Women and Politics

University of Oregon

Political Science 348

Spring 2008

TR 10 – 11:20am, Rm Lillis Hall 111

______________________________________________________________________

 

Professor Priscilla Yamin

Email: pyamin@uoregon.edu

Phone: 346-4879

Office: PLC 916   

Office hours: Tuesday 1 – 4pm

 

GTF Taunya DeBoer

Email: tdeboer@uoregon.edu

Office: 823 PLC

Office hours: Thursday 11:30 – 1:30pm

 

 

Course Description

 

This course will explore the role of women in American politics from an historical, social and political standpoint. Among the topics we will cover are the history of women’s rights, women’s participation and specific issues concerning women such as reproductive rights, pornography, body image, woman as president and other issues concerning race, class and sexuality. We will ask: what is women’s equality and difference, what solutions are best for women and what constitutes a feminist approach to politics? 

 

 

Required Texts

 

All the required readings are in a course packet available at the University bookstore, unless it is noted in the syllabus that they are on blackboard. The readings will also be posted on the course’s Blackboard website. The readings may be downloaded from the Blackboard site each week.

 

Important Note: This syllabus is subject to change as the course progresses. These periodic changes will be announced in class and a current copy of the syllabus will always be posted on the course Blackboard website. You should make sure your current email is linked to the Blackboard system and check email and Blackboard regularly for these updates.

 

 

Course Requirements

 

The course will primarily be a lecture course, but there will also be in-class discussion. Students are expected to attend class, complete readings by the assigned date and participate in the class discussions.  While class attendance and participation are not formal components of the final grade, constructive and respectful participation may be taken into account when determining final grades, particularly borderline grades. The formal assignments for the course are as follows:

 

            In-class exam             30%                Tuesday April 22

 

            In-class exam             30%                Thursday May 15

 

            Final exam                 40%                Tuesday, June 10, 8 am

 

 

In-class exams will be composed of multiple choice, short answer and essay questions and will test students on information from the lectures, the assigned readings, and in-class discussions.  Study sheets will be available prior to each exam.

 

Final exam will be a cumulative exam that follows a similar format as the midterms.

 

All Exams must be taken during the regularly scheduled time. I will not schedule additional exams.  Please make travel plans accordingly. 

 

 

Class Policies

 

  1. CLASSROOM CONDUCT: We are all accountable to create a climate of mutual respect in the classroom. While differences of opinion and perspective are vital and will be encouraged, common courtesy as well as University policy prohibit personal attacks and discriminatory conduct.

 

  1. READING: This is a reading intensive course. Students must come to class having read all the assigned materials and prepared to engage in active discussion.

 

  1. RE-GRADING OF EXAM: You may request the re-grading of an exam. Students who wish to have an exam re-graded may choose to do so if the following steps are taken:

-Student must wait at least 24 hours.

-Student must read through the assignment thoroughly before requesting a

re-grade.

-Student must provide a written statement of why he or she would like the

exam re-graded, which will be turned in to the GTF with the original exam.

-The grade on the exam may be raised, lowered, or left the same.

 

  1. EMAIL CORRESPONDANCE: Please identify yourself and the name of our course in all correspondence with the instructor and GTF. Do not expect an immediate response to your email—it is not appropriate to ask a question about an exam on the night before it is to be taken.

 

  1. ELECTRONIC DEVICES. Wireless devices including Blackberries and cell phones must be turned off prior to class. I strongly prefer that laptops not be used during class, you must see me personally if you would like to be exempted from this rule.

 

  1. ACADEMIC DISHONESTY AND PLAGIARISM. All work in this course must be your own and produced exclusively for this course. The use of sources (ideas, quotations, paraphrases) must be properly acknowledged and documented. For the consequences of academic dishonesty, refer to the Schedule of Classes published quarterly. Violations will be taken seriously and are noted on student disciplinary records. If you are in doubt regarding the requirements, please consult with the instructor before you complete any requirement of the course. Please review the University’s policies at:   http://studentlife.uoregon.edu/judicial/conduct/sai.htm

 

  1. DISABILITY SERVICES. If you have a documented disability and anticipate needing accommodations in this course, please make arrangements to meet with me soon. Please bring a notification letter from Disability Services outlining your approved accommodations. For information on Disability Services, go to http://ds.uoregon.edu/DS_home.html

 

 

 

Course Plan

 

 

I. Introduction: First-Wave US Feminism in Historical Context

 

 

Introduction and Overview of Course

Tuesday, April 1

 

 

Emerging Conceptions of rights

Thursday, April 3

Abigail Adams, “Remember the Ladies”

Mary Wollstonecraft, “Vindication of the Rights of Women”

John Stuart Mill, “Subjugation of Women”

 

Tuesday, April 8

Angelina Grimke, “Appeal to the Christian Women of the South”

Sarah Gimke, “Letters on the Equality of the Sexes and the Condition of Women”

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “Declaration of Sentiments”

 

 

Link to Abolitionism

Thursday, April 10

Sojourner Truth, “Ain’t I a Woman”

Ida B. Wells, “A Red Record”

Frederick Douglass on Women’s Rights, selections

 

 

Formal Equality in early 20th century

Tuesday, April 15

Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution (1920)

Nancy Cott, The Grounding of Modern Feminism, Chap 1, Birth of Feminism

 

In-class film: Iron Jawed Angels

 

 

Reform or Revolution

Thursday, April 17

Emma Goldman, The Traffic in Women, selections

Mollie Schepps, “Senators vs. Working Women”

Jennie Loitman Barron, “Jury Service for Women”

 

 

In-class exam

Tuesday, April 22

 

 

II. Identity Politics and Feminism: Race, Femininity, Sexual Orientation, and Class

 

 

Foundations of Second Wave

Tuesday, April 22

Simone deBeauvoir, The Second Sex, selections

Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique, selections

 

 

Liberal or Radical Feminism

Thursday, April 24

Casey Hayden, Feminism and Civil Rights Movement, selections

Alice Echols, Daring to be Bad, selections

“Redstockings Manifesto”

National Organization for Women, “Statement of Purpose”

 

 

Feminists of color and Intersections

Tuesday, April 29th

Paula Giddings, When and Where I Enter, selections

“Combahee River Collective Statement”

National Black Feminist Organization, “Statement of Purpose”

Angela Davis, Women, Race and Class, selections

 

 

Conservative counter-revolution

Thursday, May 1

Elizabeth Kolbert, "Firebrand: Phyllis Schlafly and the Conservative Revolution."

The New Yorker. Nov 7, 2005. 

Schlafly, “The Positive Woman”

Rebecca Klatch, Women of the New Right, selections

 

 

Sexuality and Beyond Difference

Tuesday, May 6

Radicalesbians, “The Woman Identified Woman”

Audre Lorde, “Age, Race, Class and Sex”

Shane Phelan, Getting Specific: Postmodern Lesbian Politics, selection

 

 

Equal Rights Amendment

Thursday, May 8

Jane Mansbridge, Why We Lost the ERA, selections

Matthews and DeHart, Sex, Gender and the Politics of the ERA, selections

 

 

Welfare Rights Movement

Tuesday, May 13

Mink, Welfare’s End, selections

Mink, “Feminist Interpretations”

 

 

In-class exam

Thursday, May 15

 

 

III. Contemporary Issues and Feminist Questions

 

 

Woman and formal political realm

Thursday, May 15

Virginia Sapiro, “When are Interests Interesting?”

Beth Reingold. Representing Women. pp. 215 – 241, on Blackboard.

 

 

 

Postmodern feminism

Tuesday, May 20

            Judith Butler, Gender Trouble, chapter 1, on Blackboard

 

 

Transnational Feminism

Thursday, May 22

            Gloria Anzaldua, “Borderlands”

      Anna Sampaio. “Transnational Feminisms in a New Global Matrix.”     

International Feminist Journal of Politics, 6, 2: June 2004.

            Desai, “Transnational Solidarity”

 

 

Body Image and Third Wave Feminism

Tuesday, May 27

Susan Bordo, “Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body,”

Ophira Edut, ed., “Adios, Barbie: Young Women Write about Body Image and

Identity”

 

Thursday, May 29

Guest Speaker: Courtney Smith

 

 

Pornography

Tuesday, June 3

Andrea Dworkin, Pornography: Men Possessing Women, selections

Susie Bright, Full Exposure, selections

 

 

Politics of reproduction

Thursday, June 6

Dorothy Roberts, Killing the Black Body, Chapter 4, on Blackboard

Kristin Luker, Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood, Chapter 5

 

 

Final Exam

Tuesday, June 10, 8am