Introduction to Feminism

Fall 2019
Oliva Collins, Collin O'Loughlin, David Velazquez, Marcus Cole
Wednesdays 1:00-2:20
*Office hours will be held 3-4 after class; any other times please schedule an appointment

Course Description

This course, for first year students, will focus on the fundamentals of feminist thought and
various feminist theories. Students will think critically about sex and gender and how the two
intersect with other social identities. The course will also address power dynamics from a
western context. The course will also cover social movements and governmental policies that
actively effect women's rights. Readings for the course will provide the foundation for class
discussions and activities intended to elaborate on course concepts. Assignments are designed to
reinforce learning and encourage active reflection and application of class content.

Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
• Identify and explain feminist theories in relation to globalization, capitalism and
colonialism.
• Define and explain the effects of power, privilege and privilege.
• Articulate an understanding of intersectionality

Required Text:
Gay, Roxane. (2012). Bad Feminist. Virginia Quarterly Review: A National Journal of
Literature and Discussion, 88(4), 88-95.
Aulette, Judy Root. (2012). Gendered worlds. New York: Oxford University Press, USA.
Chopin, K. (1899). The awakening . Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martin's Press.
Adichie, C. (2015). We should all be feminists. Anchor Books
Gross, R. (1996). Feminism and religion : An introduction. Boston: Beacon Press.
Hooks, bell, & Hooks. (1994). Teaching to transgress : Education as the practice of freedom.
New York: Routledge.

Assignments:
Participation: 20%
Reading Reflections: 10%
Facilitated Reading Discussion: 20%
Paper 1: 20%
Final Project: 30%
Total: 100%

Policies:

Attendance: Attendance is not mandatory (excluding the final class) but highly encouraged. We
understand that life does indeed happen from time to time and we will not dock students who are
unable to show up to class however, participation will contribute to your overall grade.
Participation points can be used in restore point loss of missed assignments.

Late work: Late assignments will be accepted. However, for each week that the assignment is
late, half a letter grade will be deducted from the overall grade. If you feel that you need more
time on an assignment it is your responsibility to communicate that with your instructor.

Participation: Much of the learning in class will come in the form of class discussion: sharing
ideas and challenging each other's interpretations of readings and content. Participation includes
showing up to class, actively listening to your peers and responding with respect for their
different views, participating in suggested out of classroom events. Verbal contributions to
conversations will be graded using the Socratic method.

Email / Sakai: Email will be the primary means of communication between you and us, and your
classmates outside of class time. Please be prompt in responding to emails – no more than 48
hours should lapse before emails are returned or acknowledged. Also, the Sakai site for this
course will be used extensively (Supplemental readings are posted on Sakai in the “Resources”
section). If you are unfamiliar/uncomfortable with course management software like Sakai please
peruse the following website to help acquaint yourself: http://www.luc.edu/itrs/sakai/sakai-
student-tutorials.shtml

Cell Phones / Technology: It is our expectation and initial assumption that if you are using a cell
phone, laptop, or other tech device that you are doing so in the service of helping you engage
more fully in the class. That being said, if these devices become a distraction and begin to detract
from the learning environment, this policy may be revised.

Schedule:
Date Topic Readings/Assignments
Week 1 Intro Readings:
The Yellow Wallpaper
(Gilman, 1892)
 Gendered Worlds Ch. 1

Assignment Due:
Weekly Reading Reflection
Week 2 History of Gender Readings:
“Making Sense of the Waves:
Wipeout or Still Riding
High?” (Gray and Boddy,
2010)

Assignment Due:
Weekly Reading Reflection
Week 3 Doing Gender Readings:
“Menstrual Meditations”
(Young, 2005)

“Theory as liberatory
practice” (hooks, 1991)

Assignment Due:
Paper 1 Book selection due
on Sakai

Weekly Reading Reflection

Week 4 Race and Gender Readings:
Critical Race Theory

Gendered Worlds Ch. 9

Assignment Due:
Weekly Reading Reflection
Week 5 Sexuality and Gender Readings:
The Awakening (Chopin
1899)

Gendered Worlds Ch. 4

Week 6 Breaking Binaries: Intersex
and Transgender
Assignment Due:
Weekly Reading Reflection
Readings:
“Transsexual Women and
Feminist Thought” (Cornell,
2012)
 Gendered Worlds Ch. 2

Assignment Due:
Weekly Reading Reflection
Week 7 Disabilities and Gender Readings:
‘"Misfitting" Mothers:
Feminism, Disability and
Mothering” (Roberts, 2014)

“New Conversations in
Feminist Disability Studies”
(Hall, 2015)

Assignment Due:
Weekly Reading Reflection
Week 8 Religion and Gender Readings:
Feminism and Religions
(Gross, 1996)

Gendered Worlds Ch. 13

Assignment Due:
First Draft of Paper 1 due,
bring hard copy to class

Weekly Reading Reflection

Week 9 Mid Terms Readings: N/A

Assignment: Final Project

Proposal A or B

Week 10 Power and Privilege Readings:

“Patriarchy and inequality”
(Becker 1999)

Assignment Due:
Weekly Reading Reflection
Week 11 Feminist Critical Pedagogy Readings: Teaching to
Transgress (hooks, 1994)
Ch.1-5

Assignment Due:
Final copy of paper 1 due on
sakai
 Weekly Reading Reflection
Week 12 Experience and Education Readings:
Experience and Education
(Dewey, 1938)

Assignment Due:
Weekly Reading Reflection
Week 13 Mindful Pedagogy Readings:
Bad Feminist (Gay, 2012)

Speaker: Dra. Chang

Assignment Due:
Weekly Reading Reflection
Week 14 Defining Your Feminism Readings:
We should all be feminists
(Adichie, 2015)

Assignment Due:
Weekly Reading Reflection
Week 15 Final Final Project Due

Weekly Reading Reflections

Weekly you should submit your reflections on that week's reading. The writing should be at least
400 words. You should cover what stood out to you in the readings, what you think the main
point of the reading was, what questions you have that you would like to address in class and
how you see the readings connected to the broader ideology of feminism.

Facilitated Reading Discussion

In the first week students will sign up for weeks in which they will be preparing to lead the
discussion around that specifics week’s topic and reading(s). The facilitator does not need to
prepare a presentation but should come prepared with specific quotes from the reading that the
facilitator believes matters. Additionally, the facilitator is expected to create six discussion
questions to be used during the class. The facilitator is expected to email the quotes and
questions out to the classmates 12 hours prior to class via Sakai.

Paper 1
The purpose of this assignment is to explore and gain a deeper understanding of how literature
has been used a catalyst to further the feminist movement throughout history. To complete this
assignment, you are to choose and read one of the books listed below, each of which is
considered a feminist novel. This list is designed to give you a range of options, allowing you to
explore more deeply ideas that we will touch on in class, if you would like to read a novel that is
not listed please discuss this with your instructor. This assignment will ask you to look critically
and explore scholarly responses to this feminist novel.

Your paper needs to make an argument about the book. This could take several forms:

1. You could write an analysis of the text, akin to an English paper, in which you discuss how the
novel makes its argument about some important feminist idea.

2. You could draw out the ideas in a text and then draw on them to address some feminist issue
on which you think the author shines light.

3. You could address a debate about the novel. This approach depends on your being able to find
a disagreement about some aspect of the novel in published literature – and have something to
contribute to that conversation.

The paper should incorporate at least 3 scholarly reviewed articles, and show be 1,500-2,000
words. Your book decision should be submitted on sakai by Week 3. A rough draft needs to be
brought to class for peer review on Week 8. The final draft is due Week 11.

List of potential books:

The Color Purple, Alice Walker
The Handmaids Tale, Margaret Atwood
Borderlands/La Frontera : The New Mestiza, Gloria Anzaldua
The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath
A Room of One’s Own, Virginia Wolf
Zami: A new Spelling of my Name, Audre Lorde
Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys

Final Project Options:

The purpose of this assignment is a cumulative assessment of the various topics that have been
discussed throughout the course. Students will have the option to either do a Mini Ted Talk or a
Final Paper. The purpose of this is to provide students the opportunity to utilize their respective
learning styles. The project will require to touch on how their definition of feminism has evolved
throughout course of the semester.

A) Mini Ted Talk B) Final Paper:

Questions:
1. What was your definition of feminism prior to taking this course? How would you define
feminism now?
2. Would you consider yourself a feminist? If so, why and how?
 3. How have your life experiences affected your understanding and definition of feminism?
4. How does your gender, sexuality, power, privilege, race, religion, and disability, or lack
thereof affect your definition of feminism?
5. How has feminism influenced your journey?

Articles:
Becker, Mary. (1999). Patriarchy and inequality: Towards a substantive feminism. University of
Chicago Legal Forum, 1999, 21-88.
Connell, R. (2012). Transsexual Women and Feminist Thought: Toward New Understanding and
New Politics. Signs, 37(4), 857-881.
Gilman, C. (1973). The yellow wallpaper. (Feminist Press reprint; no. 3). New York: Feminist
Press.
Gray, M., & Boddy, J. (2010). Making Sense of the Waves: Wipeout or Still Riding High?
Affilia, 25(4), 368-389
Hall, K. (2015). New Conversations in Feminist Disability Studies: Feminism, Philosophy, and
Borders. Hypatia, 30(1), 1-12.
Hooks, Bell. (1991). Theory as liberatory practice. Yale Journal of Law and Feminism, 4(1), 1-
12.
Robertson, R. (2014). "Misfitting" Mothers: Feminism, Disability and Mothering. Hecate, 40(1),
7-19,171.
Young, I. (2005). On Female Body Experience Throwing Like a Girl and Other Essays (Studies
in feminist philosophy). New York; Oxford: Oxford University Press.