Office Hours: MW 1-2 pm, TR 11-12 noon, and by app't.
Required Texts:
Class Pak (Rand Campus Copy)
Xeroxes (Reserve, Heard Library); handouts (in class)
Douglas, Where the Girls Are (Random House)
Berger, Ways of Seeing (Penguin)
Wollstonecraft, Vindication of the Rights of Woman
(Everyman)
Woolf, A Room of One's Own (HBJ)
Naylor, Mama Day (Vintage)
Atwood, A Handmaid's Tale (Fawcett)
Course Description and Objectives:
In this course, we will explore how visual and textual images
shape our beliefs and values about sex, gender, and sexuality. As
we analyze and discuss images of women, we will be necessity
address images of men as well. We begin the semester by studying
that part of American culture most readily at hand: the images of
femaleness and femininity presented in advertisements, popular
music, television, and film. Next, stepping back for an historical
perspective, we investigate how we have acquired our
late-twentieth century ideas and ideals. Finally, we will consider
how race, ethnicity, class, and sexual orientation further revise
our definitions and understanding of the social roles available to
women and men in American culture.
Requirements and General Expectations:
Readings: You are expected to
complete each reading assignment before coming to class. You are
further expected to think carefully about what you read and to
make notes in your book prior to each class meeting. Bring the
appropriate book or articles to class each day and additionally
mark passages that we discuss; this process will help you
understand, remember, and review.
Class Participation and
Attendance: Although this is a large class, you will be asked
to participate regularly in class discussions and in collaborative
learning groups. Your attendance is therefore important. You will
not be penalized for your first three absences; thereafter, your
class participation grade will drop one grade increment (i.e., B
to B-) for each day missed. Excessive unexcused absences (five or
more) will adversely affect your final course grade. I appreciate
your offering explanations for absences; however, the only way to
excuse an absence is to provide me with an official letter from
your dean.
Quizzes: I reserve the right to administer reading
quizzes as necessary. Grades from reading quizzes will be part of
your class participation grade; should you be absent on the day of
a quiz, you will receive a zero, unless the absence is
excused.
Papers: You will write
two short papers. The papers are due at the time the class meets.
Late papers will be penalized one full grade (i.e., B to C) for
each day late. More information about papers one
and two follows the syllabus.
Daedalus Sessions in Garland Lab: Our class is a pilot
course for the use of the Daedalus Integrated Writing Environment
software in Women's Studies at Vanderbilt. Some of our classes
will meet in the Garland Computer Lab. Because the lab cannot
accommodate a class of our size, we will divide into discussion
sections on lab days, designated as Group A and Group B on the
syllabus. **You must come to the lab on the day assigned to
your section.** You may not attend the other section's lab
without obtaining my permission in advance of the lab session. On
the days when one section of the class meets in the lab, the other
section meets in our usual classroom. Your preparation for and
participation in Daedalus sessions should follow the guidelines
noted above for "Reading" and "Class
Participation and Attendance."
Daedalus Electronic Bulletin Board: Beginning the
second week of class, I'll establish a conference each week in
which you can post comments about the materials we're studying in
class. Each student is required to make at least one comment each
week. I will monitor these discussions and assess a grade (at the
end of the semester) based on the thoughtfulness of your comments,
their ability to foster discussion among your classmates, and
their responsiveness both to our readings and to your classmates'
comments in class and on the bulletin board. Your postings do not
need to be long; however, they need to be substantive: they must
be long enough to convey clearly the problem you are taking up and
your point of view, connecting your comment to others' comments,
as appropriate. I will offer models of helpful comments early in
the semester. Directions for posting can be found here.
Examinations: You will have a midterm and a final exam
for the course.
Night Screenings of Movies: I will schedule screenings
of the three films we will discuss. You are required to see each
film before our discussion. If you cannot attend the scheduled
screenings, please notify me; you must then arrange to see the
film on your own by the time of its discussion in class.
Conferences: There are no mandatory conferences for
this course. I encourage you, however, to stop by during office
hours, particularly before an assignment is due. Please also
consider stopping by during the first few weeks of class for a
brief (and very informal) conference. If you have any specific
questions or concerns about the course or the readings, bring them
with you, but no agenda is necessary: this is simply a way to get
to know each other. Please see me to make an appointment if my
office hours are not convenient for you.
Teaching Assistant: This class is fortunate to have
Laura Patterson as its teaching assistant. She and I will be
sharing the grading of your papers, quizzes, and exams. If you
feel there is a problem with a grade which Ms. Patterson assigns,
see her first. If the two of you cannot solve the problem, I will
be happy to meet with the two of you together. If you feel there
is a problem with a grade that I assign, come directly to me
rather than seeing Ms. Patterson.
Grading:
Paper #1
Paper #2
Class Participation
Midterm Exam
Final Exam
10%
15%
25%
25%
25%
Syllabus
[Unless otherwise indicated by (x) for xerox or
(h) for handout,
articles are found in your Class Pak or required
book.]
January
W 7 Introduction
Sex/Gender
F 9 Devor, "Gender Role Behaviors and Attitudes" (h)
M 12 Tannen, "How Male and Female Students Use Language
Differently" (x); Sadker and Sadker, "Higher Education" (x)
Note: Group A: Meet in Garland Computer Lab
Group B: Meet in classroom
W 14 Lyman, "The Fraternal Bond as a Joking Relationship" (x);
Kimmel, "Clarence, William, Iron Mike, Tailhook, Senator Packwood,
Spur Posse, Magic,...and Us" (x)
Note: Group A: Meet in classroom
Group B: Meet in Garland Computer Lab
F 16 Walker, "The Many Faces of Feminism"; Barracca, "How Many
Feminists Does It Take..."; Kimmel, "Real Men Join the Movement"
(x) Paper #1 Due
M 19 Douglas, Chp. 7 and Chp. 8 (139-91)
Desiring Bodies and Ideal Selves
W 21 Douglas, Introduction (3-20); Berger (7-81)
F 23 Berger (129-55); Douglas, Chp. 11 (245-68)
M 26 Barthel, "A Gentleman and a Consumer" and "Appendix";
"Magazines Reassess..."; Dobosz, "Thicker Thighs by Thanksgiving"
(x)
W 28 Wolf, "The Beauty Myth" and "Hunger"; Prager, "Our
Barbies, Ourselves" (h); Quindlen, "Barbie at 45" (h)
F 30 Douglas, Chp.1 and Chp. 2 (21-60); Paper #2Due
Note: Group A: Meet in Garland Computer Lab
Group B: Meet in classroom
February
M 2 Douglas, Chp.3 (61-81); Barson and Heller,
"Dating Do's and Don'ts--and Maybe's" (x); Minot,
"Lust" (x); Palac, "How Dirty Pictures Changed My
Life"
W 4 Douglas, Chp.'s 4, 5, and 6 (83-138)
Note: Group A: Meet in classroom
Group B: Meet in Garland Computer Lab
F 6 Douglas, Chp.9 and 10 (193-244); Mulvey, "Visual Pleasure
and Narrative Cinema" (x)
M 9 Discussion of "Thelma and Louise" and "Boys on the
Side"
W 11 Review for Exam #1
F 13 Exam #1
How Did We Get Where We Are
Today?
M 16 Genesis 1:1 to 3:24; Genesis 39:1-23; Leviticus 12:1-8
and 15:19-30; Ruth 1:1 to 4:22; I Corinthians 11:1-16 [Note:
You may read these selections in any translation, but try to
glance at the King James Version, too, for comparison.]
W 18 Armstrong, "The Rise of the Domestic Woman" (x)
F 20 Wollstonecraft, Introduction, Dedication, Chp. 1 and 9
Note: Group A: Meet in Garland Computer Lab
Group B: Meet in classroom
M 23 Wollstonecraft, Chp. 4 and 5
Note: Group A: Meet in classroom
Group B: Meet in Garland Computer Lab
W 25 Stanton, "Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions,
Seneca Falls" (1848); Jefferson, "Declaration of Independence"
(1776) (h)
F 27 Glaspell, "Jury of Her Peers"
SPRING BREAK / FEBRUARY 28 - MARCH 8
March
M 9 Willis, "Abortion: Whose Right to Life Is It
Anyway" (x); from Faludi, Backlash (x)
W 11 Gilbert and Gubar, "The Queen's Looking Glass" (x)
F 13 Woolf, Chp. 1-3
Note: Group A: Meet in classroom
Group B: Meet in Garland Computer Lab
M 16 Woolf, Chp. 4-6
Note: Group A: Meet in Garland Computer Lab
Group B: Meet in classroom
W 18 Rich, "When We Dead Awaken: Writing as Revision"
Revisions: Race, Ethnicity, Class, and
Sexuality
F 20 MacIntosh, "White Privilege and Male Privilege"; Jenious,
"The Problem of African American Feminism"; Yamada, "Asian Pacific
American Women and Feminism"
M 23 Gage, "Reminiscences...of Sojourner Truth"; Waller and
Razaf, "(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue" (h); Forman,
"Stoplight Politics" (h)
W 25 Walker, "In Search of Our Mother's Gardens"
F 27 Collins, "Black Women and Motherhood" (x)
M 30 Naylor, Mama Day (1-165)
April
W 1 Mama Day (166-312)
Note: Group A: Meet in Garland Computer Lab
Group B: Meet in classroom
F 3 Mama Day
Note: Group A: Meet in classroom
Group B: Meet in Garland Computer Lab
M 6 Cofer, "The Story of My Body" (x); Yamada, "Invisibility
Is an Unnatural Disaster"
W 8 Vasquez, "Appearances"; Discussion of Jordan, The
Crying Game
F 10 Discussion of The Crying Game, continued.
Back to the Future?
M 13 Atwood, A Handmaid's Tale (1-135)
W 15 A Handmaid's Tale (136-253)
Note: Group A: Meet in classroom
Group B: Meet in Garland Computer Lab
F 17 A Handmaid's Tale (254-395)
Note: Group A: Meet in Garland Computer Lab
Group B: Meet in classroom
M 20 Douglas, Chp. 12 (269-94) and Epilogue (295-316); Review
for Exam #2
Guidelines
for Papers
General Instructions
Papers should follow the general rules of composition and be
typed or word-processed with standard double-spacing, 1-inch
margins, and either 10- or 12-point typeface. Title pages and
covers are unnecessary. Pages should be numbered, stapled
together, and spell-checked. Because this is not an English class,
errors in grammar and punctuation will be marked but will not be
factors in the grading of the paper unless the mistakes are
so numerous or egregious as to distract from the argument. Papers
are due at the time the class meets; late papers will be penalized
one grade (i.e., B to C) for each day late.
Paper #1
Your first paper is a personal essay (3-5 pp.) in which you
reflect upon what it means to you to be female or male, or
feminine or masculine, in the culture in which you live. The
purpose of this assignment is to encourage you to think
analytically about how sex and gender make differences in the ways
we relate to school, work, goals, family, friendships, intimate
relationships, and/or life choices.
One approach to this assignment is to think about the first
time you realized that sex or gender was, in some way,
significant. How did this realization occur? What was your
reaction? How has this realization affected your thinking? Another
approach is to consider how your life decisions so far have been
related to social constructions of sex or gender. Whatever
approach you choose, be creative, but be honest. While this essay
may be informal and anecdotal, it must be grounded in
specific details--do not offer vague
generalizations. Wherever possible, analyze why you
have reacted and felt the way you have about sex and gender, and
how your attitudes have been informed by the culture
in which you live--by media, family, friends, teachers, ethnicity,
nationality, religion, race, socio-economic class, for
example.
Paper #2
Your second paper (4-5 pp.) is an analysis of an
advertisement. The purpose of this assignment is to encourage you
to think critically about the constructions and assumptions of sex
and gender that inform advertisements. Pay attention to visual
images and text, if your ad includes both, and focus on
analyzing these elements and their (intended) effect
on a viewer. Where appropriate, your analysis should engage the
techniques that John Berger explains in Ways of Seeing.
Your analysis should be specific, and your ideas should be
carefully supported by evidence from the ad. Some points to
consider as you choose your ad:
--What is implied by the ad--that is, in addition to what
is shown?
--How intertexual is the ad? For example, does it make
reference to other ads, to art, to history, to popular
culture?
--Who is the intended audience of this ad?
--What effect does the ad have on you? Do you think this is
its intended effect? How does the ad produce this effect? Do
you have any desire to work against the ad's effect--to resist
its implications? Why or why not?
Note: Be sure to staple your ad to your paper, and to
note on the ad or in your paper the title and date of the magazine
in which the ad appears.