine women’s lives, experiences, and issues.  Through the class readings, videos, and discussions, we will explore a number of different perspectives about women and men ranging from gender roles to economics and workplace issues to sexual politics and reproductive rights.  Our goals in the course are to:

 

• gain an understanding of how the field of Women’s Studies has evolved;
• learn feminist approaches to academics and world issues;
• analyze the intersections of gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, class, religion, and age on women’s identities and issues;
• reflect critically about the materials we read and view;
• communicate effectively through verbal discussion and written work;
• recognize the value of personal experience and activism;
• develop our own informed perspectives on the course materials.

Texts:

List texts here. 

 

Course Policies:

 

Reading:  You are expected to keep up with the assigned reading and to be prepared to discuss these readings with each other.  This is not a course in which I dictate your learning.  Your grade will directly reflect your efforts in grappling with the course material.  I have certain expectations of your dedication, understanding, and ability to discuss material.  However, if there is something you do not understand, I expect you to do whatever is necessary to gain understanding (i.e., bring it up on the discussion board, do outside reading, talk to me outside of class).

 

Written Work:  Written work is expected to be 1) turned in on time, 2) typed, 3) correct.  In other words, please do not dash off your papers in the last possible 5 minutes.  Do not turn them in without spell checking or proofreading them.  If I cannot understand your writing, I cannot (and will not) grade your work.   When writing papers for me, be sure they are double-spaced with one-inch margins, in 10-12 cpi font, with sources documented in MLA or APA format.  Please do NOT manipulate margins or fonts.  Page limits are guidelines.        

 

Late work will NOT be accepted without a legitimate excuse.  If you have not received my approval to turn something in late, you will fail the assignment.  In other words, I will not accept late work.

 

Plagiarism:  In any situation, plagiarism is a serious offense.  Since much of your work in this class requires the use of an outside source, the citation of sources is mandatory.  I expect every student in this class to under the necessity of citing your sources in all academic work in order to avoid plagiarism. For a thorough explanation of plagiarism, see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/research/r_plagiar.html

 

With each of your written assignments, your quotations and works citied pages will be checked.  “Errors” in citation will not be looked upon kindly and, in more serious cases, may result in disciplinary action.  Remember, with each assignment, you need to include a Works Cited page and follow proper MLA (Modern Language Association) or APA (American Psychological Association) documentation.

 

Students with Disabilities

In accordance with University policy, if you have a documented disability and require accommodations to obtain equal access in this course, please meet with the instructor at the beginning of the semester and provide the appropriate paperwork from the Disabled Students Services Office.  The necessary paperwork is obtained when you bring proper documentation to the Disabled Students Services Office (DSS), which is located in Group I, Room 016, phone: 508-999-8711.

 

Incomplete Policy:  According to the university catalogue, an incomplete may be given only in exceptional circumstances at the instructor's discretion. The student must be passing at the time of the request or be sufficiently close to passing. If the work is not completed within one year of the recording of the incomplete grade, the grade will become an F(I). The incomplete policy for this course is that at least 70% of the course must be already completed and an exceptional circumstance (i.e. a medical issue) must exist. If you feel you require an incomplete for an exceptional reason, you need to email me and state your reasons for the incomplete in writing. We will them meet in person and decide on a course of action.

 

Respect:  Keep in mind that discussions of gender and gender constructions will concern women and men of all races, classes, sexual orientations, ages, and abilities.  Women’s Studies strives to be inclusive and to critique the societal structures and expectations that affect all women.  Readings will be drawn from both popular and scholarly presses and will cover historical, political, sociological, and literary approaches.  Also, our focus for this course will primarily be on issues in the United States, with some readings exploring global perspectives.

 

Assignments:

List assignments here.

 

Course Schedule:

Provide course schedule for readings and assignments.

 

 Last Updated On: 8/7/06