Note: this syllabus is tentative and the class may choose to reconstruct it.
Objectives:
Text: Susan Brownmiller In Our Time Memoir of a Revolution
Lois Duke Whitaker Women in Politics Outsiders or Insiders Third Edition
various internet assignments
For other useful internet resources, see the instructor's Resource Guide for Women, Politics and Policy.
Requirements:
We will use a modified contract system for this course. You must satisfactorily complete, in a timely manner, all requirements for the grade you are seeking. Unsatisfactory work on the class participation segment will result in a lowering of your grade. Unsatisfactory work on the other segments may, with the agreement of the instructor, be redone.
Undergraduates:
For a C: Class participation: You should be prepared for class most days, engage in discussion, ask questions, share additional information, provide feedback to the instructor as well as other students, be a leader as well as a follower in class. More than 3 absences or unprepared days would not meet this requirement unless approved by the instructor and unless alternative assignments are agreed upon. This class requires active student involvement. AND
Satisfactory pass a final exam - you will draw one of the objective's out of a hat and prepare a 5 minute presentation that demonstrates competance in that objective. The class will provide you with feedback on your presentation content and effectiveness. The instructor will determine if the presentation meets the requirement.
For a B:
Complete all requirements for a C AND
Present: One assigned chapter. AND
Interview a woman active in politics and share with the class - written or oral. (Check this list for some people to interview)
For an A:
Complete all requirements for a B AND
Use the internet to find out all you can about a woman holding or running for the US Senate, House of Representatives, or Governor. Construct a web site that includes your summary remarks about this political figure and that links to sites about her. (This might include her internet site, news stories, evaluations by third parties, groups against the candidate and the like. You'll want to annotate your links.) OR
Present (written or oral) information to the class about a current group connected to Women and Politics. (Check out The Electra Pages Directory of Women's Organizations http://electraPages.com/.) You should also hand out information on how to contact the group (including internet address) and an annotated bibliography about the group. OR
Normally there would be a participation option. Summer school seems to short for this to work but if you have a suggestion I would consider it.
Graduate Students:
Graduate students have some additional requirements. For a B you also are to lead at least one of the class discussion days (and if you wish include a mini-lecture). You should help involve all in class discussions. You are also to suggest a web site that would have been useful to add to the syllabus for one of our topics. For an A you must also read and summarize an article in the journal Women and Politics (available in the MSU library HQ1236.W63)
Schedule: Work needs to be completed prior to the class meeting time.
Week 1
Monday May 22 Introductions,
Tuesday May 23 Read: Prologue and The Founders
Wednesday may 24 Read: An Independent Movement
Thursday May 25 Read: Which Way is Utopia?
As an alternative we will look at the Minnesota Women's Consortium. Check its web site at http://www.mnwomen.org/
Friday May 26 Read: Confrontation
Week 2
Tuesday May 30 Read: "Abortion is a Woman's Right"
Check the battle continues: Ventura vetoes bill.
Check: A Woman's Guide to Grassroots Lobbying http://www.inform.umd.edu/EdRes/Topic/WomensStudies/GovernmentPolitics/PoliticalProgress/guide-to-lobbying
Wednesday May 31 Read: Enter the Media and Full Moon Rising
Mini lecture History of Title VII, the EEOC and administrative agency procedures
Thursday June 1 Read: " Rape is a Political Crime Against Women"
Friday June 2 Read: Internal Combustion
Week 3
monday June 5 Read: Feminist Author
Tuesday June 6 Read: "No Man is Worth Dying For"
Check http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/vawo/laws/vawa/vawa.htm Violence Against Women Act of 1994
Also check the Supreme Court decision in U.S. v Morrison . Look closely at the dissenting opinion of justice Souter.
Wednesday June 7 Read: Its Name is Sexual Harassment
Thursday June 8 Read: The Pornography Wars and Epilogue
Check Andrea Dworkin's web site at http://www.igc.org/Womensnet/dworkin/
Friday June 9 We'll decide if our time is best used today reviewing Brownmiller and continuing discussions or in taking a day to catch up and work on our projects.
Week 4 This and next week we will be reading Women in Politics. be sure to read the author's introductory comments to each chapter. This will put your reading in context.
Monday June 12 Read: Feminist Theory as Seeing
Present: The Riddle of Consciousness: Racism and Identity in Feminist Theory
Tuesday June 13 Read: Changing Views about Gender Equity in Politics: Gradual Change and Lingering Doubts and read The Generations of Feminism
Present: Rethinking Pink and Blue: Gender, Occupational Stratification and Political Attitudes.
The Gender Gap in 1996: More Meaning than Revenge of the Soccer Moms
Wednesday June 14 Read: The Political Interests of Women: Movement politics, Political Reform and Women's Organizations
Present: Women and Sex Stereotypes: Cultural Reflections in the Mass Media
Thursday June 15 Read: Winning in My Own backyard. County Government, School Board Positions Steadily More Attractive to Women Candidates
Speaker
Friday June 16 Read: Women State legislators: Three Decades of Gains in Representation
Present: Women in Congress and Why are More Women State legislators
Week 5
Monday June 19 Read: The Feminist Face of State Executive Leadership: Women as Governors
Present: The maleness of the American Presidency and The Governmental Status of the First Lady in Law and Public Perception
Tuesday June 20 Read: Women's Rights and Legal Wrongs: The US Supreme Court and Sex Discrimination
Present: Women Judges: The New Generation
Wednesday June 21 Read: The Family and Medical Leave Act: A Policy for Families
Also read 'Treading Water To Save My Life'; A Cherished Key to a Home After Years on the Street for an exercise on Supportive Housing as a Feminist Issue.
Present: The handmaids Tale and the Birth Dearth: Prophecy, Prescription, and Public policy;
Sex at Risk in Insurance Classifications? The Supreme Court and the Shaper of Policy;
Affirmative Action and Women
Thursday June 22 Read: Anarchist Feminism and Student Power: Is this Any Way to Run a Women's Studies Program and Grounds for Criticism: Coffee, Passion, and the Politics of Feminist Discourse (At class request we could have half the class read one and the other half read the other article.)
Concluding comments.
Friday June 23 Final
Last revised:
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