WMNS 330:  Feminist Theory

Fall 2008

Mary Suydam
Ascension 011
Office Hours: T - TH. 10-12
PBX 5067

Course Goals

This course will have as its major objective understanding the mechanisms by which social changes occur. To answer this question we will consider a series of feminist theories or "frameworks" which suggest how gender relations have in the past been and currently are unequal and oppressive and offer suggestions on how to make them more equal. We will consider the explanatory power of various feminist theories in terms of how they account not only for oppressive social relations, but forliberatory social change as well. Class work will focus on placing each of these frameworks within their specific historical contexts.

Please bear in mind that theory is difficult. You may not understand every word you read. Please try not to become too frustrated by this. Put forth your best effort to understand these various theories in terms of where you are. I do understand that you will not necessarily master every concept in the class. I will try to evaluate your work based on the progress you make from where you start.

 

Texts

Karen Foss, Sonja Foss, and Cindy Giffin, eds., Readings in Feminist Rhetorical Theory

Linda Nicholson, ed., The Second Wave: A  Reader in Feminist Theory

Janet Kourany, James Sterba, and RoemarieTong, Feminist Philosophies

Course Requirements

It is my desire that the class be student driven rather than instructor driven. We are here, finally, to answer your questions, not mine; so that you might better understand the debates in feminist theory. There is no coverage requirement in this course; there will be no tests. You will learn from me but also from each other and from rigorously engaging the material; the objective of the course is for us to construct knowledge collaboratively. Therefore, lectures by the instructor will be kept to a minimum. This means that if you have a question and you want a lecture, the responsibility is yours to ask for it. Otherwise, the class will focus on discussion of materials, small group discussions, writing and the sharing of writing, and group presentations of material.

Study Guides: The primary means by which we will construct knowledge is the study guide. We will construct one together for every class using a software program known as a “wiki” (Wikipedia is a good example of a wiki). Every class three people will be assigned to construct the study guide for that class (don’t worry you will each do your own separate piece). You will enter your own piece into the wiki and when complete it becomes available to every student in the class. The 3 components of the study guides are: summary of the reading, questions for discussion, key words. A schedule of assignments and instructions are forthcoming.

The components of your grade will be based upon the following:

Study Guide Summaries

Discussion Questions

Glossary

Short Papers/Edited longer paper

Class participation

Course Readings and Schedule of Assignments

Thurs., Aug. 28: Intro to class
In class: Cheris Kramerae on gendering of language

Week 2: Doing Theory

Tues., Sept. 2:
Feminist Philosophies: “Have We Got a Theory for you!”, 474-486
Bell hooks, “Sisterhood”, 487-500
Feminist Rhetorical Theory: bell hooks, “Feminism”, 47-56

Thurs., Sept. 4:
Feminist Rhetorical Theory: Cheris Kramerae, "Proprietors of Language", “Women as a Muted Group”, “A Visiting Scholar”, 7-33
Bell hooks, “Feminist Politicization”, “Back to the Avant-Garde”, “Design”, 57-73


Week 3: Liberal Feminism: the first wave

Tues., Sept. 9
Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Women
Seneca Falls Declaration
Sojourner Truth, Ain't I a Woman?"

Thurs., Sept. 11: critiques
Emma Goldman, "Anarchism", "Woman Suffrage", "The Tragedy of Women's Emancipation", plus one other article
Two articles from Part I of Feminist Philosophies

Week 4: Liberal Feminism: the second wave

Tues., Sept. 16
Feminist Philosophies: Susan Orkin, “Justice, Gender, and the Family”313-39
Gloria Steinem, “Outrageous Acts”, 345-349
Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique

Thursday, Sept. 18
The Second Wave, Wendy Williams, “The Equality Crisis”, 71-91
The Combahee River Collective, 63-70
Catherine Mackinnon, “Sexuality”, 158-180

Week 5: Essentialist and Cultural Feminism

Short paper on liberal feminism due Monday, Sept. 22 by 4 PM

Tuesday, Sept. 23

The Second Wave, Simone de Beauvoir, “Introduction to the Second Sex”, 11-18
Feminist Rhetorical Theory, Starhawk, “Witchcraft as Goddess Religion”, “Truth or Dare”, 143-161

The Second Wave, Carol Gilligan, “Woman’s Place in Man’s Life Cycle”, 198-215

Thurs., Sept. 25:

Feminist Philosophies, Carol Gilligan, “Visions of Maturity”, 384-398
Nel Nodding, “Women and Caring”, 398-404
Sarah Ruddick, “Maternal Thinking as a Feminist Standpoint”, 404-412
The Second Wave, Radicalesbians, “The Woman-Identified Woman”, 153-157

GLCA Transnational Feminism conference, Sept. 26-28

Week 6: Conference digestions

No class Tuesday (Rosh Hashanah)

Thurs., Oct. 2

Discussion of conference

Week 7: Radical Feminism

Second short paper due on cultural feminism due Monday, October 6

Tues., Oct. 7
The Second Wave, Shulamith Firestone, “The Dialectic of Sex”, 19-26
Gayle Rubin, “The Traffic in Women”, 27-62

Reading Days, Oct. 9-10

Week 8: Marx and Feminism

Tues., Oct. 14
The Second Wave, Linda Nicholson, “Feminism and Marx”, 131-145
Michelle Barratt, “Capitalism and Women’s Liberation”, 124-145

Thurs., Oct. 16
The Second Wave, Heidi Hartmann, “The Unhappy Marriage of Marxism and Feminism”, 97-123
Elsa Brown, “What Has Happened Here?”, 272-287
Norma Alarcon, “The Theoretical Subject”, 288-297

Week 9: Separatism

Tues., Oct. 21
Feminist Rhetorical Theory, Mary Daly, 105-130
Thurs., Oct. 23
The Second Wave, Catherine Mackinnon, “Sexuality”, 158-180
Nancy Chaderow, “The Psychodynamics of Family”, 181-196

Week 10: Postmodernism

Tues., Oct. 28
Essay on Foucault (#5 in Topic Outline)

Foucault, Incitement to Discourse (#6)

Derrida, from Of Grammatology (#7)

Thurs., Oct. 30

Foucault, "The Perverse Implantation" (E-Res)
The Second Wave, Monique Wittig, “One is Not Born a Woman”, 265-71
Judith Butler, “Imitation and Gender Insubordination”, 300-315

Week 11: postmodernism, deconstruction, and colonialism

Tues., Nov. 4 (VOTE!!)

Essay #8:  Social Criticism Without Philosophy
The Second Wave, Linda Alcoff, “Cultural Feminism vs. Post-Structurualism”, 330-355

Thurs., Nov. 6
Feminist Rhetorical Theory, Trinh Minh Ha, “Not You/Like You”, 213-20’ “Yellow Sprouts”, 221-224, “The Totalizing Quest of Meaning”, 225-237

Week 1
Tues., Nov. 11

Feminist Rhetorical Theory, Gloria Anzaldua, “Speaking in Tongues”, 77-84; “La Consciencia de la Mestiza”, 85-96; “Beyond Traditional Notions of Identity”, 100-104
Paula Gunn, “All the Good Indians”, 181-83; “Grandmother of the Sun”, 184-198


Thurs., Nov. 13

Essay #9, Sharon Marcus, "Fighting Bodies/Fighting Words"

Essay #10, Susan Bordo, "Material Girl"

Essay #11, Kate Bornstein, "Send in the Clowns"

Week 13:

Third Short paper due Monday, Nov. 17

Tues., Nov. 18

Feminist Rhetorical Theory, Sally Gearhart, “The Womanization of Rhetoric”, 241-7; “Notes from a Recovering Activist”, 266-70

The Second Wave, Gayatri Spivak, “In a Word”, 356-378
Nancy Fraser, “Structuralism or Pragmatics”, 379-396

Thurs. Nov. 20

Uma Narayan, “Contesting Cultures”, 397-414



Thanksgiving Break

Week 14: Ecofeminism

Tues., Dec. 2
Feminist Philosophies, Karen Warren, “The Power and Promise of Ecological Feminism”, 452-461
Marti Kheel, “From Heroic to Holistic Ethics”, 462-472

Thurs., Dec. 4
Feminist Rhetorical Theory, Sonia Johnson, 271-304

Week 15:

Tues., Dec. 9:   Men and Feminism

Feminist Philosopies, 504-515


Thurs., Dec. 11:  Discuss individual topics.


Compilation of 3 papers due Monday, December 15 by 4 PM.