COR048H: WOMEN, GENDER, AND POWER

Dr. Barbara F. McManus                                      Spring, 1996

DESCRIPTION:  Using the perspectives of contemporary women's studies and feminist
scholarship, this course will focus on the constructed nature of gender roles, the effects
of these constructions on the lives of women, and the possibilities for change and
individual empowerment that a critical awareness can create.  3 credits

OBJECTIVES:
Students will demonstrate
     1. an understanding of gender, particularly concepts of femininity, as a social,
historical, and cultural construction rather than a natural, biological "given"; an
appreciation of how gender interacts with other social constructions (race, ethnicity,
class, etc.)
     2. an understanding of how definitions of femininity and familial and social roles
have varied throughout history and across different cultures
     3. an ability to use the critical methodologies of women's studies and feminist
scholarship to analyze how gender constructions shape the realities of women's lives,
particularly in contemporary American society, including their own lives as women
     4. an understanding and validation of the achievements, experiences, and
perspectives of women, acting both individually and in groups
     5. an understanding of the choices and alternatives open to women as they use
their enhanced critical awareness to change gender constructions and to influence the
direction of the future.

METHODS:  Lecture, extensive discussion, role playing, audio-visual materials.

TEXTS:
     Hilary M. Lips.  Women, Men, and Power.  Mountain View, CA: Mayfield, 1991.

     Virginia Sapiro.  Women in American Society: An Introduction to Women's
Studies.  3rd ed.  Mountain View, CA: Mayfield, 1994.

     Schedule of Course Topics with additional assigned readings.

REQUIREMENTS:
     Class Participation: Completion of all assigned readings and active participation
in class discussions.  Because of the nature of this course, interactive participation is a
significant and essential component of the class, requiring regular attendance in class
and timely completion of the readings so that students are informed about the topic
under consideration.  Class participation will therefore constitute 40% of the course
grade, and each absence in excess of four, whether excused or not, will result in a
deduction of 3 points from the class participation portion of the grade. [all
objectives].

     Role Playing: The class will divide into teams of students; each team will be
assigned one role-playing topic.  The team will meet with the instructor to receive extra
readings and discuss the natureof their simulation. Each team will create and then
enact before the class a role-playing simulation in which young women like themselves
encounter and are constrained in some way by the gender constructions under
consideration in their topic.  They will then recreate a similar situation with a different
outcome, showing how an informed and critical awareness can empower women to
change their own responses to gender stereotyping and thus begin to alter their
circumstances and their lives.  Finally, using a set of notes that they have prepared
ahead of time, the team will lead a class discussion that employs the perspectives and
methodologies learned in the course to analyze their simulations; their written notes will
be handed in at the end of the discussion [objectives 1, 3, 5].

     Brief Reaction Papers: Completion of numerous brief (1-3 pages) informal
reaction papers--some analyses, some applications to other situations, some personal
reflections.  These informal papers need not be typed, but they must be neat and
legible  [all objectives].

     Women's History Month (March): Students will attend the Dowell Program and
one other event of  their choice during the celebration of Women's History Month.  A
reaction paper covering both events will be required [all objectives].

     Critical Paper: Each student will write one formal critical paper employing the
methodologies and theoretical frameworks learned in class.  This paper must be typed
or wordprocessed and must employ correct methods of citation and documentation. 
Further instructions and due dates for the various stages of this assignment will be
described on a separate assignment sheet [objectives 2, 3].

     Final Project: Each student will create a scenario for the kind of changes she
would like to see in the lives of American women of the twenty-first century, including a
description of some of the steps that would be necessary to bring about these changes
[objective 5].  Due May 15.

     Grading:  40% class participation, including reaction papers
               45% simulation and critical paper
               15% final project

OFFICE HOURS:  Tuesdays 2:00-3:00 and Thursdays 11:00-12:00 (other times by
               appointment)
               Castle 315, ext. 5399